Dimmie Fleming winner..
I first met Kay in the mid-seventies at the old Whitehall Bridge Club in Eastbourne and it was not long before she took me under her wing. I was under the mistaken impression I could play the game; she taught me otherwise. She patiently brought order and discipline to my game and we played twice a week for thirty years. I am forever grateful for all that she did.
Kay believed that if a thing was to be done, it should be done properly. She was always well dressed and expected the same from others. I once turned up to play in jeans. I never did again!
She was the perfect hostess. When I arrived at her flat in Bexhill to play at the club I was always greeted at the door with a glass of red wine and, after taking my shoes off (she always had white carpets) was allowed in. She was a good cook and we had many a splendid picnic in car parks around the county; linen napkins – never paper!
Kay learnt her bridge in Aden amongst the colonial and commercial wives; her other passion was tennis. During the war she was a Land Army Girl and when their service was recognised with a badge she wore it proudly. She retained her connection with the land as an accountant for farmers.
She served for many years on the Sussex CCBA committee and quietly served bridge in the county in other ways. This service was recognised by the EBU in presenting her with the Dimmie Fleming Award in 2007. She was a long-standing member of both the Bexhill and Eastbourne Bridge Clubs.
She is survived by her two sons and daughters-in-law in whom she was very proud. Her six grandchildren were a great light in her life. We all express our sadness to Kay's family at her passing.
Peter Gates