March 14, 2016 Given the current presidential primary, there must be some way the ACBL could turn that name Trump into publicity for playing bridge. Ely Culbertson would have thought of something! Without Ely’s PR genius to call upon, my suggestion is to rename duplicate bridge into trump == with a small “t” so Donald… Continue Reading
February 1, 2016 My Google Alert for “play bridge” has brought several recent newspaper articles, any one of which a visionary marketing person at ACBL could run with to promote the game of bridge. Not duplicate bridge but the game of bridge. Which is what’s needed. I’ll be writing about each one of them in separate… Continue Reading
This morning, a story about Brenda Vickery, just turned 100, in The Argus out of Sussex England finally got me back to blogging after a hiatus of many weeks. “I play bridge,” says Brenda, “Which I think helps keeps the mind sharp.” Bridge plus “sea air, a good gin and tonic, and lots of walking” is her secret… Continue Reading
October 12, 2015 I like to take note now and then of ACBL Bridge Clubs that reach out to potential sociable players — both because I want my kind of bridge to survive and because I truly think it’s the only logical path to growing serious bridge as well. You can add to that forward-thinking list… Continue Reading
October 5, 2015 Shall the UK Charities Act include bridge as a sport (not a game) to qualify for public funding? That is the question being adjudicated in London’s High Court. Against? Sport England and public opinion. For? the English Bridge Union (EBU). The title of this blog is both the title and premise of a great… Continue Reading
August 20, 2015 My blog drawing parallels between learning to play bridge and learning to drive at 55 brought some comments. I liked that they offered three quite different viewpoints from what Hillary Clinton calls “everyday Americans”–ordinary people, random. “I learned because somebody needed a foursome in the late 50’s and yes, I got hold… Continue Reading
August 15, 2015 There are parallels in the Trump effect on the Republican establishment and the Culbertson effect on the bridge establishment back in the 20s. Culbertson was the Donald Trump of contract bridge. As a political junkie and a sociable bridge junkie about to write my last book on bridge, I’m following the Trump phenomenon on TV,… Continue Reading
Simple Goren bridge & learning to drive at 55 August 8, 2015 Simple Goren is Paul Mitchell’s learning system for people who used to play Goren years ago and want to start playing again. A while back, I blogged about Paul and playing bridge—both serious and sociable–in Charlotte NC. This past week, while vacationing in… Continue Reading
July 1, 2015 Going through old files I came across a clutch of newspaper stories from 2011 about bridge playing in libraries. The disparity in the way local library authorities “see” playing bridge struck me as amusing and odd. Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library in Ohio announced in a news release: “The library hosts cards and… Continue Reading
June 21, 2015 Bridge being able to benefit from government funding in Britain had contradictory results recently–approval as officially having “health and wellbeing benefits” but dissent from Sport England when it comes to including bridge in the Olympics. The European Union is o.k. with bridge in the Olympics, Olympic Council of Asia approves. Only Sport England (in charge… Continue Reading