Bridge Blog 1151: Piece of cake

 

Of all the people I'm surprised to see at the bridge game in the Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Centre, the one who surprises me most is Dianne Kunselman. I always considered her a pillar of the Bridge Centre of Niagara in St. Catharines, an illusion I probably developed because she was a longtime director of the games there. 

So I asked her Friday how come. Her reason: She feels the game in St. Catharines has gotten too noisy and cramped since the club has given up its extra room in the plaza. Since this is a hike for her -- she lives in St. Catharines -- that's quite an endorsement. Plus she said she likes the people. I agree. On Friday they even brought in a couple birthday cakes for one of the players, a guy named George who was turning 95. No chorus of "Happy Birthday," though. George wasn't feeling well. He stayed home. 

Bridge Blog 1150: Dual citizenship

I am now a member of two duplicate bridge clubs on the other side of the border -- the Bridge Centre of Niagara in St. Catharines, where I've been on the roster for many years, and now the Niagara-on-the-Lake Duplicate Club, where my Canadian partner, Selina Volpatti, is directing for the next couple months. 

When I went to give Selina the $7 fee to play last week as I checked in, she remarked, "Why don't you join?" It took only a second to do the math. It's $20 Canadian to join and members pay only $5 to play. I'll make my membership fee back in no time. 

The Bridge Centre of Niagara is a similar bargain, although it's pricier. Membership last year was $50 Canadian, but you get two free plays ($7 a game) and a discount on the fee. 

Joining the Buffalo Bridge Center on this side of the bridges probably would be the diplomatic thing to do, but at $80 US, it's no bargain. Members play for $4 less than non-members, so it would take 20 visits to recoup, but alas, the only games I could play would be Friday (often only three tables, a topic of discussion at the club's annual meeting last week) and special once-a-month games on Saturday or Sunday. Playing Sunday would mean burning a vacation day