Bridge professor shared her secrets

AN expert in the game of bridge shared her top tips with players from Dumfries.

Professor Samantha Punch, a champion Scottish Bridge player from Stirling University, was a guest of the South District Bridge club.

She attended their second Meet and Play event at the Holiday Inn in Dumfries, which attracted over 70 players, some local and some from as far afield as Aberdeen and North Wales.

The main aim of the weekend was to welcome bridge players of all abilities and to encourage them to play in a friendly and sociable atmosphere.

Players met for dinner early on the Friday evening followed by the first pairs event of the weekend. On Saturday morning, Professor Punch, above right, gave a very interesting talk about ‘Bridge as a Mind Sport’, her goals to transform the image of bridge and to encourage people of all ages to play the game. In the afternoon, there was a teams’ bridge competition and after dinner that evening, Professor Punch went over some of the hands from that session, giving advice on how best they could be played.

On Sunday morning, there was a second pairs event, followed by the prizegiving for the weekend’s winners. All in all, it was a very well-supported and enjoyable weekend.

Anyone interested in finding out more about bridge in this area should contact Rhos Thomson on 07793065053 or email [email protected]

Prize List Meet & Play 2025 Friday Pairs 1st: ?Bob Gibson?/Trefor Williams 2nd: ?David/Wendy Chambers 3rd?: Mike Crook/Ros Thomson Saturday Teams 1st: ?Sandra Schneider/Margaret Brydson/Michael-Susan Jenner 2nd?: Jim-Fiona Morton/Douglas Kerr/Meg Fulton 3rd?: Liz Chambers/?David Heal/Avril Whitby/Matthew Pumphrey Sunday Pairs 1st: ?Matthew Pumphrey?/Avril Whitby 2nd: ?Ros Thomson/??Mike Crook 3rd: ?Anne Athol/??Liz Dodds