REBECCA ROOD's MAILBAG...........................................................

• Dear Rebecca, For years now I've been playing every 3rd Thursday of the month with a genuinely nice guy called Stanley. However, this bloke has an uncanny knack of cocking up the first few boards of every session, which gives me ( in particular ) a mountain to climb......just to get back to average on the night. I'm at a loss as to what to do for the best? Yours in need of advice, Jeremy.
• Dear Jeremy, It sounds as though you have a partner who would be ideal foil for an up-and-coming newcomer to the world of duplicate. He would be perfect at putting a beginner at ease with his obvious gentle and friendly nature. But more importantly, his knack of kicking off a session with some right howlers should make his novice partner far less worried ( or guilty ) about his mistakes. Indeed, I once knew a chap who more failures in his short bridge career, than the rest of us experience in a lifetime. Everyone avoided him like the plague except for the unsuspecting newcomers to the club. Not that it took them long to realize they too had to escape....at the earliest opportunity ! So my advice is this: palm him off on a beginner under the pretext that he is best person in the club to do a mentoring job. Because let's face it, you've already suffered enough to warrant a sainthood. So sever that umbilical cord. Only then will you be free to seek out a more reliable partner. If that doesn't work just bite the bullet and tell him: " You doing my head in....try not to take offence....but I've found someone else ". Yours wishing you the best, Rebecca