Friday's tournament: the short version and the long one
Last Friday's tournament had twelve players, one tea break that ran long and one final that nobody wanted to end. Here's the short version, then the long one.
Twelve names in a popcorn tin
The short version is that Lorraine won. She's a retired primary-school teacher from Westbury, and she played with the kind of patience you only get from twenty years of waiting for children to finish sentences. Her name's now on the honour board in fresh chalk.
The long version begins with the draw. Adam McDonald pulled names from the popcorn tin one at a time, announcing each with the gravity of a judge reading a verdict. A young couple got seats at the same table, which they'd specifically hoped for, and which Adam specifically hadn't arranged.
How the night unfolded
The tea break
It was meant to last fifteen minutes. It lasted twenty-five, because Glenn's apple cake went round twice and a rather lively debate about pastry broke out on the rail. Nobody objected, and the second level started slightly later than planned.
The middle
As the field thinned, the tables were combined and the room settled down. A group of onlookers gathered at the rail, including three diners who'd come upstairs after dessert to see what the fuss was about and stayed to the end.
The final
Lorraine and a young farmer called Josh played the last half-hour with total concentration and total courtesy. When the last hand fell, Josh shook her hand before the dealer had finished announcing it, and the whole room applauded him as loudly as her.
The chips went back in the rack, the pewter cup went back on its shelf, and nothing else changed hands. That's how we like it. Come and join us next Friday; the list is open from five.
Afterwards, Lorraine said she'd come in expecting to be knocked out in the first level, and had planned to spend the night eating pie at the rail. She still ate the pie, naturally, and then went home with the best night out she'd had in years. That's exactly what we hope for.