Week 18 got underway on Tuesday night as Team 4 visited Corstorphine in Division 3. The visitors welcomed back Richard Miller into the fold as he joined Bob Porteous and Jim Jack. The night got off to a good start for the Penicuik trio as Bob won match 1 in 4 sets. From there however, the rest of the night was a bit of a disaster. The next seven matches all went the way of the Edinburgh based outfit before Bob won match 9. There were a few close games but in the end the Midlothian trio fell to an 8-2 defeat.
 
The following night Team 2 travelled to face Murrayfield 6 in Division 1. Gary McDougal, Abby Wighton & Krzysztof Lazkiewicz were buoyed by their victory the previous week and at 2-1 up they were hoping to pick up more points v Murrayfield opposition. Losses for Abby and Gary in matches 4 and 5 however gave the initiative back to the Murrayfield side. Krys levelled things again with a good win against his opposing team captain and the doubles was then to prove crucial. After a great win for Abby and Krys the previous week surely they would play again – eh maybe not!!  Krys and Gary took to the table looking for only their third win as a doubles pairing this season and when they took a 2-1 lead, Captain Krys’s decision looked a good one – an 11-8 fourth end loss was unfortunately followed by an 11-4 loss in the decider. At 4-3 down there then followed two massively important five end marathons. First up was Gary v Artur Chodacki – a topsy turvy affair which went the distance, Gary agonisingly losing out 11-9 in the decider. Then Abby took on Lynn Somerville. After a first end loss Abby seemed to work out Lynn’s dodgy rubber winning ends two and three 11-4 and 11-5. And she had a chance to win it in the fourth but after two deuces lost out 13-11 and her confidence deserted her in the fifth. Despite Krys winning match 10 – another epic five ender, the visitors fell to a 6-4 defeat.
 
Team 1 are facing a hard slog to the end of the season with only two players – Colin Green and Greig McDonell faced West Lothian 1 at Ladywood on Thursday night.  The reverse fixture in Bathgate produced a 5-5 draw for a three man side but a player short this was always going to be difficult. Only Colin got on the scoresheet with a win v ex Penicuik player and fellow veteran, David Simpson. Unless a miracle can happen to find a third player, the end of the season can’t come quick enough for Team 1.
 
On the same night at Ladywood, Team 3 were up against Corstorphine in Division 2. In the reverse fixture all three of the Penicuik team had defeated James Grant and all three had lost to Jonas Falter. It was therefore a huge bonus when James Wighton defeated Jonas in match 1 – that was followed by a win for Julian Taylor v Dave Hall. But Hannah then lost to James G, before Julian also reversed the result from his match v Jonas in the first half to restore a two game lead. That was reduced again however as the visitors won the battle of the James’s. 3-2 to the hosts and the next two matches were to prove pivotal. Hannah led Dave 2-0 and was coasting before she lost a tight third. The wheels seemed to the come off as she lost the fourth and before she knew it she was 7-1 down in the decider. Somehow, Hannah then relaxed and remarkably won 10 of the next 12 points for an 11-9 win. She then combined with Julian in the doubles – having won the first, the home duo then lost the second and third ends by 11-3 scorelines! End 4 then saw a complete reverse as Julian and Hannah secured an 11-4 win and remarkably that was repeated in the decider to give the hosts a 5-2 lead. Julian’s recent run of good form then continued as he won a mammoth encounter v James 12-10 in the fifth. The night ended brilliantly for the hosts as Hannah then defeated Jonas and James defeated Dave for an 8-2 win.
 
Team 5 were last in action as they travelled to the Gyle on Friday 10th Feb to face Corstorphine. Aidan Craig, Ian Millar and Roscoe Cairney made the trip and the night got off to a good start as Aidan won a tight five ender 11-6 in the decider. He also won match 4 in straight ends but there were also 4 defeats before the doubles which gave the hosts a 4-2 lead going into the doubles. A loss there and only a draw could be achieved for the visitors. Roscoe was very unlucky in match 8 as he lost out in five ends and the match was gone – Aidan won his final match of the night but Team 5 suffered a 7-3 defeat.

