Bridge | 27 June 2019

I’m just back from an exhilarating week in Istanbul, where I was lucky enough to be partnering Tom Paske in the mixed teams and pairs of the European Open Championships. My plan was to stay on an extra day to sightsee, but as I was wandering into breakfast, my friend Debbie Sandford rushed up, ashen-faced. She was due to play with Sally Brock in the Women’s Teams, but Sally had had a horrible fall. She had a gash on her head and nose, and Debbie needed to take her to hospital. She’d be OK — but not today, obviously. Could I possibly find a partner and join her teammates, Marusa Gold and Diana Nettleton? A panic ensued; Marusa phoned her Slovenian friend Barbara Drinovec Drnovsek, who was also planning a day off — and with five minutes to spare we met and cobbled together a rudimentary system.
 
Barbara was a delight to play with.