The date of founding of the club is now lost in the mists of time. Iain Gilchrist confirms that the Club was functioning prior to World War 2 and so may be nearly as old as Contract Bridge itself. 
   In its early days the club played in and took its name from the Granary Restaurant as the manager and his wife were keen players. The premises were used by troops during the War so the Club was suspended but restarted soon after the end of the war. 
   The players of the old school were simple bidders but excellent card players. When the ‘Granary’ changed hands the club moved to a variety of premises in the town before anchoring in 1991 in the shelter of the Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club! 
   The 1980’s marked a period of great change.  A group of enthusiasts pushed the club into  a more modern era by introducing match point tournaments and all year round playing. In 1984 the club became affiliated to the Scottish Bridge Union.  External competitions were introduced and the Club started to play in the Western district leagues,  The development of the club has continued in spurts since then, down to the present advances with computer dealing/scoring and the formation of this web-site.  [JT]

The Club Trophies

            Something, I recollect not what, made me realize that if any of trophies were to be lost we would lose a small part of our club history. 

            When Gordon Thomson, a long time President, died his widow presented the club with the trophy that bears his name.  It was our first!  It was given at a time when the old guard was dyed in aggregate bridge.  A progressive faction suggested that the trophy be used for Match Points to encourage that form of tournament.  Progression extended to match points once per month.  Since then the pendulum has swung and I have had to argue that some aggregate should be retained.

            Later the Granary Trophy was added for the aggregate competition.  Quickly, after that the Fruin and Millig trophies were purchased for corresponding trophies when the second night had graduated from beginners and new members unable to play on Tuesdays with the limited accommodation of Room 4 in the Victoria Halls. 

             Originally the winner was determined on a number of best scores.  It was based on position 1^st = 1, 2^nd = 2 etc.   The scores were added up and lowest total won provided ⅔ of the events had been played.  Unfortunately, as a result regular pairs were often split when one of the pair played with another partner and did better or worse.  Equally, it was argued as inequitable that a member was disqualified just because his regular partner wasn’t regular enough.   Andrew Bain was instrumental in effecting a change in the rules correctly put the emphasis on the performance of regular pairs.  Problems with aggregate scoring were eliminated with the move to Butler scoring.  The number of qualifying events has been reduced to half.

              Scorebridge allows average scores to be calculated at the click of a button. 

The Trophies

The oldest trophy is the Gordon Thomson Trophy for Tuesday match points.  It may be regarded now as the premier trophy it was introduced to encourage match point play.

            The Granary Trophy is for Tuesday Aggregate.  In a way this was the original form of competition in the club and the Granary Restaurant was the original venue.   Match point competitions were not introduced until about 1980. 

The Millig Trophy for Thursday match points and is one of the trophies purchased when the Thursday evening came of age.

The Fruin Trophy is a quaich awarded for Thursday aggregate. 

Members enjoyed an excellent dinner at the Yacht Club. Prizes were presented by Kirsty Hassall.

Hilda Freer and Margaret Sargent won The Millig trophy for Thursday Match Points. 

John Bryden and John Traill won The Gordon Thomson Trophy for Tuesday Match Points.

Matthew Chisholm and Iain McCulloch won the Granary Trophy for Tuesday Butler and the Fruin Trophy for Thursday Butler. 

Other prize winners include Kath and John Jones, Betty Angus, Wilma Reid and Norma Murie.

Congratulations to all!

Gordon Thomson Trophy (Tuesdays) Matthew Chisholm and Iain McCulloch

Millig Trophy (Thursdays) Matthew Chisholm and Iain McCulloch

Aggregate scored competition winners

Granary Trophy (Tuesdays) - John Traill

Match Point Scoring Competitions

Gordon Thomson Trophy (Tues) - Matthew Chisholm and Iain McCulloch

Millig Trophy (Thursday) - Jennifer Arnott

Aggregate Scoring Competitions

Ian Robertson explains the advantages of the Capacitance pen to John MacRae and Helen Ross! This may be used on the electronic score pads!