The South Wairarapa Bridge Club

On Sunday April 2 the Greytown Town Centre was a place of deep concentration. In groups of four, ninety-two heads were bent over hands, feet plunked firmly under tables. This was a day of reckoning. A Wairarapa “Gunfight at OK Corral” but performed with bottoms on seats. This was the day of the great South Wairarapa Bridge Club Intermediate and Junior tournament.

That morning alarm clocks rang early in bedrooms. Bridge players dressed with comfort in mind, drove from all over the southern North Island. They were heading to the place where they could be in to win, not just money, but in bridge parlance the seductively attractive “B” points. After coffee, cakes, and nervous chat, all were seated by 10am. Then just one man, the Director, pirouetted around the huge space like an orchestra conductor. Weaving his way through tables he resolved a dispute here, calmed a worried player there and eased the session through three hours of non -stop focus on what action to take with the cards dealt.
Lunch. Food piled on plates, coffee, chat and then back into more bridge play. Greytown people marvelled through open doors at the sight of so many silent, totally absorbed people. Watched them on the Director’s call moving in pairs from one table to the next, en masse, like a well-rehearsed dance. Late afternoon and with the second session over, relief, chatter, time for results. Rewards. The huge space tidied away. Deep disappointment for some. High levels of satisfaction for others and most importantly not a speck of boredom in sight.
If you want to be part of this intense engagement with life, then phone Helen the SWBC membership secretary for details on how to join the club. 04 304 8685. Lessons start in July.