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Janet de Botton rss

Janet de Botton is The Spectator’s bridge columnist.

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18 May 2013

If you are a regular reader of this column — do I have a regular reader who did not actually give birth to me? — you may remember that a… Read more

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4 May 2013

Bridge. What a heartbreaker. Just when you think all is well with the world you come spectacularly unstuck. OK, maybe a tad dramatic, but it doesn’t feel like it. First… Read more

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20 April 2013

How do you stand on reunions? I always thought nothing on earth would get me to one but you live and learn. School reunions were the biggest no-no — who… Read more

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6 April 2013

Where did you spend Easter? Skiing in some magical snowy wonderland, sipping schnapps and ladling down the fondue? On a gourmet tour somewhere, sampling the local delicacies and washing them… Read more

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23 March 2013

The London Metropolitan Bridge Association’s annual Swiss Teams’ Tournament, which attracted 35 teams, was won in style by Roger O’Shea, ably assisted by most of the Hackett family. There are… Read more

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9 March 2013

Terry Hewett’s annual charity bonanza, Night of the Stars, has become THE charity event of the year and has made Terry the true star. This year she auctioned off 43… Read more

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23 February 2013

Professional bridge players should not need motivating, but the fact is that sometimes it would appear they are sleepwalking and need a veritable kick up the backside. Our latest Gold… Read more

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9 February 2013

Max, my adorable son-in-law, knew early on he was not cut out for a life of academia. Nevertheless he fearlessly sat an A-level, after which, exhausted, he went on holiday.… Read more

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26 January 2013

It took more than total white-out and Heathrow closing its doors to deter 200 avid bridge players from making their way to Hinckley for the National Swiss Teams, probably the… Read more

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12 January 2013

Here is my eagerly awaited New Year’s List of the most infuriating things partner can do: 1. Bid ridiculously to game, get doubled, go for a telephone number and say:… Read more

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29 December 2012

Up to Solihull again (I might as well move there) to play the Gold Cup finals. We sailed through the semis against Ken Ford’s team to meet Allfrey in the… Read more

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8 December 2012

A few years ago I used to play Rubber Bridge from time to time with an elderly gentleman called Leo Halpern. Leo was unfailingly polite, good-humoured and kind. He was… Read more

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24 November 2012

Since the beginning of September I don’t think there has been a single weekend when my team was not away playing in one or another tournament, so when I received… Read more

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10 November 2012

OK, Guv. It’s a fair cop. I admit it. I’ve been feeling a squidgen smug of late. I’ve been playing rather well — even though I say so myself. My… Read more

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27 October 2012

Somerset Maugham famously called Monte Carlo ‘a sunny place for shady people’. Today über sponsor Pierre Zimmermann has rather unexpectedly turned it into the bridge capital of the world. Last… Read more

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13 October 2012

Of all the competitions and tournaments available in this country, the one that somehow means the most is the Gold Cup. We have won it twice and the thrill is… Read more

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29 September 2012

I read recently that bridge today is 70 per cent bidding, 20 per cent defence and 10 per cent play, and if the first weekend of this year’s Premier League… Read more

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15 September 2012

A friend told me (no, honestly — it was a friend) that she had had a dream from which she awoke screaming abuse and practising kick-boxing on her (no longer)… Read more

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1 September 2012

Two weeks of watching the 2nd World Mind Sports have come to an end and I feel rather like I did after the last episode of The Killing. Bereft. The… Read more

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18 August 2012

Here I sit, in hot, sunny, glorious France, pretending to be on holiday but feigning lots of headaches so I can nip up to my computer. BBO is showing the… Read more

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