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Seniors Week

Published in Tablelands Advertiser

Surprising Journey To Love Of Bridge

Published in The Cairns Post Weekender

Surprising journey to love of bridge      

As a Sydney pharmacist in her 20’s with an obsessive crush on actor Omar Sharif, Helly Kemp was worlds away form his glamorous life of show business and International bridge.     But believing that dreams must come true, Helly simply changed her profession to snowfield correspondant for the Sydney Morning Herald in 1967, did world-wide ski promotions for Qantas in 1968 and moved to London becoming “our girl” in Europe for Australian magazine, New Idea.     With this background and her own press agency, it was now easy to meet and befriend Omar.     “I knew nothing about bridge when I met Omar,” Helly says.     “But he was very kind and allowed me inside  the private gaming room at London’s Dorchester Hotel, where major matches were played for great amounts of money.     “I was very privileged for this was hallowed ground where mortals did not tread.”     Soon Helly’s obsession with Omar was overtaken by her lifelong obsession with bridge.     Two years ago, she opened her boutique Café Bridge Club on Lake Tinaroo, with sessions arranged by phone for members and visitors on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or weekends.     Helly was also developing The 35 Steps, inspired by the classic Hitchcock thriller The 39 Steps.     “This graphic cheat sheat is a laminated, full colour, single page teaching aid for beginners and an aide-memoire for that occasional ‘blonde’ or ‘senior’ moment of intermediate players,” Helly explains.     “The A3, A4, and A5 Visi-Guide has a powerful visual impact, allowing beginners to comprehend the overall bridge concept at first sighting.     “It has been displayed in Sydney’s Grand Slam Bridge Centre and on their website and is now in the February issue of Australian Bridge magazine.”     The 35 Steps is used by teachers Lesley Fraser and Rebecca Delaney at the Cairns Bridge Club, whose president, Ken Miller, calls it “a wonderful, ingenious bridge aid for beginners”.

Where it all started: Helly Kemp in the early days with actor Omar Sharif, who introduced her to the wonders of bridge

Card Builds Bridge

Published in The Tablelander

By NAOMI CESCOTTO

LEGENDARY Oscar-winning Egyptian actor Omar Sharif introduced a young Helly Kemp to the international card game of bridge in London in the late 1960’s.

Forty years later, Helly is still playing bridge from her home base at Tinaroo Park. And she is being feted by the Australian bridge community for a “cheat sheet” she has invented to help make learning bridge easier.

The Hitchcock fan calls her invention “The 35 Steps”, a variation on the Hitchcock classic The 39 Steps.

“It’s a full colour, single page, graphic ‘Cheat sheet’ with such a powerful visual impact that it not only allows a new player to comprehend the overall concept of contract bridge at first sight, but cuts the learning curve in half,” Helly said.

“It’s a big help for beginners and even intermediate players having a ‘blonde’ or ‘senior’ moment. Whoever is able to play comfortably with the contents of “The 35 Steps” would be welcomed at any bridge club.”

Helly said the card had been well received nationally – it was on display at the Grand Slam Bridge Centre in Sydney and it had been featured in this month’s Australian Bridge magazine.

Cairns Bridge Club president Ken Miller had described it as a “wonderful, ingenious bridge aid for beginners”.

Helly launched a new 35 steps website only last week and she was chuffed to find out one of her first orders was from Australia’s governing body, the Australian Bridge Federation.”

It brought a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes,” Helly said.

Helly will host a new beginners’ course using “The 35 Steps” at her Lake Tinaroo “Cafe Bridge Club”. 

Surprising Journey to Love of Bridge

Published in What’s On + Where To Go

As a Sydney pharmacist in her 20’s with an obsessive crush on actor Omar Sharif, Helly Kemp was worlds away from his glamorous life of show business and international bridge. But believing that dreams must come true, Helly simply changed her profession to snowfield correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald in 1967, did world wide ski promotions for Qantas in 1968 and moved to London, becoming our girl in Europe for Australian Magazine New Idea. 

