The opening ceremony went very smoothly, with the TV crews seemingly more interested in the celebrities in the front row that in what was going on on the stage as you can see from the picture. We were very honoured to have some very important dignitaries from the IOC present among others and it certainly caused a lot of excitement ! The Chinese Contract Bridge Association then put on a buffet for all the participants and it was scrummy :-)
The amazing Patrick Choy managed to get a Senior Team here from Hong Kong at about 24 hours notice to replace the Pakistan Seniors who withdrew at the last minute so all the berths were filled! Play got underway on time at 11.00 this morning and the results are coming in thick and fast - all the links to them are on the website for you.
Behind the scenes the computers are behaving, the first bulletin was printed and delivered to the convention centre on time and is, of course, on internet. All the papers are photocopied for the start of the WBF Meetings tomorrow and the Laws Drafting Committee has started its deliberations to finalise the new Laws ready for publication next year. There are the inevitable glitches, but at least they are (or seem to be) minor and (mostly) quite easily solved ... like the sudden realisations that no one had any appeals forms !! And to everyone's intense relief the coffee machines have arrived !
Our office goes from lovely and peaceful while play is on, to a hub of activity between sessions, with the buzz of chatter in various languages and the occasional explosion from an over-excited player being heard from the corridor outside. The first expedition to the local shops has been undertaken ... to get some extra technical stuff that is required, so not too exciting but I am sure that there will be some far more interesting forays soon once we are more settled!
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