Jane Nash:
‘Hilarity, poker face (not) and red knickers’
Last week’s fun time’
I had a blast last week The wonderful Wendy, extraordinary Eleanor and sweet Rod were my playing mates and we had a ball. I never imagined I’d get to fishing, let alone win with those competitors but I actually won two games. I’m not sure who smiled more, me or Eleanor laughing at my lack of a poker face whilst playing. There are many lovely people at Mahjong but there are 6 of them I think the world would be a poorer place without. These three are among my six so it was a delight to get to play with them. Their good hearted cheer is always welcome and enjoyable to join in with.
We did truck through a number of games (below) as we were playing quite fast. Eleanor is one of the fastest players I know. Remember, I’m playing with pensioners. As she swiftly picks up a tile I often imagine that if she was a cowboy, she’d win a quick draw shootout every time. (Visions of Eleanor in cowboy chaps and a stetson).
Wendy is cheerful with everyone’s achievements, to be fishing is to be congratulated by her. “Well done!” Or something similar but she did confess she was having to warm up first, the game, not the wet tropics! And Rod? Well Rod is Rod. He admits to us all that he’s a bit precious but he’s not really and has a robust sense of humour.
I know, I don’t usually name my playing mates but much love is coming out to them. Why does the Red Dragon feel like such a lucky tile? I love it. We played 11 games in 2 hours.
Had some terrific news:- I am now a columnist for the Brazilian Mag ‘Jornal ROL’. My poems, short stories and articles will be coming out weekly. It’s a great cultural magazine. If you click on a flag at the top of the screen, the text will be displayed in that particular language so it spans countries and cultures.. my first post was
Why not subscribe? It’s free and I am sure you will find different things to interest you.
I’m performing (online) at another World Poet’s Conference (Colombia) in March and the writing is coming along nicely.
I’ve been rereading some Agatha Christie stories recently. Fabulous to go back to the master. It’s always obvious once you know the killer but up until the reveal… rereading them, I’ve forgotten the killer identities so it’s a renewed pleasure. I don’t have Five Little Pigs so had to order that on EBay.
Miss Lizzy Blue is now on anti-inflammatories and is managing to walk again, seemingly without pain. It was quite a worry for a while back there but she has come good now. Fingers crossed the pills work for a while.
Hubster is massively busy this time of the year with the Am Dram theatre and The Choral Society. Keeps him out of trouble.
I read this fabulous quote this week.. what do you think about it?
“It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop.” —Confucius
A bit different to a Taoist perspective of being patient enough to stop until the mud clears.
GAMES PLAYED
BOMBSHELL – chow in each suit, a pung of winds and a pair of dragons (no calling PUNG)
JEAN’S MEDLEY – red and green dragon with 4 crazy chows
TYPHOON – 3 crazy chows, one of each wind and an extra wind
WINDY CHOW – all the winds with one extra and a chow in each suit
BIG ROBERT – 3 runs of 4 tiles (one run per suit) with a pair of winds/dragons
UNITED NATIONS – 2 crazy chows plus each wind, each dragon with a wind/dragon paired
TRIPLE KNITTING – three of same number tile from each suit
ORDINARY MAHJONG – four pungs and a pair in a single suit, winds and dragons included
LITTLE JOE – chow in each suit, a crazy chow and a pair of winds.
MAHJONG TRIVIA
Think the colour red is lucky at Chinese New Year? Well it’s not just then. It’s known that some players don red undies to help them win. No kidding.
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Jane Nash
- Last week’s fun time - 24 de fevereiro de 2026
Publicada como J.L. Nash, é poeta e contista. Nascida em Stockton-on-Tees, Inglaterra (1969), obteve posteriormente a cidadania australiana, onde vive atualmente com o marido e seu cão pastor australiano (Blue Heeler). Apesar de ter nascido na Inglaterra, passou seus anos de formação entre a Zâmbia e a África do Sul. Foi professora por vinte anos e psicoterapeuta/hipnoterapeuta por dezenove. Também viveu nas Ilhas Marshall por cinco anos, onde se inspirou para escrever seus dois primeiros livros de poesia e se apaixonou perdidamente (casando-se com o autor). Apresentou trabalhos na Conferência do Dia Mundial dos Poetas, representando a Austrália duas vezes, e uma vez no Dia Mundial dos Escritores. Dedica-se à escrita e escreve diariamente. Publicou seus trabalhos em revistas e antologias ao longo dos últimos 25 anos, tendo publicado três livros de poesia individualmente, além de um livro de fotografia e contos em parceria. Seus hobbies incluem pintura em aquarela, estudo da comunicação não verbal com foco em linguística e tocar ukulele. Ela é uma grande leitora e atualmente está trabalhando em uma série de novelas policiais. Um livro de contos também está previsto para publicação em 2026.