The extension project.

The reaction of members to seeing the building project nearing completion has been quite brilliant. A few minor things need to be done by 7+7 but their work is essentially completed. A very common reaction has been to be surprised by size of the new playing area! Seeing the plans on paper is no substitute to seeing the real thing completed. We now wait for the decorator to do his work and for the doors to be put in place. For technical reasons we have had to change the specification of the doors which will now be sliding [rather than folding] doors. This reverts back to our original idea. We expect them to be put in place shortly.

Opening ceremony.

In appreciation of your tolerance in putting up with disruption during the building work and to mark a significant event in the club’s development, the board have decided to have on official opening ceremony of the extension. This will take the form of drinks and canapes followed by bridge (no table money) for those who wish to stay on after the opening. This will take place on: Friday 7^th October at 6.00pm

MacMillan cancer charity event.

As in past years we will be supporting MacMillan’s “world’s largest coffee morning” which provides support for cancer sufferers. However our event will involve tea in the afternoon!  So another date for your diary is: Friday 30^th September at 2.00 pm

We plan to sell a table for Chicago bridge and afternoon tea with just the latter for those who don’t want to play bridge. Full details will be placed on the notice board shortly.  As in the past, there will be a raffle and a book stall so if you have any raffle prizes or surplus books please do donate them for this event. Volunteers to help run this event will also be welcome, please contact Anne Perkins if you want to help.

Emergency evacuation procedures.

We are required to have a practice evacuation of the building in the event of an emergency. We will hold this in the near future. We will also be putting up notices informing everyone of the assembly point to be used in the case of such an emergency. The assembly point will be the pavement to the North of the pedestrian access gate [where the advertisement of our MBA classes is currently posted]. Notices detailing the procedures to be followed will also be put up.

Melville Bridge Academy starts.

I am happy to report that the enlargement of the MBA room appears to have been justified already with a continued enthusiasm being shown for learning bridge. Lessons start on: Monday 19^th September 2016

If you know of anyone who wants to learn bridge, get them to enrol quickly as some classes are already full [although no one has been turned away!]. For the first time we plan to run a morning class so this will increase the number of classes from 6 to 7 per week.

Future projects.

As the current project reaches its conclusion it is time to look to the future! Some further work is necessary to complete the current phase. For example, paving from the new emergency exit is needed to allow easy evacuation of the building. Other work, for example moving the position of the bicycle racks and enlarging the disabled car parking space, will be carried our as soon as finances allow. The board has drawn up a list of possible projects and if you have an idea you would want to be considered now is the time to suggest it.

Standardising bridge charges.

At their August meeting the Board of Directors agreed that, from October 1^st, the cost of all bridge sessions, including afternoons and Thursday evenings, will be standardised at £4 per person.  At the same time prize money for Monday afternoon and Thursday evening ‘No Fears’ sessions will be standardised in-line with our other events. That is, members will be rewarded at the rate of 6.5p per Master Point won and the prize money will be put directly onto their swipe cards once per quarter. SBU Master Points are issued to anybody who finishes in the top third for any event.

The charge for league matches will also rise to £4 per head but this will include the refreshments taken at the half way stage of a match. Refreshments for league matches will be available in the new match room.  Normally, we expect league players will remain in the match room for the duration of the match as there are toilet facilities in the new area. This should ensure minimal disruption to those playing in the main playing room.

These changes will result a simplification of the till screens with fewer choices on offer.  When we hold special events such as a ‘simultaneous pairs’ then a surcharge button for these events will appear for the event in question.

The Silver Line charity organisation.

I have been asked to draw your attention to the above charity, which works to combat loneliness in the elderly by contacting them for a chat. They make 10,000 telephone calls a week to this end. One of our members, David Land, helps with this charity and has been asked by them to publicise their work. David is very enthusiastic about the work this charity does. If you want to know more about this charity you can talk to David at the club or contact him by email (dland@blueyonder.co.uk) or find out more about them from their website: www.thesilverline.org.uk

“Nothing happened” and “Nothing’s planned”

I am happy to say that this hasn’t been the case so far. I can report this month’s activities include:

Extension work.

Most of you will know that things have progressed well. The changes to the inside are virtually complete with the decorator having completed his work. A little work needs to be done in the kitchen, but the changes are otherwise more or less complete. I have received nothing but favourable comments on the changes made to date.

The external work continues too. The builders have put up a temporary screen while the changes to the end wall in the playing area are effected. While this is not the most aesthetically pleasing structure imaginable it is functional, practical and temporary. It should be in position only a little while longer, meanwhile the evening bridge sessions continue as normal but afternoon bridge has decanted to the MBA room to prevent disruption from the inevitable building noise. I am grateful to members who play in the afternoons for their forbearance over this disruption.

