Story by Debbie Money (BBO: debdebdeb6)

My parents, both sadly now passed away, got me into bridge. Dad learnt to play when he went to Leeds University in 1952, and carried on playing with friends from work, both in the UK and abroad. He introduced my mum to bridge in the early years of their marriage, but they only played occasionally because of family and work commitments.

We moved to Cambridge, where I made new friends at sixth form and tried to play a very basic form of bridge! My brother and I flew the nest, and suddenly my parents had time on their hands. They took bridge classes, met up with friends to play, and then their bridge ‘career’ took off: they and their friends formed two different clubs, held bridge suppers, organised charity bridge tournaments, and went on bridge holidays. They swore blind they didn’t know how they had time to work!

I decided to take early retirement from teaching in 2018, and suddenly I, too, had time to spare, so I decided to take up bridge properly. I took lessons, had homework, and spent time with my parents, who checked my homework (a very strange flashback to my teenage years!). I also played socially with them and started playing at clubs near me.

Covid came along, and my mum passed away. My dad became frail, but he and I were still able to play online against some of his friends. We had a few misunderstandings about conventions, but the experience was good, if bittersweet, as Dad missed Mum, his regular partner.

I do so treasure the memories of them and their bridge.