Hearts in Hell

 I went to my first Hearts In Hell meetup. Here's the description from the meetup page...

Would you enjoy having a circle of friends that share an interest in cards, possibly unlike your other friends?
This group is intended to bring back the simpler times, when a night of cards/cheating/inevitable debauchery could make for a rad time!
Please join, it will be good fun!
This is specifically to learn and play the card game of hearts. All levels and anyone interested is welcome.  It is easy to learn - and more fun to play with people (if you play on the computer ;.))

Disclaimer: The group originated in Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, and the organizer (me!) used to live there.  But as things progressed we have found a more central location - in midtown east - to meet.  But, I just can't let go of the name, and logo, so I kept it!  This is just an FYI if you joined based on HK location.

We will be at the table with the people playing cards - look for pictures to recognize faces!

The Sony Atrium Christmas decos? still up

Again please search around - but we are usually at the well lit tables near or around 56 street entrance.

So I walked over to the location- never been to the Sony Atrium before and as others have noted on other websites it has big open space, it is warm and has good bathrooms. We were four card players, me being by far the oldest, and we played one game which took from 6:30 until  about 8:30pm. Perhaps they won't want me back again as I won. Took me back to playing cards on summer holidays and at teachers college. We called it Rickety Kate or Black B#@ch but same rules applied.
The universality of card games amazes me. We don't play pinochle in Australia (I actually spelt that without having to check it and got it right!) but other games the group mentioned included Oh Hell and that too is the same. 

I walked back down Madison for a bit, came across a much bigger Talbots store I must tell Anne Marie about and then walked along 5th and passed the Rockefeller Ice rink where people were just getting back onto the ice. Some really good skaters zipped around between tottering beginners. There were families with little kids being head up by the arm pits, others clutching onto the side rail and legs slipping out from under them and others just walking on the ice with great care and wobbly ankles. Savoured the moment and then home around 9.