Release 2.19q
Profiles

This page has information and news of interest to the members. For a full list of forthcoming events, see "Calendar" on the menu and for a list of results see "Results".

 
 

REST IN PEACE GINA HUNT

Gina from New Hampshire, England died on Saturday 8th January 2022.  Gina and her husband David, married for 63 years, have been ‘wintering’ in Barbados since 1972, and are members of our bridge family playing the morning and Saturday afternoon games.  Our condolences to David. You are in our thoughts and prayers. The above photograph was taken on their last visit in 2020.

Last updated : Feb 4, 2022 08:50 GYT
  Michael Gill 1936 - 2020
Michael Gill 1936 - 2020

We are sadden to announce the passing of Michael Gill on Wednesday, 19th February in Miami, USA.  Michael was among the first members of the League at formation in 1966 and served as Secretary (1986-1988) and as Chief Tournament Director (1994-2017).  He represented Barbados as a member of the Open Team, the Senior Team and served as Captain of the Ladies Team.

The Memorial Service will be at 11.00 am on Tuesday, 17th March 2020 at Coral Ridge
We extend condolences to his wife Bunty, son Toni, daughter Andi and granddaughter Jose.
 
Last updated : Mar 19, 2020 11:25 GYT
  Hyacinth, Lady Burton
Hyacinth, Lady Burton

Hya, founding member, team captain, president, patron and friend, died at her residence on March 19.  She was 96 years old and retired from the game only four years ago due to failing eyesight.

Hya, as she was affectionately known, merited the title “Lady” long before her husband Carlisle was knighted.  She was loved for her hospitality, dry wit, gift of conversation and stories. 

The Burton name and the Burton residence in Pine Gardens figure prominently in the early history of bridge in Barbados. It was at Hya’s residence in the mid-1940s that the Mayfair Ladies Club of Barbados met, and visions of regional competitions took root. The annual tournament with the Mayfair Ladies Club of Trinidad ran from 1953 until 2009 almost without interruption, and can be seen as the forerunner of the wider regional efforts we support and enjoy today.


Hya was nominated Vice President of Barbados Bridge League at its first meeting on January 14, 1966 and elected President in 1968.  She returned as President in 1990 to oversee the silver jubilee celebrations marked by the first Sun Sea and Slams Bridge Festival, and served unto 2003.  She was made Patron in 2012 after her husband, Sir Carlisle.


She was a fixture on the Ladies Team for many years partnering Nan Collins, and played mixed pairs with Jeffery Newton.

 

 

Last updated : Apr 3, 2019 08:54 GYT
  Men and Women who Regularly Play Together - Robin and Pauline Stewart
Men and Women who Regularly Play Together - Robin and Pauline Stewart


Names:-   Pauline and Robin Stewart


Length of time:- Pauline 25 years. Robin 12 years in line with preparation for retirement and "Let's do something together"


Where:- Pauline's first proper duplicate club in Southport, UK


Best Moments:-  It's always great when you watch partner play a tricky contact well. The pleasure is heightened when it's the other half. And so is the pain when the converse occurs. Pauline winning the ProAm teams and the pair of us winning the Handicap Series a couple of times back in Dorset.The first time our handicap was massive so Robin did his best to follow suit but we were chuffed with the second.


Worst Moment:-.Pauline having her wrists slapped at he very strict Club for touching a board. Robin for taking the wrong boards from a relay table and causing a 17 table game to be declared null and void.


Biggest Improvement:- All three clubs that we play use Bridgewebs which makes life easy. Barbados  in a league of its own.


Past Partners:- Pauline learnt with a lovely lady called Molly.They were doing really well together until they split to take on their husbands


Preferred Systems:- Benjamised Acol as it allows for weak and strong Twos .


Favouite Players:- At the Club it has to be George for pure excitement.  Elsewhere Omar Sharif because we have a training DVD and if you do it right you are rewarded with with a "Well Played" in the sexiest voice imaginable.He also has the loveliest eyes says P.


Strangest Place:- On the Nile.