The Board have decided on the type of folding doors that will link the existing playing area to the extension. The partition separating the two areas will be in place most of the time, with access to the extension via a simple door. However, the extension can be opened up for large events such as congresses and SBU tournaments as well as social events such as our Christmas party. This will create one large playing area that can accommodate up to 36 tables.

Annual subscription request.

The board decided at its August meeting to put out the subscription requests to members one month earlier than usual. This is, as I wrote in last month’s newsletter, because we have a slight problem with cashflow as work on the extension is proceeding some way ahead of schedule. Soon you will receive a request for your annual subscription. The subscription is, as last year, £45 (+ £7 SBU subscription if you pay this through the Melville BC). If a proportion of you can pay your subscription by 1^st September [as opposed to the normal 1^st October deadline] this will certainly be good enough to see us through a temporary problem. Damien is away for a period and we don’t want a lot of cash in the club waiting to be processed and banked, so we ask that, if you can pay early, you do so either though the bank or by cheque. Of course, next year we will return to the normal timing.

Our library of Bridge books.

The shelves that were previously in the playing area have been repositioned and replaced with narrower ones which has created a little more space there. The old shelves have now been moved into the MBA room and this has allowed us to display the Kelsey library along with our existing bridge book holdings (many donated by Keith Youngs). The books are all catalogued but not yet classified in any meaningful way. If anyone has any ideas how this might be most usefully done then please do get in touch. With a total of 506 different bridge titles our library is certainly extensive and will be a useful source of information to players at all levels. The existing book shelves are now full and we still have to house the collection of Kelsey first editions. If you want to borrow a book please record this in the book provided.

A new All-day event.

You will all be aware that we have increased our membership largely through the success of our teaching programme. The club now has a large number of new members who are comparatively inexperienced in tournament play. The Board have decided to cater for new bridge players by putting on a new team-of-four event specifically designed for, and only open to, Bronze level players. It will be open to players throughout Scotland and will be held at the New Melville on:

Sunday 27 November 2016

The format will be Swiss Teams starting at 11 am and finishing by about 6pm. More details will be made available on our notice board in due course as well as on our website. They will also be circulated to Melville members using Pianola. Please consider entering a team. We are going to publicise the event widely and hope it will provide an opportunity for you to meet other bridge players as well as gain experience of competition bridge. In Swiss teams you play teams who are doing equally as well as your team on the day, so the method of scoring ensures you are always playing against interesting opponents! If the event proves popular and entries are up to expectation there will be substantial prizes for Bronze-level players in all categories.

SBU Simultaneous Bronze Pairs.

In a similar context, the SBU are also running a Bronze Simultaneous Pairs event and the Melville is running a heat on:

Sunday October 16^th 2016

Make a note of both of these events in your diary.

Prize money.

A number of you have asked about the allocation of prize money to your swipe cards. This is in hand and any prize money due to you will be added to your cards shortly.

Japanese knotweed.

We had a surprise a short while back when we were told that in the near future a new care home is to be built on the field adjacent to Pinkhill. The developer has been in touch because their plot has Japanese knotweed growing on it which they wish to remove because it can cause extensive damage to building foundations and drains. It is growing on our land too and, since there is little point in removing it from only one site, the developer has offered to clear our grounds at no cost to ourselves. We have accepted this offer and expect clearance work to start shortly following liaison with our 7+7 builders. We are assured that the clearance work is to be carried out in an approved manner by an experienced knotweed removal firm.

Success at the European Youth Bridge Championship.

Many of you will have read on our website that Olivia Bailey and Jun Nakamuru-Pinder won a Gold medal at this event when it was held in Latvia recently. The Board have decided to recognise this outstanding achievement by agreeing to sponsor them when they next travel to an international event.

Jeff Bond

New Members of the Board.

Those who were not able to attend the AGM in June might be unaware that four members were elected to the board. The new board members are: Liz Fisher, Alice Lappin, Christine McLaren and Brenda Wingate. I am sure they will make a valuable contribution to the smooth running of the club and I am grateful to them for volunteering to take an active part in the club’s management.

Christmas Events.

It might seem a long way ahead but there are some dates for your diary around the Christmas celebrations. The Christmas Party will be held on: Thursday December 22nd 2016

The club’s Christmas Congress will be held on: Wednesday & Thursday December 28th & 29th 2016

Of course it is far too early to actually sell Christmas merchandise but please make a note of these dates in your diary and look out for details nearer the time.

