I’m just reading Daughters of Britiannia by Katie Hickman; about the lives of wives of ambassadors.

During the early part of the twentieth century travel was by ship. To make sure to avoid the worst of the sun it was best to pay more to travel Port Outward and Starboard Home = POSH.

In her book, Katie notes that the honours and privileges of being an ambassador’s wife, come at a price.
The job is all consuming, requiring enormous reserves of energy and good will.

Her mother did this job in Chile and wrote to her grandmother to tell her of a typical day:

“On Easter Monday I had over 60 Anglo-Chilean women here playing bridge. The only problem is that the contract bridge players can’t bear to wait until 6 o’clock for their tea and the duplicate lot don’t finish before. So, a good deal of organisation has to go on. In the middle of all this John (her husband) arrived back from Juan Fernandez clasping a sack of 24 lobsters which needed instant freezing and at the same time two back packers arrived, charming and polite, but nevertheless not exactly in tone with the bridge ladies….”

I sometimes feel that organising a 4 for bridge is quite tricky, let alone 60!

Holiday packing – for impromtu games, keeping the children occupied when it’s raining or, sitting by yourself, and having a peaceful ‘hygge’ moment playing patience.
Find them in the The Games Room .

A selection of some of our new card colours are now on site – whoop, whoop!

If you have a friend who loves to play bridge, then this is the present for them!

The talented Will Assheton Artist gave me this painting for my birthday.