Favourite Husband Wife Quotes:- Pauline "I play transfers but he doesn't".  In Dorset we have coined the phrase "A lay-by Job". We were once asked if we had resolved a heated bridge debate on the way home in the car. Robin explained that it had been necessary to pull in for safety's sake.The phrase is now used to describe any tricky partnership debate.The mind boggles!


Last updated : Mar 4, 2010 16:06 GYT
  Men and Women who Regularly Play Together - Rodney and Margaret England
Men and Women who Regularly Play Together - Rodney and Margaret England


Names: Rodney and Margaret England


Length of time playing together:

Since 2006


Where they learnt the game:

Margaret - 1995 at a 12 week afternoon class in Marlow, UK

Rodney  - 2006 at an introductory weekend course in the UK then at BBL


Best moment in bridge/Worst moment/Funniest

Best: Winning a bottle of Rum in the BBL Christmas Hamper competition 2008 (Rodney)

Best is yet to come (Margaret)

Worst: Getting mauled and a 26% in a game in a UK club recently

Funniest: Eleanor telephoning Rodney after his introductory Bridge weekend and inviting him play as her partner at BBL as “she couldn’t get a partner”. This turned out to be part of a successful plot to get Rodney to play with Margaret.


Biggest improvement in the game they have seen

Computerised system to allow games to be reviewed on line


Past partners and current partners:

Rodney - I was a Bridge virgin when I joined the partnership and haven’t had any other on-going bridge partnerships.

Margaret - A good friend, Bernice, in the UK and Marcelle Smith and Maureen Connolly at BBL before Rodney started playing


Preferred System(s) played:

American Standard according to the teachings of Roglyn Hinds and Jackie Thompson


Favourite bridge player or partnerships in the world:

Any we can beat.

Strangest places that you  have played bridge:

Lying in bed playing on the computer


Favourite Husband/Wife Quotes:- "Rodney suffers from Bridge Rage"

In answer to: "what does your partner mean by that bid?" ... "He hasn't a clue"

Last updated : Mar 4, 2010 16:06 GYT
  Leslie Atherley
Leslie Atherley

Name  - Leslie Atherley, Immediate Past President of the Barbados League from 2003 – 2010.

Length of time playing: Began playing in 1962

Where person learnt the game:-  At the University of the West Indies in Jamaica

Best moment in bridge/Worse moment/Funniest

Best :  Winning the United Nations Inter-Agency Games  in 1998 for the fourth time during my 18-year stint as captain of the UNESCO Team.  That was my last year as captain of the Team before returning to Barbados. 

Worse : Playing in 3 NT in the recent World championships with 33 pts. All other pairs were in 6 or 7 NT.

Funniest:  We were on the overnight Paris-Rome train going to play in the Inter-Agency Games when the train stopped in one of the many stations. While playing bridge in the last carriage on the train, a member of the Football Team ran to us stating that this last carriage was being disconnected from the rest of the train which was ready to leave for Rome.  We would have been left playing bridge in the station while the front section of the Train would have gone on to Rome with the other Teams.

Biggest improvement in the game:- The use of machines to speed up the distribution of the cards and the scoring

Past partners and current partners:- Timothy Howell in the mid 60’s with whom I won the National Pairs Championship.  Michael Gill before leaving for UNESCO Paris in 1980 and after my return in 1999.  At   UNESCO:  Ken Venning in the early 80’s and Mary Cauchard, until my return to Barbados 

Preferred System(s) played:-  Precision and the French System, La Majeure Cinquième

Favourite bridge player or partnerships in the world:- Mary Cauchard

Strangest places that you  have played bridge:- On a Jumbo Jet travelling across the Atlantic


Last updated : Mar 4, 2010 15:49 GYT
  Profiles in Bridge - Tony Watkins
Profiles in Bridge - Tony Watkins

Name  - Nickname

Tony Watkins.

 

Length of time playing

From a teenager. It seems like forever.

 

Where person learnt the game

At a friend’s home.

 

Best moment in bridge/Worse moment/Funniest

Best: Finishing 6th in the Zonal Pairs at WBF Championships in Montreal in 2002 & winning the Zone component.

