THE SATANIC ORIGINS OF ENGLISH BRIDGE........... ( Article by Professor Hu Chi Ku Chi )

Recently unearthed archive documents prove beyond all reasonable doubt that bridge was first played in England during the late 1600's. However, it was not the social and well respected game we have come to love and worship today. Back then, it was a game for devil worshippers who practised all manner of satanic rites, commonly referred to as the Black Mass.

For this group of strange and bizarre people, bridge was a means by which the devil inside them could come to the fore. Bridge became the bridge by which the demons of hell could cross, ready to possess the minds and bodies of their accommodating human hosts. Bridge had become one of many dark religions, a fact which until now had remained a secret for well over 300 years. Scholars never realised that locked away in the university archives of Oxford were the coded diaries of the infamous Francis Dashwood, who had formed a very sinister brotherhood of bridge fanatics. Now that my researchers have cracked his very clever and devious code, the story I'm about to tell you is as fantastic as it is grotesque.

In 1699 Francis Dashwood took up bridge, and in doing so allowed the devil to completely possess and destroy his soul. Capitalising on the game's awesome appeal, he set about recruiting a group of followers, gullible, easily led men, who were more than willing to elect him as grandmaster of the newly formed brotherhood. According to Dashwood's rules, bridge had to be played with the devil's pack, in which every suit was black. The club house was an old converted hunting lodge built out of dark wood and granite . It was aptly named THE BLACKHEART BRIDGE CLUB , to represent not only what the game was all about, but also its members.

The club gained membership at an alarming rate, and anyone who entered the club with love, charity and mercy left with a twisted and warped mind, full of hate, loathing and murderous intent.

Apparently, to become a member of this club, applicants had to undergo a rather painful initiation ceremony. After a thorough whipping from running the gauntlet, they then had to drink the contents of a chalice, which contained a mixture of wine, brimstone, rat's urine and water. The water, however, had to be from a polluted well, where it was known that unbaptised children had been drowned. Finally, they had to answer questions correctly on the Dashwood bidding system, whilst standing barefoot on hot smouldering coals. Many of course fell at the first hurdle, and their bodies were quickly disposed off in a deep but well concealed limestone pit located behind the lodge.

With so many other satanic rites going on elsewhere, the King was getting increasingly concerned at the breakdown of law and morality. Then in April 1721 came the inevitable royal edict condemning " certain scandalous clubs and societies, where people only meet together to undertake the most impious and blasphemous activities, which must be viewed as an insult to the most sacred principle of our Christian religion".

On the top of the King's hit list was the Blackheart BC. Rumours about its activities included butchering and carving up opponents, cutting for partners, making killing leads, and squeezing players to death. Yet it was the distressing stories about all the sacrifices that took place behind its closed doors, which caused the most outrage. Bridge clubs were clearly depicted as torture chambers or bloody battlefields. Within weeks of the edict, the infamous Blackheart BC was burnt down, with most of its members inside at the time. A warrant was made out for Dashwood's arrest, along with others who somehow had managed to escape the fire .

Dashwood went to ground and was never seen again. Other members of the brotherhood were less fortunate. They hand been fingered by an anonymous informer who told the king's soldiers of their whereabouts. Each one was rounded up, hung, drawn and quartered.

So without a shadow of doubt, the history of English bridge began at the Blackheart BC. A game which once spawned a dark religion, has now thankfully evolved into a much more acceptable and sanitised version. Yet many will argue it still provides opportunities for the devil to enter the arena, taking over the personalities of those who play the game with ruthless endeavour, and a must-win-at-all-costs attitude.

However, one fascinating mystery still remains. What was the Dashwood bidding system all about ? Hopefully, if some of his other diaries can be found, we might get the answer to this intriguing question.