LETTERS Come and play Bridge in Eastbourne

I was having coffee with a friend, in a café predecessor to Tartines about eight years ago, when she said “You know across the road in the Women’s Centre where they have a bridge club, and…”

“Hang on a minute! Did you say Bridge Club?” I’d been living in Eastbourne for about 10 years by then and off and on during that time had played evenings at the two clubs in Wellington. I had enjoyed it, and… you played about 26 hands a night, got home after 11pm with the mind abuzz with different plays so another hour before bed beckoned. So, I’d stopped playing.

And I loved Bridge, had missed playing –and here I could locally. So, I found out who to ring, played with a designated partner that first Wednesday evening and haven’t looked back!

What I love is, you arrive at 7pm, help each other put up the tables, chairs, boards etc. Then starting means shuffling the cards in the boards from last week and away we go. There are normally anywhere between 4 and 7 tables so a break for a cuppa and a biscuit after about 12 hands. Hands are not timed to 7 minutes, rather we write the hands up after the first round and Shona rings the bell and “East West move forward, boards back”.

The Eastbourne Bridge Club began about 30 years ago and some of those originals are still very much a part of the club. Initially there were lessons, but they have stopped and many still go to the Hutt Bridge Club for beginners lessons or advances on those. The Eastbourne club is made up of people who do play at other clubs, at all grades so there is always some helpful advice on offer if one asks.

Several other differences that distinguish the Eastbourne Bridge Club are; we don’t have numbers – we have first names, we manually keep score and get the results emailed to us on Thursday, we don’t have tournaments, and we generally play from the first week in March to the end of November. The current subs are $50 a year and inevitably there is a larger supper at the end of the year!

Now most players live within 10 minutes maximum from the club, we’re normally always home by 10.15pm after playing about 20 hands and putting the tables away. So, playing locally is a great community activity and inevitably we see each other at other times walking the beaches, around the shops - and bridge is hardly ever mentioned!

If you play bridge at any level and are interested in coming along and trying an enjoyable night out please ring Shona Taylor on 562 7073 for further information – you’ll love it.

Pip Nicholls Eastbourne