U gonna hit that?

It was a nice try, however foolish. Responding to overwhelming demand, a London outfit has finally erected the first batting cages in the UK. Quite thrilled was I. There really isn't a care in the world that can't be taken care of by a few swift swings with a 30 oz bat.
Unfortunately, "putt-putt" doesn't begin to describe the dinkyness of these machines. Possibly they are ok for cricket practice (ie, the ball bounces half-way between the batter and the pitcher) but this is frankly unsubstanciated. I did try standing about 10 feet away from the ball machine to hit some stuff out of the air but given the rain-slick conditions and the prospect of being hit in the back by some other batter this effort was short-lived.
Oh well, at least the publicity photo is pretty.