To fully understand this syndrome, I need to provide a bit of background about this particular man. Diagones was an ancient Greek philosopher, who lived in a wine barrel and promoted weird ideas of nihilism and animalism. Famously, when he was asked by Alexander The Great what he wanted most in the world, he replied : " For you to get out of my sunlight ! ".
This syndrome is a condition characterised by bouts of self-neglect, reclusive tendencies, and irrational hoarding of things. It is most common in old people, and is therefore associated with senile breakdown. Within the world of bridge there is, as we all well know, an acute problem of an ageing membership. Therefore, it is not surprising to see more and more instances of this syndrome cropping up, especially within the male half of this card-obsessed fraternity.
Far too many bridge playing men choose to arrive at the club in scruffy clothes, inevitably grubby and rarely ironed. They arrive early....and always un-noticed.....to take up the same table seats with their regular partners, who in most cases are fellow victims of this unusual syndrome. They rarely interact and engage with other club members, always making sure they leave the club as soon as the session has ended. They just simply disappear into their reclusive almost secret lives, until the following week when they spookily reappear at the club. Some sufferers have been known to buy countless bridge books over the years, which they hoard away never choosing to read them or pass them on. Bridge it seems is the only activity which takes them out of their homes, other than essential shopping and trips to the post-office ( to pick up their pension ). When I approached a sufferer at my local club and asked what I could do to help him, he simply replied : " For you to get out of my way....you're blocking my path to the door ".
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