Mahjong has been played in Martinborough for many years, with one particular group of 12 or more playing on Wednesday afternoons. This group was approached to take new members, but as play was in member’s homes, there was no room to accommodate the number of people interested.
In 2023 it was proposed that the Wharekaka Auxiliary host a six-week workshop in the old dining room at the home, as a fund-raiser to assist in subsidising Meals on Wheels. The existing Wednesday group offered to be the tutors for new players.
The Auxiliary was astonished at the demand, not only for the workshop, but for a continuing weekly Mahjong afternoon, with new members being able to join and learn. This Tuesday afternoon group has now risen to a membership of over 30 individuals, paying a regular subscription to cover the rental of the room, afternoon tea and also continuing to provide a contribution to the cost of Meals on Wheels. The convenors are Esther Read and Lorraine Little.
Mahjong is a game of Chinese origin dating from the mid/late 19th Century rather than from the mists of antiquity.. It was first popularised and played in the West in the 1920’s. It is widely played today in China, Japan and throughout the Far East, and there has in more recent years been a significant resurgence of interest throughout Europe and the US.
The game is played with tiles that are both beautiful and tactile. Mahjong bears no relation either to dominoes or, worse still, to the solitaire game that stole its name. It is a strategic game for four players (sometime three) that has more in common with card games like canasta or rummy, but having significantly more depth and variety. It is, in a nutshell, a sophisticated and elegant card game that happens to be played with tiles rather than cards. There are many ways of playing mahjong. All are based on drawing and then discarding in turn a tile to consider adding to your own hand.
The hum of quiet conversation, the clatter of the tiles, the shouts of ‘Fishing ‘and “Mahjong’, the frustration when no-one wins and the next game is a ‘goulash’, all this can be learned and understood. If you would like to learn the mysteries of the game, whilst supporting the our local Meals on Wheels Service, contact Esther Read at estherread1946@gmail.com or 0221086377
