REBECCA ROOD'S MAILBAG.............

Dear Rebecca ,

At the Slaughter House Bridge Club , certain members have been targeted and " persuaded " to leave as part of a major cleansing initiative . Anyone who befriends or is closely related to a member of the Pantopod family is under threat. Moreover, anyone who challenges the powers that be  might also end up in the frame , and this now means I am very fearful of voicing my criticisms in case I'm added to the hit list.

What should I do ?

Yours Ray Lee Sayer-Thingnow

Dear Ray ,

It seems to me that your club chairman, the infamous and despicable Bigot-Johnson , has gone a goose step too far. Cracking down on players who raise their dissenting heads above the parapet is not acceptable in any circumstances.

Even if a bridge club has a small minority of objectors , who are  proverbial pains in the arse, it would be wrong to get rid of them just because they are exercising their right to oppose attacks on pantopods by voicing their pacifist views and concerns. These members should be warmly embraced as people who provide reality checks on what is happening.

The scenario you have described is often the thin end of the wedge , where further inroads are likely to take place in the quest for the complete purification of the membership.

However, the most shocking aspect of all this is the loss of future income to your club.  If a typical player contributes about £500 a year income, then  by ridding the club say of 12 players the aggregate annual income drop is around £6,000....which over 10 years amounts to a staggering £60,000 shortfall. Moreover, for every player who leaves , many of his friends and regular partners might also decide to abandon their allegiance and commitment to the club, adding to further falls to the income totals.

But coming back to your original question as to what to do , I would always say stand up and fight for what you believe in. And even if your head  eventually gets blown off by the flak that comes flying your way , then rejoice in the knowledge that you went down as a martyr and a saint. Heavens above ....are you a man or a mouse ?

Yours, a former-president of the Justice League of Bawtry and Doncaster District , Rebecca Rood