Source:
English Bridge Union
Heather was born in London in
1966. She lives in Hendon with
her husband of 13 years, Jeremy
and 13 tropical fish all named
after cricket players. Heather is
an accountant as well as a
professional bridge player,
teacher and writer.
Heather's parents, Mike and
Hazel Dunstan, both avid bridge
players, introduced bridge to
their teenage children, Heather,
Cathy and Peter. The Dunstan
children quickly absorbed the
finer points of the game and
enjoyed a high standard of
Kitchen Bridge .
Heather soon graduated from
the home game to the
international scene. Her team
from York University won the
Portland Bowl and represented
England in the Entente Cordiale
in 1987. At York , she also
acquired a Music degree and
Heather still enjoys playing the
piano.
At the age of 24, Heather
began playing for the Ladies
team. The highlight of Heather's
international career occurred in
2004 at the Olympiad in Istanbul
, where the England Women won the
Bronze medal. Heather has also
won the World Mixed Teams in
Rhodes in 1996 as well as three
European Championships the first
two (1997 & 1999) for Great
Britain in partnership with Liz
McGowan, and the last (2001) for
England with Nicola Smith. In
addition, she has won a record 12
Lady Milne trophies over the past
16 years; eight of them
partnering Sally Anoyrkatis and
more recently, four in
partnership with Nicola.
Heather fondly remembers her
early days playing at the Young
Chelsea Bridge Club. One of the
first times that she played at
the Club, she was sitting by
herself at the bar looking
through the hands when a kind,
bearded fellow sat down. He
offered witty and insightful
comments about a few perplexing
hands. Heather nearly worked up
the courage to ask him for a game
but in the end was too timid.
David Burn eventually became a
close friend and semi-regular
partner. Together, they won the
prestigious Brighton Pairs in
2001.
Heather continued to forge
friendships and hone her bridge
skills at the YC. In addition to
David, she met and formed a
successful partnership with Rob
Cliffe with whom she won the
Grand Master Pairs in 2004.
Undoubtedly, Heather's most
significant and enduring
partnership has been with Jeremy
Dhondy. They married in 1992. The
winners of the Hubert Phillips
Bowl (1997), Jeremy and Heather
regularly play on several teams
together.
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