THE START OF THE CHILTERN EDGE BRIDGE CLUB

In January 1966 the Chiltern Edge Adult Education Centre started a class in Bridge, which at that time was a much less common subject than it is today, and it was only possible to ruThe class for a limited period.   However, if the students wished to form themselves into a club and employ their teacher themselves, the club could meet at the Centre during term time.

As a result an inaugural meeting was held on Tuesday 16th May 1967 at which the Chiltern Edge Bridge Club was born.   The first office holders were John Hale as chairman, Stewart Scotchbrook as Secretary and Dennis Drew as Treasurer, with Fay Carter and Biddy Talbot completing the committee.   The original subscription was 2/6d per head.   The charge for room hire at Chiltern Edge was 1/-d per member per annum.

John Hale was the headmaster of Kennylands school, which was then an Essex County Council boarding school, and he arranged for the club to play in the library there during school holidays.

Madge Slaney was our teacher.   She had recently retired from teaching at Queen Anne’s school in Caversham and was a member of Reading Bridge Club.   She was also an all-round sportswoman having played tennis at Wimbledon and hockey and golf at county level.

The usual format for meetings was a general lesson lasting for 20/30 minutes, followed by a playing session, with about eight members being taken to a separate room for an extended lesson.   The evening class ran from 7.30 to 9.30, but play tended to stretch this, allowed with more or less good grace by the caretakers.   Eventually we were left with a key and allowed to lock up ourselves.

The early play sessions were of rubber bridge, but a member who had played duplicate at a social club that had an occasional bridge section, suggested we introduced that.   We had no boards, no stationery and no movement cards, but we made our own.   The boards were a mixture of types.   A few were made of plywood, others were wallets made of oilcloth and some were made of card, folded over and stapled to provide pockets.   We played eleven rounds of one board.   At that time we had never heard of the E.B.U. and Madge Slaney was wise enough to leave us to learn for ourselves.   We even arranged a match against the social club,  whose bridge programme included a couple of friendly matches against similar groups, and then further matches against these other teams.

In the following season these matches were formalised into a league, with two teams from Chiltern Edge, The Reading Inter-Varsity Club, Burghfield Social Club, the Ministry of Social Security Recreational Association and a team from Reading Bridge Club.   This league became the Chiltern Bridge league.

A second set of classes for beginners was stated on Wednesdays.   By September 1969 the membership of the two classes was 65.   These Wednesday classes eventually formed themselves into a separate club, called Chiltern Vale and which later moved to Mapledurham, where it still exists.   John Price was the first chairman.

The Club joined the Berks & Bucks Contract Bridge Association in 1969 at a subscription of 15/- (75p) which enabled members of the club to join.   Madge Slaney advised that we should not enter County competitions at that stage, but suggested we attended the Slough Community Centre on Sunday evenings, where there was a wider cross-section of players.

The Accounts for 1969 show the purchase of 10 tables for £23.15.0. and it is amusing to note that the committee resolved that future tables bought should be of the four-legged variety! (the first ones had two pairs of crossed legs).   A constitution was approved by the members.

By 1970 we were confident enough to enter a team in the third division of the county league, in addition to our two teams in the Chiltern League.   Since then, we have opertated as a normal bridge club.   In 1996 the Adult Education Authority placed unacceptable restrictions on us, so we moved the Christ the King Church Hall, where we play today.