These events might well be the first time we use the extension for large-scale club activities and can take advantage of the new facilities. So do come along and assess the success of the new arrangements.

Ongoing Building Work.

You will have noticed that the alterations to the club premises are continuing. I can report that so far everything seems to be on schedule. The alterations to the interior spaces are virtually complete and the difference is very marked. Many members have commented to me on how beneficial the changes to the MBA room and the social area will be when they are completed. There have also been many favourable comments on how neatly and efficiently the 7+7 workmen have been in carrying out the work. In the near future the decorator will come in to finish this aspect of the project.

The extension is also going ahead smoothly. The Board have had to make a few decisions over the detail of the extension. We have decided to incorporate a boiler in the extension which will mean the existing boiler isn’t working at or beyond its maximum capacity and the supply of hot water to the extension will not have such a long run through the existing premises. This will mean much less of a wait for the hot water to come through. The Board have also discussed the details of the doors which will join the extension to the existing playing area. The original estimate had a budget for doing this which was always recognised as an approximation. We have now obtained real estimated for this aspect of the work and I am pleased to report that the amount originally designated for this was not too wide of the mark. The firm that fitted the sliding doors at the entrance to our building shortly after we moved in will now supply a folding door partition to link the extension and playing area.

A Financial Matter.

The AGM reported that the club is in a healthy financial position and the increasing membership and participation in the club provides every hope that this will continue in the immediate future. However a fairly large amount of the club’s reserves are tied up in a bank account which, while providing a reasonable rate of interest in the present financial climate, cannot be accessed immediately. The building work is also ahead of schedule which is good news but will mean the club has to settle payments ahead of the time we had expected. This might [I emphasize might] lead to a cash flow problem when we pay all those involved in the alterations and decorating the new premises. If this proves to be the case we might ask you to pay the annual subscription one month earlier than usual. If a proportion of the club’s members can pay their sub one month in advance of normal this will get around the problem [should it arise!].  If, for any reason, this would prove a problem for you the please don’t worry, simply pay your sub with normal timing. I am mentioning this simply to remove any element of surprise should a request for annual subscriptions arrive earlier than normal!  Of course, the subscription requests will revert to normal timing in the future so this is not a device to shorten the subscription year to eleven months!

Bridge Tuition.

The alteration to the club premises has already had a beneficial consequence for members. The three advanced classes offered over the summer were all oversubscribed and we had a waiting list but the expanded MBA room has meant we can provide the classes to all who had signed up.

The MBA classes start the week beginning: Monday 19th September 2016

 We do not advertise these classes except for putting the information on the club’s website, so if you know of anyone who is keen to learn our game, do let them know. We do rely on word-of-mouth to recruit to our courses.

Jeff Bond

This month’s newsletter is both later and shorter than usual. This is because there isn’t much to report as I’ve been a little out of touch with events having been on holiday. What there is to report however is quite important.

The AGM

As you probably know, the AGM will be held on:

Wednesday June 15^th at 7.30 pm

And I hope you can attend to hear of progress, plans and prize-giving. An apology is in order before we get there. The Board’s original intention was to publish the accounts well before the meeting so all could have an opportunity to study them. This looks like being thwarted as our accountants have been unable to process them as swiftly as we hoped. This is largely due to the complexity of the accounting process. As we are a charity we have to conform to strict rules and making sure the accounts meet all the legal requirements is not a simple task. A projected change to our VAT status [which is important given the building work] has added to these difficulties. However the good news is that when the accounts are prepared they are unlikely to make dismal reading.

The John Frame Charity Event

This was held on Monday May 30^th in aid of Bowel Cancer research. I am pleased to report a good turnout. All table money was donated to the charity and opportunity for members to add to that through a raffle and donation of additional aid resulted in £600 being raised.

The Building Work

You will have noticed that the building work on the extension has started. So far we have been blessed with good weather and, so I am told, smooth progress is being made. The cloakroom and office have both moved as planned and we are certainly befitting already from the increased office space. Several members have commented, while playing in the afternoons, that the sound insulation seems very good as the noise of the excavating JCB is not too intrusive. No doubt there is more disruption to come but so far so good!

I look forward to seeing you at the AGM

Jeff Bond

Things have moved quite quickly since the last newsletter when I had to report slight delay. Since then a small working group have met with the potential builders and we had a “single item” board meeting to discuss the approval of a builder. We have decided to ask 7+7 (a building company based in Mussleburgh) to do the job and we hope to sign the contract with them very soon.

