Win Roynon cuts the cake on her 95th birthday, with Berwick Bridge Club president Jean Carter (middle) and club administrator Dianne Nicol looking on.By Marc McGowan
EVERGREEN Upper Beaconsfield resident Win Roynon has been flipping cards for the best part of 80 years and is still dominating competition at the Berwick Bridge Club.
Win, 95, began playing bridge as a brighteyed 16yearold with her family and she developed a strong passion for the game, which stayed with her when she migrated to Australia from the United Kingdom in 1948 on a flying boat.
“It’s a real challenge. Every hand is different,” Win said.
“The game has a spirit of its own.”
She turned 95 on 8 November and celebrated the achievement by trumping her fellow players on the subsequent Friday with her longtime bridge partner Gwyn Hughes.
“My birthday was absolutely wonderful with all the cards and presents I received,” Win said.
“There are a lot of other good players. I get to meet lots of nice people.”
Win’s late husband, Frank, was also a keen bridge player and the couple kindled their love for the game during lulls in the war.
“My husband was an ambulance driver and all the ambulance drivers played. My memories of bridge go back to that. He did much better than I do,” she said.
Win’s bridgeplaying conquests continued, and through a farming relationship with Peter and Jean Carter she became one of the founding members of the Berwick Bridge Club in 1983, and she still whips out the cards for a few hours every Friday.
Win has been consistently winning since then and has become one of the club’s first life members. She has outlived most of her relatives, as she did not have any children, and only Frank’s niece, Margaret, remains in Australia, while Win also has a cousin back in the UK.
“I enjoy life and I have lots of people that come and visit or phone me,” Win said.
“I get really well looked after.”
