Yahoo News Meet the 100-year-old Whitley Bay bridge player who has played for nearly 8 decades
A man who has been playing bridge in North Tyneside for almost eight decades enjoyed a playing card-themed cake at his local club as he celebrated a milestone birthday.
Derek Rosenvinge, who turned 100 years old in March, was joined by more than 60 fellow members of the Whitley Bay & Tynemouth Bridge Club to mark the momentous occasion. Having been playing from the age of 22, bridge has played a huge part in Derek's life ever since his father, who was a member of the club before him, encouraged him to join after he was demobbed from the Navy in 1946.
With the club having been established in 1945, Derek has been a member almost as long as it has existed and is now the oldest of around 190 members - and naturally, he's a brilliant player. "Luckily, I've still got my marbles. I'm a bit slow on my feet now, but I've still got my brains, so I play quite a decent game of bridge," he modestly told Chronicle Live.
Derek even met Win, his wife of 50 years, through bridge, after being introduced to her at an event dedicated to the card game at the Grand Hotel in Tynemouth. "Our opponents were a middle-aged woman and a bonnie lassie - and that was it," Derek fondly recalled of the day he met Win, who herself played from the age of 17.
For those unfamiliar with bridge, the trick-taking card game is played by four players in two competing partnerships, and it is one of the most popular games of its kind in the world with origins that can be traced back at least to the early 16th century. Famous players throughout history include Winston Churchill, Mahatma Ghandi and Bill Gates, while fictional icons including James Bond and Hercule Poirot have also been written as keen players.
The Whitley Bay & Tynemouth Bridge Club will be celebrating its 80th anniversary next year, and has been based at its current address on Whitley Road since 1955, where it hosts five playing sessions a week plus a visiting club, as well as an online session with around 200 members. The club welcomes all experience levels, and visiting players and guests are always welcome - you can find out more on their website.
The club will also be hosting special events this September to support the English Bridge Union in raising money for Cancer Research UK, with a target of £60k. During the week of September 9 to 13, clubs, counties and players will join together for the fundraising efforts, to show that bridge can play a part in raising funds for one of the UK's biggest charities while also being great fun for players.