And so to our player of the week award for Week 18. Krys, Julian and Aidan were undefeated this week. Krys however made a bad captains choice in the doubles (according to Abby anyway) so he’s out. Aidan lost out in the doubles and his wins were in a losing performance so he misses out. That leaves Julian – but hang on – his third win of the night came when the pressure was completely off! This week’s winner follows in the footsteps of Julian’s player of the week award in Week 15 – wins that prove to be turning points and comebacks from apparently hopeless positions are real game changers  – with the match poised at 3-2, Hannah showed real fighting spirit to turn around a 7-1 deficit to give her team some breathing space – and apparently she then went on and pulled Julian through for an important doubles win- well done to her.
 
And finally our controversy of the week. It’s not just in the ELTTL that dodgy serving is to the fore. In the least round of Scottish national league fixtures at Perth earlier this month one of the matches between two Edinburgh Premier League players was halted for what seemed like an eternity as a result of a row over illegal serving. The argument this time related to the “offending player” using his body to hide the ball during service – now that is a tricky one to call – by the very nature of where an umpire sits it can be difficult to see the service motion clearly – we assume that’s one reason why at higher levels there are two umpires – one of them will always have a better view of certain serves. The offending player here was not prepared to accept there was anything wrong with his serving and it resulted in the tournament referee coming across to officiate. He too called the server up on his serving technique – in fairness to the player he seemed to keep his composure and won the match in five ends. Of course we don’t have the benefit in the ELTTL of calling on a tournament referee and we think it would be a brave player to call a fault in those circumstances in the League. Whatever “training” we’ve had on the rules, this is still a really difficult one to call in our view.
 
On a more mundane matter James was irritated at Ladywood in his team’s match v Corstorphine when the opposing player wasn’t happy with the match ball. James went through his match ball box handing over one after another, all rejected apparently because the balls were missing some logo. Yikes – do the rules suggest we have to play with a certain logo certified ball? Maybe James needs to empty his bag to find some more up to date ones – those BARNA classic one stars are maybe a little outdated now James!

​Week 17 kicked off where Week 16 had finished with another Haddington v Penicuik match as Team 3 travelled to East Lothian. James Wighton, Julian Taylor and Hannah McDonell were looking to consolidate their second position in the Division 2 table. James was first up in a tense affair against the wily Roger Thomas – 2 ends a piece and James looked in control in the decider at 7-3 up – but back came Roger to deuce – James somehow managed to get over the line 12-10 in the fifth. Meanwhile on the other table, Julian comfortably disposed of Martin Hayman to give the visitors a perfect start. Hannah’s rustiness was then on show (she’s been out for a couple of months) as she struggled against Magnus Wahrenberg and his tricky serves – a 3-1 loss for Hannah and at the same time James was involved in another marathon against Martin – 2-1 down he won the fourth 12-10 and the decider 11-9 – two crucial fifth end wins for James. Hannah was more relaxed in her second match winning in straight sets against Roger and when Julian managed a four end win v Magnus the Penicuik trio held an unassailable 5-1 lead going into the doubles. Hannah and Julian combined well for the win and that was followed by straight sets wins for Hannah v Martin and James v Magnus. The last match of the night saw Julian struggle a little but he got over the line in four ends v Roger to give the visitors a terrific 9-1 victory.
 
Ladywood was busy on Thursday 2nd February with three teams in action. Gary McDougal, Abby Wighton & Krzysztof Lazkiewicz know that they’re in trouble in Division 1. It looks like a three way race to avoid relegation between Penicuik, North Merchiston and Murrayfield 7. Having lost to NM in Week 15 their match against Murrayfield was a must win. Abby started off against the awkward Graham Muir and his anti-spin rubber – Abby couldn’t quite work it out and Murrayfield got off to a great start. When Gary then lost to Mike Letchford, this looked like being another horror night for Team 2. In the first half of the season, Krys had lost to Anna Porsch in five ends and that was the match which cost the Penicuik side at least a draw – this match also went to five ends but on this occasion Krys came out on top with an 11-3 fifth end win. Gary then sprung the surprise of the night against Graham winning another five ender and when Abby then won in five ends against Anna, the home side had taken a 3-2 lead. Krys made it 4-2 with a win v Mike and a doubles victory meant at least a point was coming the way of the home side. That point was converted to 2 when Gary defeated Anna in match 8 – and a good job he did – Krys fell in match 9 to Graham whilst Abby was unlucky losing out 12-10 in the fifth to Mike. A 6-4 victory for the hosts who jump off the bottom of the table – maybe our negative comments about their chances of survival in recent weeks have been premature….
 
