Ping-pong (or table tennis, if that's how your ball bounces) has become a lot more high-profile since Susan Sarandon joined forces with the founders Jonathan Bricklin, left, Franck Raharinosy and Andrew Gordon in the SPiN Galactic club venture. After visiting Abu Dhabi in 2008 for the then-Middle East International Film Festival (now the Abu Dhabi Film Festival), she returns to the UAE next week to open the fifth branch of the nightclub, SPiN Dubai, in Wafi City. She kindly answered some questions we had about her and ping-pong.
So, why are you so into ping-pong?
Ping-pong cuts across gender, age and body type. You can play into your twilight years, unlike basketball or soccer. You don't get hurt. It's great for socialising because you play face to face. It's fun at every level of expertise... and at SPiN you don't have to chase down the ball. We just keep filling up a bucket of balls.
I bet you've had some strange/surprising/funny reactions since you got involved in all of this. What was the most memorable?
Well, in the beginning, it was just so odd when people heard that I was opening a ping-pong club; everyone wanted to write about it. But it turns out that a lot of people in the biz are actually very good and enthusiastic players - Edward Norton, Jamie Foxx, Adam Sandler and Matthew Broderick, just to name a few.
This SPiN club looks like it will be a little different from some of the others you have opened (note the gold table). How involved do you get in the planning and what special arrangements did you make for the UAE?
We try to keep the SPiN brand and philosophy alive while adapting the actual physical plant to the unique space and culture of each location. That means understanding, through the eyes and taste of our partners, what is best for each club. We have certain formulas for success but interpret that through the demands and preferences of each locale. SPiN is an experiential restaurant/bar/night club. This is our first gold table and I think the first in the world.
Favourite ping-pong move?
Haven't found one yet.
Despite her enthusiasm for ping-pong, Sarandon has said she's doesn't play enough to have much in the way of skills: "Alas, Sarandon was marked absent when the gods handed out the gift of hand-eye co-ordination," a Guardian writer observed earlier this year. "It would be fair to say she misses as many shots as she hits." Sarandon admitted: "I'm just not very good at it."
Favourite player?
Timo Boll.
Shoes on or off?
Off.
Singles or doubles?
Singles.
In your opinion, can you play a real game with one of those at-the-dining-room-table kits?
If you have consumed the necessary amount of tequila.
How did this SPiN Dubai come about?
We were approached, as we are, by many people in many countries and cities. But they followed through and we helped them as much as we could.
And why Dubai? You haven't finished conquering North America with your SPiN clubs.
Dubai is such an interesting futuristic city and ping-pong works everywhere - so why not Dubai?
Are you going to show us your moves on May 1?
N/A
amcqueen@thenational.ae
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
THREE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Nayla%20Al%20Khaja%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Jefferson%20Hall%2C%20Faten%20Ahmed%2C%20Noura%20Alabed%2C%20Saud%20Alzarooni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Race card
6.30pm: Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
7.05pm: Meydan Cup – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,810m
7.40pm: UAE 2000 Guineas – Group 3 (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: Firebreak Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,600m
9.50pm: Meydan Classic – Conditions (TB) $$50,000 (T) 1,400m
9.25pm: Dubai Sprint – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,200m
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
