There can be few occasions in Stratford League history where a contestant has arrived for a fixture by air travel. 

Such was the (unique?) position that Gary Stewart found himself in yesterday evening (March 21st).

The Colebridge car park does not boast sufficient capacity to accommodate a Lear jet , so the veteran Shottery A captain travelled via Birmingham Airport.

The high-flying financier employed a low-risk , astute strategy of placing heavily top-spun shots in deep areas of the table, a table tennis tactic of time-honoured efficacy. When faced with opponents of the calibre of England U13 prospect Nathaniel Saunders, Bromsgrove individual title contender Tom Shortley and grizzled Cornishman Mike Credland , it was only enough to ensure success against the latter.

It was to be Shotterys only point, aside from a polished hat-trick performance from Colebridges own British League star Awais Muhammed, who was also playing a Bromsgrove match in the Shirley based clubs adjacent room. Awais was involved in the rally of the night , an exchange of some thirty shots , with Credland, where the younger man displayed some of the footwork necessary to achieve success at a higher level. 

Shotterys third player , Graham Poole , had a luckless evening, losing to Credland in five , the only contest of the evening to go to the "wire". The size of the playing area , in match conditions , suited the septuagenarians playing style , allowing him to give his defensive game full rein.