Helly Kemp in the early days with actor Omar Sharif

With this background and her own press agency, it was now easy to meet and befriend Omar. I knew nothing about bridge when I met Omar, Helly says. But he was very kind and allowed me inside the private gaming room at London’s Dorchester Hotel, where major matches were played for great amounts of money. I was very privileged for this was hallowed ground where mortals did not tread! Soon Helly’s obsession with Omar was overtaken by her lifelong obsession with bridge. Two years ago, she opened her boutique Café Bridge Club on Lake Tinaroo, with regular sessions for members and visitors on Wednesdays plus other sessions arranged by phone as required. Helly has just finished developing the totally new bridge teaching method, The 35 Steps, inspired by the title of the classic Hitchcock thriller The 39 Steps. The 35 Steps is a graphic cheat sheet, which has a powerful visual impact, allowing beginners to comprehend the overall concept of bridge at first sighting, thus cutting the learning curve in half. It is a laminated, full colour, single page teaching aid for beginners and an aide-memoire for that occasional ‘blonde’ or ‘senior’ moment of intermediate players and is very affordable as A3, A4, A5 laminates and laminated fridge magnets and computer mouse pads, Helly says. It has been displayed in Sydney’s Grand Slam Bridge Centre and on their website and is now in the February-March issue of the Australian Bridge Magazine and has its own website, www.the35steps.com.  The 35 Steps is used by teachers Lesley Fraser and Rebecca Delaney at the Cairns Bridge Club, whose president, Ken Miller, calls it a wonderful, ingenious bridge aid for beginners. For more information email info@the35steps.com.

Helly recalls the events that led to THE 35 STEPS

Published in the Australian Bridge Magazine

Helly with Omar Sharif

Helly Kemp, from the Cairns Highlands, has created THE 35 STEPS, a new product for those learning bridge – see the ad on the inside front cover.                                           

Helly recalls the events that led to THE 35 STEPS 

When Omar Sharif introduced me into the world of bridge in 1969, little did I suspect that he had set into motion a chain reaction which would culminate 40 yeas later in my developing The 35 Steps. 

I knew nothing about bridge when I met Omar. But he was very kind and allowed me inside the gaming room at London’s Dorchester Hotel during major tournaments with international masters like Terence Reese et al. I was very privileged, for this was hallowed ground where mortals did not tread! Other journalists and the public were in a separate viewing room. 

These were exciting, inspirational days and having caught the bug, the London School of Bridge – then London’s largest bridge club – became my second home, with Nico Gardner’s daughter Nicola being my instructor. As a freelance journalist, I would often finish work at noon and play both afternoon and evening sessions five days a week. Later through family and business commitments I neglected bridge for many years, but the addiction held fast and I always returned. 

It was not until two years ago, however, when I opened my social CAFÉ BRIDGE CLUB, that I colour coded and handwrote The 35 Steps on the huge club whiteboard. And even intermediate players’ reactions were so positive that I decided to print the steps commercially. Soon the word spread to other clubs and players, now making the VISI-GUIDE a sought after teaching and memory aid.

Helly Kemp Reports on her 35 Steps

Published in the Australian Bridge Magazine JUNE-JULY 2009

Teachers-read what a student had to say about Introduction to Bridge

Published in Australian Bridge Magazine August-September & October-November 2009, December 2009 – Jan 2010, Feb – March 2010, April – May 2010, Jun – Jul, Aug-Sept 2010

THE BRIDGE WORLD

THE BRIDGE WORLD’S August 2010 Review

WHAT A BRIDGE PLAYER SAYS ABOUT ‘INTRODUCTION TO BRIDGE’ and ‘THE 35 STEPS’

Englishman, Ivan Hallworth, in three repeat orders over the last few weeks, has, with great enthusiasm, bought every single Paul Marston Bridge Book ever published. These I advertise whenever I sell The 35 Steps.

Sections of two emails he just sent as to his opinion about Introduction to Bridge and The 35 Steps are printed below. The latter is somewhat hilarious, like comparing a grain of salt to the great oceans of the world. All the same, it is, of course, very flattering.

“….I came across another person at the Wimbledon Bridge Club who has read Paul Marston’s Introduction to Bridge Book  –  it’s so simple to follow and ultra clear….”

“….The brilliant thing about The 35 Steps is that the concept was there all the time. It’s just that you were the first person to do it and that counts for a lot. When I was finding you, I felt sure that it had been done already and was proven right! That you may capture and display it essentially all on one page is the great beauty of its elegance.

Many of the World’s most historically important and critical at the time documents are just a single page … e.g.
Declaration of Independence
Magna Carta
Apollo Moon Landing
Ending of WW2
Announcement of a future King …”