At 98 Rita Blum is Table View Bridge Club’s oldest player.
Ms Blum, of Parklands, said her husband had been a good player, and she had decided to learn as well.
Originally from London, she moved to South Africa with her husband and children in 1948. While living in Johannesburg, she had friends who played the card game all weekend.
“I enjoy playing bridge and knitting. If I feel like reading, I go to the library,” said Ms Blum.
She said having a good bridge player as a partner was important, and Jean Selley is her partner.
“We get on well together,” she said.
When her husband died in 1984, Ms Blum married again and moved to the UK. When her second husband died in 2014, she returned to South Africa to live with her daughter, Estelle, in Parklands.
It was shortly after moving back, that she joined Table View Bridge Club where she now plays once a week.
Club chairwoman Elaine Edwards said Ms Blum was a credit to the neighbourhood.
“Bridge is a highly complex and competitive game, and it is truly amazing that Rita is still able to play, and play well,” she said.
Ms Blum also plays rummy with her daughter when there’s nothing good on TV. For Ms Blum the reality of old age is two hearing aids and poor eyesight but that doesn’t stop her putting her cards down.
“I will continue to play until I can’t play anymore,” she said with a smile.