Also in action was Team 4 as they faced ESC in Division 3. With Rachel unavailable, Roscoe Cairney stepped up from Division 4 to join Bob Porteous and Jim Jack. The reverse fixture was a 9-1 victory for ESC and that was without their best player, former Premier League player Keith Walker – Keith played this fixture and ESC were never really troubled. Jim and Bob were unlucky in the doubles, losing out 11-8 in the fifth and the last match of the night saw Bob win 11-9 in the fifth v Euan Rae – another 9-1 defeat for Team 4 – this was always a match of little significance for Team 4 though – matches against the teams around them in the Division are still to come.
 
The final match on Thursday saw Team 5 take on Murrayfield 12. Patrick Shanks, Sian McDonald and Chamika Diyunugalge were looking to match the reverse fixture which had seen a 7-3 win for the Midlothian side – on this occasion though the Murrayfield side rotated their team and two new players took to the table. Sian was very unlucky as she lost the first match in 5 tight ends, 11-13 in the fifth and when that was followed by a fifth end loss for Patrick in match 2, the home side were in trouble. It got worse as Chamika lost match 3 before Patrick got the team on the board with a win in match 4. Unfortunately for Team 5, matches 5, 6 and 7 also went the way of the visitors and the match was beyond them – Sian did well to win the final match of the night in five ends but it was an 8-2 defeat for the home side.
 
And so to our player of the week award for Week 17. James and Julian were undefeated this week and James had two game changing wins in five ends – but the team ran away with the match in the end. The other winning team this week was Team 2 – their 6-4 victory brought them off the bottom of the division 2 table. Krys won 2, Gary won 2 and Abby won 1. The match which probably secured the win and keeps the Team in with a chance of avoiding relegation was a terrific doubles encounter – and there was one player who was on fire in that game, hitting winner after winner after winner – her partner said she was unplayable at points – this week’s deserved winner is Abby – well done to her.
 
And finally our controversy of the week. In Team 5’s match Sian was involved in a tight five end marathon – in game 4 she led 10-9 and hit a winner to win the game – or so she thought – the Murrayfield player claimed that the shot had missed the table – Sian was adamant and so looked to the umpire to make the call on her way to change ends. The umpire (a Murrayfield player), was apparently not sure whether the ball had hit the table or not. Sian looked in disbelief as an exchange took place between her and her opponent, both putting their points across – unfortunately Ladywood isn’t fitted with VAR and in the end with the umpire unable to decide either way it was decided to replay the point – Sian would have been raging had that point and the game not gone her way – as it was she won the replayed point and won the fifth end as well. Sian, however, was absolutely adamant that there should never have been any issue – it was clear that the ball hit the table – it wasn’t even an edge, it hit the table top! One of the downsides of playing on two tables of course is that all 6 players are engaged at the same time and so no other view of the incident was available! Although in fairness there’s nothing worse than spectators trying to umpire! That’s a whole different controversy! 

Week 16 saw four of our five teams in action. First up on Monday 23rd January was Team 5 (Patrick Shanks, Aidan Craig & Sian McDonald) as they travelled to take on North Merchiston 6 in Division 4. The Edinburgh outfit have the fortune of being able to play their 100% man, Michal Jesionowski, a player playing in Division 4 of the League with a rating in excess of 1000. He kept his unbeaten record but was pushed to 5 ends by Patrick. Sian was unfortunate in match 2 to lose out to one of the Edinburgh team’s up and coming youngsters in five ends. When the doubles was reached the visitors trailed 4-2 and with the 100% man still to play his last match, the team knew they couldn’t afford any slip-ups. Aidan & Patrick won in 4 ends before Patrick won his second match of the night. With Sian losing out to Michal, it was left to Aidan to try and salvage a point for the Penicuik trio and at 2-0 up it looked like plain sailing – but when the Merchiston player then won ends 3 and 4 the match was in the balance – Aidan held his nerve for an 11-9 fifth end win and by that tiny margin the Penicuik side secured a 5-5 draw.
 
