|
|
||||
|
MERV ADEY
OWNER/DIRECTOR OF THE VICTORIA BRIDGE CENTRE by Linda Patton LP: Let’s start at the beginning. Where were you born? MA: I was born in England and at the age of five, along with my older brother and sister, my family moved to Victoria where my father taught English at UVic. During my teenage years my mother went through the process of becoming an Anglican minister. She was the first female Anglican minister west of Winnipeg. LP: I know that music is a large part of your life outside of bridge. How did your love of music originate? MA: I learned piano at the age of six but soon discovered that I hated taking lessons. At about nine I started playing the guitar. I took about four months of classical guitar lessons in junior high but am mostly self taught. The common thread with my brother is music – we are both guitarists. My sister plays the piano and oboe, my mother plays piano and my father sings. LP: Is your preference classical music? MA: No, I enjoy exceptional performances by individual instrumentalists, such as violinists or pianists, in any style, but attending the symphony or opera is not something I would do. As I age, I tend to play and listen to less classical music - my tastes lean more to modern music. LP: While in school, did you participate in sports? MA: No, I was not, am not and never will be an athlete! I enjoyed drama, English and anything to do with arts. LP: I know that you enjoy reading. Do you have any favourite authors? MA: Too many to name! I enjoy a wide variety of subjects, favouring fiction. I enjoy John Irving novels as well as numerous Czeck, Russian and South American authors. LP: What is your educational and work background? MA: I studied English Literature at UVic for a while and then managed a taxi company. From there I went to work at Tanner’s Books in Sidney, where I spent 11 years in charge mostly of ordering and inventory control. When I commenced working at Tanner’s, I thought I was well-read. I discovered that I was not, but considered myself well-read by the time I left Tanner’s. I really enjoyed the book business, the community and customers. Prior to leaving Tanner’s, I had contemplated starting my own business and the choices were a book store or a bridge club. As the Victoria Bridge Club was available, it made sense to take advantage of this. LP: Were you a bridge player from early on? MA: No, I was a chess player. At that point it never occurred to me that I would become a bridge player. It wasn’t until my university days that I was introduced to bridge by three housemates. I learned very quickly and they introduced me to tournament bridge. What hooked me on tournament bridge was playing against the professional players that I had read about in magazines and having my butt kicked by them. It was a great learning experience. LP: What do you like about owning/running the bridge club? MA: Firstly, I must mention that it was fortuitous that Rita Beny was becoming involved with the Easybridge! program at the time that I purchased the club. I am very grateful to Rita, as this was paramount to my survival in the first year of ownership because it brought a lot of new players to the club. Many people have been very helpful in large and small ways; like those who show up every week to support the club, paint walls, donate baked goods; fellow directors George Laing and Mike Champion, who donated laptop computers during ‘my computer crises’; and Ray Torontow and George McNutt who have helped with the website... Anna Boivin who lectures and provides holiday relief. I have a lot of help! ! The main thing I like about bridge is that it is fun and provides a competitive, social outlet. We meet a lot of people that we would not normally meet. I attempt to put my own philosophy about running a business into practice, which is, don’t sweat the small stuff and try to please as many people as possible. LP: Is there anything you don’t like about running a bridge club? MA: The two most difficult aspects are the long hours involved and attempting to arrange partnerships with diplomacy and skill. It is not possible to make the ideal partnerships minutes before game time, every time, but I try!. For regular partnerships, my advice is that over the long haul play with your friends. Even if you disagree about the game, it is still a game, and your friendship will still be intact. LP: Where have you personally played bridge, other than Victoria? MA: I have played in Philadelphia, Houston and Hawaii. My favourite type of tournament in which to play is called a Calcutta, a form of money bridge with a set entry fee, a prize pool and a betting pool. I have always wanted to play in the toughest game available as I like the challenge and the learning experience. LP: Do you have a favourite partner? MA: I enjoy playing with my NAOP partner Mike Ainsley, as well as Judy Walters, Carol Waters and many others. I am very grateful to Mike Ainsley, Duncan Smith, Jim McAvoy and Mike Hargreaves to name a few. They taught me a lot by being available to answer questions and instill some bridge sense in me. I am not a great bridge player and probably never will be, but I have some talent for the game, have learned a lot and like a challenge. LP: Is there anything that you would change to make bridge a better game? MA: I would suggest that we go further along the road we have already traveled, i.e. make the game friendlier, realize your opponents are people first and are trying their best. Getting uptight and annoyed about table results doesn’t help. I would continue to encourage interaction between the different social groups and skill levels. Encourage tolerance of each other. I dislike the zero tolerance policy of the ACBL (said with tongue-in-check). Rather, it should be a 100% tolerance policy; being more understanding of others, although bad behaviour should never be condoned. I agree with the ACBL, I just arrive at the same conclusion from the opposite direction. If there is a surprise about running the club, it is that I really enjoy teaching lessons. I would like to present more workshops to novices, in cooperation with Rita. LP: What do you see yourself doing in the future? MA: With unlimited funds, I would play in many more tournaments, write music and perhaps have my own music studio. LP: Do you have any parting words? MA: Yes, no matter what level of bridge you are at, you don’t know it all. We are learning all the time. Rules are only guidelines. Interviewer’s note: Upon completion of this interview, I was treated to an impromptu classical guitar performance by Merv, which I enjoyed very much.
Copyright: ACBLUnit 431 James K. Foster, March, 2005
|
||||