 

Worst: Going for 4200 in 5 Diamonds doubled redoubled(Old Scoring).

 

Biggest improvement in the game they have seen

Use of Technology coupled with Scoring Programs to give instant results.

 

Past partners and current partners

Past: Gilpin Jones – over 10 years.

Present: Dave Blackman – over 15 years.

 

Played with Omar Sharif at my home in a team game.


Preferred Systems played 

Precision(Modified).

ACOL.

Also play 2/1.

 

Favourite bridge player or partnerships in the world

Jeff Meckstroff and Eric Rodwell

           

Strangest places that they have played bridge

It is not my custom to frequent strange places,

but I have played bridge in Harlem.

 

Last updated : Jan 15, 2010 11:52 GYT
  Profiles in Bridge - Michael Gill
Profiles in Bridge - Michael Gill
Nickname 
The Guru ...
Only Brooks Moseley calls me The Guru, which probably says more about his ability than about mine.

Length of time playing
Since 1955

Where person learnt the game
At University in Jamaica

Best moment in bridge/Worst moment/Funniest
a) Worst. Watching, as non-playing captain of the Barbados team, while our players, who managed to lead Trinidad by over 100 imps at the end of the first day, let it all evaporate on the second.
b) Funniest. The expression on Hayden Forde's face when, after agonising over his options and taking the correct decision to sacrifice at 7 Spades over the opponents' grand slam in Hearts, he learned that his partners in the other room (who shall be nameless here) had also played in Spades, a four level cue bid having been read as an attempt to expose a psych!
c) The best is yet to come.

Biggest improvement in the game they have seen
a) The modern bidding systems
b) The use of technology to support the game, the administration, the play, and the analysis of the play. 

Past partners and current partners
Earl Newton in Tobago, Bertie Callender in the early days back in Barbados, Leslie Atherley before he went off to Paris and again now that he has returned, and in between Arthur St. John, Ralph Carnegie, Harold Forde, Trixie Simmons, Jeffrey Newton, Alan Moss, Roglyn Hinds, Charles Hollingsworth, Harley Moseley, and Norma Springer.

Preferred System(s) played
Started with Standard American, played Acol with Carnegie, and moved to Precision which is preferred now because of the time invested in refining the treatments.

Favourite bridge player or partnerships in the world
This allows me to pay tribute to three persons, with whom I now play only
infrequently, but with whom I shared memorable moments. Alan Moss and I reached the top quartile of the Swiss Pairs at the 2006 Commonwealth Bridge Tournament in Melbourne, Australia; Roglyn Hinds played with me in a Daytona Beach Regional and produced very satisfying results; and Jeffrey Newton and I came within a board of winning the Open Pairs Championship at the last SSS that was held at Heywoods. Precision was used on each occasion, but with variations each time. The fourth and definitive edition will shortly produce the goods with my current favourite partner.

Strangest places that you  have played bridge
In the early 1960s there were two ferries moving people and goods between Port-of-Spain and Scarborough, Tobago, where I worked at the time. Once a month the daily service would be interrupted by a trip around Tobago, servicing the villages, particularly those on the North coast where access by road was difficult. I once made that trip and spent the whole sleepless weekend playing bridge!

Last updated : Jan 11, 2010 16:59 GYT
  Profiles in Bridge - Joan Nurse
Profiles in Bridge - Joan Nurse
Name 
Joan  Nurse

Length of time playing
46 years

Where person learnt the game
I started playing while in college 1957.  However, I became a serious player about 15 years later (1972) when I learned to play Duplicate Bridge.

Best moment in bridge/Worse moment/Funniest
While playing in the Canadian/American Regional in Montreal. I should have been in a cold 6 heart contract but was in 6 spades as a result of a bidding mistake. However, an American Professional, Geoff Hampson, missed the correct defense and I made my contract, resulting in my becoming a Life Master!! :-) :-)

I had just started playing weak opening two bids, and passed my partner's opening 2-Club bid!  We missed a grand slam! :-( :-(

Biggest improvement in the game they have seen
The introduction of the 2 over 1 system, and Roman Key Card Blackwood - 0314

Favourite bridge player or partnerships in the world
I have played with many good bridge partners but married only one !!!