The following night Team 4 made the long journey to Haddington to take on Haddington 5 in Division 3. The first half of the season had seen the Midlothian side lose out 6-4. Rachel Petrie, Bob Porteous and Jim Jack were looking to improve on that result. Bob had a terrific 5 set win in the first match of the night and when Jim won match 2, things looked bright for the visitors. Rachel lost match 3 but the two game lead was restored when Bob won match 4. Losses followed however for Jim and Rachel and it was 3-3 going into the crucial doubles. Bob & Rachel secured the doubles victory in 4 ends to give the visitors the advantage again. Rachel will be disappointed not to have contributed and her loss in match 8 brought the scores level again at 4-4. Bob’s win in match 9, however, secured a point but Jim was unable to secure the win as Haddington hung on for a 5-5 draw.
 
At home on Thursday, Team 1 faced Haddington 1 in the Premier Division. With Greig absent, this was going to be tough for Team 1. David Melrose played his first game of 2023 as he joined Colin Green – Colin won two and the pair were close in the doubles but an 8-2 defeat followed for the home side.
 
Finally on Thursday night, Team 2 visited Haddington in Division 1. This was one of those matches which could have gone either way – Gary McDougal, Abby Wighton & Krzysztof Lazkiewicz haven’t had much luck this season – at 2-0 down Krys then won games 3 and 5 and Abby won match 4 to give the visitors a 3-2 lead. Gary has had a poor season so far by his standards and a winless night for him put pressure on the other two. Abby played well for two wins and a point was there for the taking if Krys could convert his final match and remain unbeaten on the night – He was 2-1 up but lost the last two ends as Team 2 fell to another 6-4 defeat – their sixth such defeat of the season.
 
Week 16’s player of the week award goes to our only undefeated player this week – well done for not only his three singles wins but also for his win in the doubles which helped secure a 5-5 draw for his team – a terrific week for Bob.
 
Controversy time – a short one this week and one which we did in the first half of the season as well – Haddington 2 have now secured two 6-4 victories against our Team 2 in Division 1. The difference in both matches has been Haddington’s new recruit this season, Craig Stenton – 5 singles matches won out of 6 and two doubles victories – effectively of the 12 games won by Haddington he’s contributed 7 of them!  What’s controversial about that? Rachel encouraging the said Mr Stenton to try out Haddington after he turned up at Penicuik for a practice before the season started is what remains controversial – oh Haddington are also a nice club says Rachel – they’ll be close to you – give them a try!! Never to be forgotten or forgiven Rachel!! 

As for the table tennis, there was a huge palaver at the beginning of the season over North Merchiston's Graham Booth - his rating at the beginning of the season was 952 - he wasn't allowed to play in Division 4, objections were then taken to him playing in Division 3 and ultimately he had to play in Division 2. On Monday 16th January our 5th team came up against a player who at the date of the match had a rating of 1002 - what division is he playing in? Yeah, you guessed it - Division 4 - there must be something wrong there surely? That puts the player above everyone in Merchiston's Teams 3, 4 and 5 and as at the 16th of January he was also ahead of two of the players who play in Division 1 for NM 2! Weird! No doubt there's some explanation for this and it will sort itself out when the player eventually loses a game - if he loses a game!

On we go to Week 17 - we seem to have caught up with our reports!!

Week 15 of the ELTTL Season couldn’t get any worse than Week 14, could it?
 
