I love football and ping-pong. It could be because they are the only two sports that I am fairly good at. Or it could be because they are better, objectively speaking, than all of the other sports put together.

Whittington Park has two table tennis tables and a full-sized floodlit football pitch; naturally it is one of my favourite places in the whole world.

The best thing about the facilities at Whittington Park is that they are free – that is as long as they are not booked out by local clubs for training or tournaments.

The second best thing about the park is the sense of community. I often turn up alone, or with a couple of friends, and find myself engaged in vicious topspin rallies or free-flowing passing moves within a couple of minutes. Everybody is friendly and it is very rare that a group of people will reply negatively to the question:

“Hi. Whose ball is it? Can I play?”

Whittington Park, named after former four-time Mayor of London Dick Whittington, showcases all that is good about the city: multiculturalism, local talent and even theatre in the form of overdramatic dives and histrionic feigned injuries!