The material in this blog is an expanded and edited version of a regular column in the newsletter of the Taieri Bridge Club in New Zealand that I produced from 2003 to 2007. The characters that appear here are completely fictional. To non-Taieri residents I might explain that Frieda Mayer’s name was derived from the now defunct airline Freedom Air, Gordon Rhode was inspired by the main street through Mosgiel where the club was located, and Sinclair Whitlands by a wetlands reserve south of Dunedin airport. The other characters’ names were entirely invented.
The bridge hands in the original columns either appeared in games played at the Taieri club or at nearby clubs or were designed with some lesson in mind. The depth and interest of these hands are therefore somewhat variable. Broadly however, since they follow the progress in bridge (and in romance) of several new bridge partnerships, they become increasingly deeper.
In preparing the booklet I have lightly edited the original columns. It’s remarkable how many analytical errors I needed to correct (and surely I missed several). I have also combined some columns into a single chapter where the narrative made it appropriate.
References to the Taieri bridge club have been removed so as not to distract the reader but, when I picture “the club” where many of the hands were played, I cannot help but imagine the Taieri club where I had so many friends and so much pleasure over the years. My heartfelt thanks go to all the readers of my original columns who bore my juvenile references so patiently.
The best way to view the set of stories is to click on this Table of Contents link (or the link in the top right hand corner of other pages). That takes you to the stories in sequential order. Having read one, you can then click on the Next link at the bottom of the story (or go back to the previous story, or Table of Contents).
Bridge Romances 