Team 5 hosted Edinburgh University 6 in their Division 4 encounter at Ladywood on Thursday 19th January and they were given a boost by the fact that the students could only turn up with two players – 3-0 up to start this was a real opportunity for Patrick Shanks, Sian McDonald and Roscoe Cairney to secure a victory. Patrick made it 4-0 on the night by winning the first match played in four ends and when Sian won her first match in 4 ends a point had effectively been secured. The students mounted a bit of a comeback – losses for Sian and Roscoe and a loss in the doubles before another loss for Roscoe meant that the score was 5-4 with one match left to play – Patrick held his nerve to get the hosts over the line for a 6-4 victory.
 
Thursday night also saw Team 2 in action against University opposition in Division 1 – No such luck for Team 2 although Uni did have a player playing up! Alasdair Crofton and Jakub Kara did the business for the visitors in a fairly one sided contest as they recorded an 8-2 victory against Krzysztof Laszkiewicz, Gary McDougal and Abby Wighton. Krys and Gary picked up one win each. 
 
Our third home match on Thursday saw West Lothian 3 in action against Team 4 in Division 3. The first half of the season had ended well for Team 4 but in this match they were looking to overturn an 8-2 defeat from the first half of the season. That was always going to be tough for Rachel Petrie, Bob Porteous and Jim Jack and so it proved. Matches 2 and 3 could have gone differently and had they who knows perhaps the result would have been more in doubt – as it was, Rachel lost in 5 as did Jim and after Bob lost his first match the writing was on the wall for Team 4 – Bob was the only winner on the night as the Bathgate outfit recorded a convincing 9-1 victory.
 
The theme of Week 15 was matches against Edinburgh Uni and Friday night saw Teams 1 and 3 both travel to Edinburgh. Team 1 were still understrength and had to rely on Colin Green again, joined by an unwell Greig McDonell and Hannah McDonell playing up from Division 2. The visitors came away from this match thoroughly frustrated by the fact that they didn’t at least secure a draw – Greig, in his first two matches held 2-1 leads which he let slip, losing both in 5 ends. The draw was still possible though with a doubles victory but lo and behold, Colin and Greig let a 2-1 lead slip again losing in five ends. A 6-4 loss was hard to take.
 
Meanwhile, the match of the week was taking place in the other hall as Team 3 took on University 3 in a crucial Division 2 clash – Team 3 started the night in second place in the table but only 2 points clear of the students in third place. The students are the only side to have taken any points from League Leaders Murrayfield. When James Wighton lost out in five ends in the first match of the night and Ian Hislop failed to record an end in match 2, things looked bleak for the visitors. Julian scraped over the line in five in his first match to get the visitors on the board but the two game advantage was restored as James lost his second match of the night. Game 5 was a bit of a turning point – Julian was dead and buried – 2-1 down and 8-3 down in the fourth, he somehow managed to turn the match around by winning the fourth end 11-9 and cantering to an 11-1 deciding end victory – Ian then levelled the match with a win in Game 6 before a mammoth tussle in the doubles saw James & Julian secure a terrific 3-2 win. The visitors held their first lead of the night. When Julian won his final singles a point was secured and that was followed by a 4 end victory for James to give the visitors the win. Ian lost the last match of the night but a 6-4 victory had been secured – what a terrific result for Team 3.
 
Our player of the week is a fairly straightforward choice this week – well done to Colin and Patrick who had undefeated nights in singles play, but for his vital three wins and a crucial doubles win there could only be one man in contention this week – his comeback from the dead was a real turning point for Team 3 – a great night for Julian who wins this award for the first time this season – Well done to him.
 
And finally our controversy of the week section. Team 1’s match at St Leonard’s Land was played in atrocious conditions. The Uni seem to play in two halls – Team 3 played in the Dance Studio (we think) and that seems to have benefitted from some new lighting – their conditions seemed to be excellent – maybe it was that contrast that made the gym seem so terrible. Played on two tables, both of which were old and faded the lighting was poor all over the hall but in particular one of the dodgy lights at the far side of the tables was out completely – maybe our players’ aged poor eyesight contributed to the darkness as well but it was genuinely so radically different from the other side of the table that at times it was difficult to pick up the ball if you were any distance away from the table. Of course it’s the same for both teams so there was no advantage to the hosts but the conditions were atrocious – our various other teams have also commented earlier in the season on the poor lighting (and whilst it does appear that one of the halls has now been “upgraded”), the gym is, by a country mile, the worst venue to play TT in the League in our view. What do the rules say about venues in the League? Should we enforce a requirement for venues to meet a certain standard? Probably not is the answer – we want as many clubs in the League as possible. In fairness things are much improved from the good old days – our favourite venue from the 80s/90s must have been the Pakistan Association – we remember one night playing in someone’s garage with all the paraphernalia that we all probably have lying around in a garage – the seating was provided by an old couch at the side of the table – now that was the good old days! 
​

