Twenty-three players went out to Westray for a weekend of social rubber bridge and what a weekend we had.  Most of the players stayed at The Barn and we used the Graand Owld Byre as the main base. Teenie and Michael Harcus were fantastic hosts, providing an unexpected musical interlude during which they sang a range of well-known songs concluding with a much appreciated rendition of the Westray Love Song. It was a shame that neither Pat Shearer nor Maggie Paterson was able to make it - Pat due to the untimely arrival of mist that grounded planes on Saturday morning and Maggie due to work commitments. 

There were four scheduled sessions for the main competition, two on Friday and two on Saturday, but wherever four or more bridge players and some packs of cards are gathered together there is the prospect of more bridge.  All the bridge was played with due reverence but also amidst much hilarity. In the main competition, the overall winner was Margaret Mainland with a score of 13660 points. Runner up was Clinton Rendall with 13200 points. Click anywhere in this box to see a copy of the full results.

The other bridge included a late night session with twelve players on Friday where the first round partners became a pair with their scores combined at the end although they played as individuals throughout the session. Katherine and Iso won with a combined total of 5960 points. Runners up were Jim and MargaretK with 5490 points. A smaller group also played on into the wee small hours on Saturday night but I have no results from that.

There was nothing planned for Sunday and, with a bit of drizzle in the air, seven players stayed in to play more bridge.  Round by round the numbers increased until there were nineteen players, It all got a bit confusing because as new players were added each round we had to change the table movement to accommodate them.  Latecomers were awarded a flat 500 points for rounds they had missed. Glad Marwick finally emerged as the winner with 5210 points. As if that wasn't enough bridge for one weekend, twelve players occupied tables in the lower deck lounge on the ferry and played all the way back to Kirkwall.

As usual, we were not short of food or drink - a mixture of items brought by players, meals at the Pierowall Hotel, takeaway suppers from Jack’s Chippy and, for some, light lunches at Rendall’s café. Katherine's son, Stephen Kemp, very kindly donated a supply of Kirkjuvagr Gin and Fever Tree Tonic which went down a real treat. Special thanks go to Clinton for organising the whole event, with support from Iso Tipler, and to Dounby Bridge Club for the loan of bridge equipment.