Strangest places that you have played bridge 
While waiting to be chosen or not, for jury duty, I played with a young chap who had only ever played on the internet before.
Last updated : Jan 11, 2010 16:47 GYT
  Profiles in Bridge - Peter Norville
Profiles in Bridge - Peter Norville

Name  
Peter Norville

Length of time playing
One year

Where person learnt the game
At Bridge League classes by Roglyn Hinds

Best moment in bridge/Worse moment/Funniest
Best:- Playing in Sun Sea and Slams
Worst:- Passing partners 2 club opening

Past partners and current partners
Norma Morris

Preferred System(s) played
Standard American

Last updated : Jan 1, 2010 12:25 GYT
  Profiles in Bridge - George Bailey
Profiles in Bridge - George Bailey

Name

George Bailey aka   “Georgie”


Length of time playing

At least 50 years


Learnt the game at

The Young Men’s Christian Association (Y.M.C.A) My teacher was a Mr. Neblett


Best moment in bridge

Winning the Pro/Am Team Tournament with Chris Goody and Pauline Stewart, in partnership with Norma Springer.  This after being in the cellar position following the 8th round of the tournament.


Worse moment/Funniest:

Opening 1 Spade in 4th seat with only 1Spade and ending up playing 4 Spades doubled, down 7 non-vulnerable


Biggest improvement in the game they have seen

The advent of the Bridgemate computer scoring system


Past partners and current partners:

Past - Victor Alleyne, George Trotman, both deceased, Barbara Hopewell (overseas)

Current - Mr. Keith Blanchette & Mrs. Yola Paris 


Preferred System(s) played

“Simple” Standard American; 5-card Majors, strong  notrump, forcing 2 clubs


Favourite bridge player or partnerships in the world

Mrs. Barbara Hopewell


Strangest places that they have played bridge

Can’t remember

Last updated : Jan 1, 2010 12:23 GYT
  The DUPLIMATE machine.

 

The Barbados Bridge League is now the proud owner of a DUPLIMATE Mk 4.3 machine which it intends to use for the automatic duplication of computer produced hands. As a necessary adjunct to this are two pieces of software which generate the hands:-  WinDup, which will produce random distributions and generate statistics to drmonstrate how close the output matches the expected frequencies of the various possible distributions, and Dealmaster Pro, which has the added facility of permitting user specification of the type of distribution desired. This latter feature is expected to be very valuable as a teaching support for the classes organised by the league.

It is further intended that the publication of the results of the various games on the League's web page will now be accompanied by a copy of the relevant hand records, and it is hoped that this will allow for a commentary on the interesting hands as shown by the results obtained at the tables. All persons interested in contribution to this commentary - a sharing of the work load is desirable - should contact the President.

Last updated : Jan 1, 2010 11:58 GYT
  World Bridge Championships

 It is the dream of every bridge player to compete for his country at the WBF Championships. For 12 Barbadians that dream came true during the period August 28 - September 12 in Sao Paulo, Brasil. During the first week six ladies competed for the Venice Cup, and 6 Seniors played for the DÖrsi Seniors Bowl. Both teams were playing in fields that included professionals as well as current and former world champions. The seniors won 7 of their 21 matches against, among others, Italy, Poland (eventual second place winners), Pakistan and Brasil. The ladies won 3 matches of their 21.

In the second week the teams played in a World Transnational Open Teams Competition and the ladies made a great start but faded as the swiss movement pitted them against other early winners.. This competition was of a very high level as it contained a number of very strong teams which had been eliminated from the three main competitions at the end of the round robin

The pair of Watkins and Blackman recorded positive Butlers scores at the end of the round robins of both the DÖrsi Bowl and the WTOT. Cummins and Thompson had similarly positive results for the WTOT. Both can be proud of that Butler comparison with the current crop of the world's best.


Last updated : Jan 1, 2010 11:57 GYT