My plan this week was to write wittily, but modestly, about our rise from the bowels of relegation after the first two disastrous weekends of the Premier League. I was going to tell you how important it is not to give up, to have faith in yourself and your team-mates and to keep on fighting for every small victory. Well that was the plan. The reality is that we have gone far lower than the bowels of relegation — right to the very pits of the sewer, in fact. Guys — we are well and truly relegated!

Alexander Allfrey’s National Team led all the way and won easily, so they will represent England in next year’s Camrose.

This hand features the pair that won the Butler in comfort, David Bakhshi and Tom Townsend.

A steady and controlled auction saw David Bakhshi end up in the best spot, and West predictably led a Club.

Instead of banking everything on the ruffing spade finesse, David saw that he could improve his chances by trying to get a Club away from hand on the top Diamonds, but a little care is needed as entries to hand are not in abundance. He won the Ace of Clubs and played two rounds of trumps, ending in dummy. Three top Diamonds took care of the losing Club in hand and now, but only now, did he draw the third round of trumps to hand and advance the ♠K. East scored the ♠A but declarer had the rest.

With the opponents at the other table trying 7♥, going off when the Spade Ace was in the wrong hand, this added another 17 IMPs to their already bursting sackful of IMPs.

A plan that worked…