This may sound odd, given its male-only membership, but the Portland is one of my favourite bridge clubs. I’m one of many women who are invited there regularly (in fact, I can claim to be the first woman to have played at its new premises in London’s St James’s Square), and we’re always welcomed with tremendous friendliness — not to mention gourmet dinners and far too much wine.
I was last there in December for the club’s inaugural auction pairs, the brainchild of its new chairman Chris Kemp. My partner was Patrick Lawrence and I loved every minute — despite being duffed up by the eventual winners, the brilliant Scottish player Willie Coyle and the extraordinary Bernard Teltscher, who at 92 continues his one-man campaign to prove that bridge keeps you eternally young and sharp.
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