The first week back after the festive period started with Team 2’s trip to North Merchiston 3 on Monday 9th January. Team 2’s only win of the season came in the reverse fixture at Ladywood at the beginning of the season but the festive period seems to have resulted in NM managing to recruit a new player, Quentin Renau, and he was undefeated with 3 singles wins to give the hosts the advantage. The match, however, was still in the balance but a five end loss for Gary McDougal against Nick Thomas (Gary was 2-0 up) and a deuce in the fifth doubles loss for Gary and Krzysztof Laszkiewicz dented the visitors hopes – Abby Wighton won 1, Gary won 1 and Krys won 2 in a disappointing 6-4 loss – it’s still early but the bookies have closed the book on the chances of Team 2 surviving the drop!
 
Team 1 were understrength as they hosted Murrayfield 2 at Ladywood on Thursday 12th January. Only one regular player available, our request for a postponement was refused by Murrayfield (Happy New Year). Rather than conceding the fixture, Team 1 made a last minute plea for replacements and Krys from Division 1 and Ian Hislop from Division 2 came to the rescue. Colin Green had a bad night by his standards – his best was a deuce in the fifth loss to Keith Dingwall. The highlight of the night was Colin & Krys in the doubles – 2-1 down they fought hard and remarkably produced a 14-12 in the fifth win (according to Krys, all as a result of his excellent steady play). A 9-1 defeat for Team 1.
 
With Teams 3 and 4 having free weeks, the final match of the week saw Team 5 travel to take on Murrayfield 10. The reverse fixture at Ladywood in September had seen Murrayfield secure an 8-2 win. Away from home and with a different trio, the Penicuik side were always going to struggle. Chamika Diyunugaige, Ian Millar and Sian McDonald were unlucky in a few of the matches – Chamika, in particular, will feel he could have won a couple - he lost his first match in 4 ends, his second was lost 12-10 in the fifth and his final singles was also lost in five ends. Sian picked up the only win of the night as the visitors fell to a 9-1 defeat.
 
So a pretty horrendous start to the second half of the season for the club – where do we find our player of the week from that lot?? There is really only one candidate – 2 singles wins for his own team and a doubles win in the Premier, well done to Krzysztof – don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t deserve it Krys!!
 
Our first controversy of 2023 – Murrayfield getting their own back on us after the Handicap Cup debacle of last season?? Rachel, Sonny and Gary were due to play Murrayfield (captained by Keith Dingwall) in an early round of the Handicap Cup – Murrayfield didn’t show up for the match (confusion re communication at their end) and the decision taken by Rachel and co was to claim the game rather than fit in a replay – what goes around comes around as they say – fast forward 8 months or so and a request (fairly late in the day) for a postponement is rejected by none other than Keith Dingwall. Now perhaps it will be claimed that the Handicap Cup situation did not feature in the decision to refuse to postpone but we think it must have been at least in the mind of the Murrayfield side! And hey, no hard feelings from us – if the roles had been reversed we would probably have done exactly the same. And in the end of the day the walkover taken by our handicap cup side last season (whether right or wrong to have done so) was always going to lead to a little bit of bad feeling. Of course we justified that decision not only on the basis of the failure of Murrayfield to turn up but at the back of our Club Secretary’s mind (he was at the match) was the Handicap Cup game a few seasons ago (a quarter-final we think) when Murrayfield claimed the victory at 4-4 with one match left to play after we ran out of time at our venue to complete the fixture!! As we've already said, what goes around comes around!!
 
Happy New Year everyone…..