Planning permission has also come through and the work is planned to start on May 31^st. Planning permission was granted with one slight modification to the plans, another emergency exit will have to be provided in the extension itself. The extension work will mostly take place outside with breakthrough into the existing premises only taking place in the last stages but, while the foundation work is started outside, it is hoped to carry out the internal modifications. So I’m afraid there will be some disruption over the summer as changes to the MBA room and the social area are effected. I’m sure you will be understanding while this is going on. It is hoped to complete the whole project in 12 to 14 weeks.

Enlarging the MBA room will be work that is isolated from other areas of the club and will take place while the MBA teaching is in summer recess. So the only obvious repercussion when this work is carried out will be that the Falcon club will need to move back into the main playing area on Thursday evenings. The remaining internal work, to the kitchen and social area, will be more disruptive. The work will be screened off from the rest of the social area but we expect to be able to provide tea and coffee from the Flavia machine and hot water urn. We hope this disruption will not last too long but ask for your forbearance and understanding while the internal work is carried out.

The Melville v. Carlton annual match.

The annual friendly fixture took place on Wednesday 4^th May. There were 16 tables in play but I have to report a win for the other side! I am sure it was, as usual, an enjoyable evening for those who took part and we hope for a different result next time.

Debit card reader.

We have now acquired a debit card reader and swipe cards can be topped up easily enough using it. It has proved popular with those members who have used it. The club’s preferred method for topping up is by using on-line banking as the debit card reader does invoke a small charge for the club. However, for those who discover they are running out of credit only when they are paying at the club, the reader is a very convenient method of topping up. We would prefer you not to top up your card using cash.

Changes to Board membership.

We are coming to that time of the year when changes to the Board are going to take place. This year Pat Walkinshaw and Denise King have indicated that they both wish to stand down. Pat and Denise have both made a very valuable contribution to the smooth running of the club and have our thanks for the jobs they have done. I’m sure they will both continue to support and help the club in the future but we do need to find two [or more] replacements. Do consider putting your name forward to serve on the Board. The duties are not too time consuming and it is always satisfying to make a contribution to the smooth running of the club.

AGM reminder.

Nominations for the board will be approved at the AGM which is to take place on Wednesday June 15^th. Please do try to keep this date free.

Tournament directing.

The board decided, at its last meeting, that it would reward those members who act as Tournament Directors by not charging them table money when they do so. From now on TDs get a free game. This brings us into line with most big bridge clubs and something we should have done some time ago. Even though the monetary reward is small, we hope this policy change will result in an increase in the number of people wanting to act as TD. Do get in touch with me or with Damien if you want to help in this way. The task is not as difficult as many fear it to be!

The April congress.

I’m pleased to report another success for the April congress. It was very well supported by members and there was a great atmosphere in the club. It was especially pleasing to see such a wide spread in bridge experience among those taking part. With internationalists and grandmasters at one end of the spectrum and MBA members still taking lessons at the other, the event was a great demonstration of how the club is for everyone and bridge can be enjoyed by all. Thanks are due to David Briggs for organising the event and for Damien playing a major role in ensuring its smooth running on the day.

Changes to catering.

Catering at the congress was deemed a great success by those that I spoke to about it and we plan to continue using the current caterer who provides such good fare at great value for money. Speaking of catering however, the board have decided to make some changes to the routine food provided. Cake sales have been very disappointing and we cannot justify continuing to provide cake as a sale item. I know that the chocolate biscuits are popular with many, but there has been a problem for some time with chocolate stains on chair backs and carpet, so we will stop providing loose chocolate biscuits when the current stock has been used up. Instead we will provide a variety of individually wrapped biscuits. These have the advantage that they come with “best before” dates on the packaging so that we conform more closely to health and safety requirements. We hope too that this will reduce the amount of chocolate fragments finding their way on to the furniture.

Prize money for visitors.

Several of you have asked about allocation of prize money to visitors. As you know we now load the prize money, at quarterly intervals, onto the swipe cards. Swipe cards are available for visitors too under the same conditions as members have them. That is to say, they need to pay for the cost of the card (£5) and load their card with the £20 minimum top-up. If visitors do not want to acquire a card then any prize money they win will be used for charitable purposes.

Body language and acceptable behaviour.

Several less experienced and new members of the club have approached me recently having been quite upset by more experience players who should know better! The issue is not so much what has been said but a failure by long-standing members to realise how eloquent body language can be. An abrupt gesture or pulled face can be quite upsetting and off-putting especially for those who are struggling to overcome nerves or come to terms with novel situations. I promised that I would draw this matter to everyone’s attention. We are a friendly club and want to maintain that reputation so please do be aware that experienced players have a responsibility to ensure new members are made to feel comfortable and welcome at whatever tournament they choose to play in. New members are the future of the club.

The planned extension.

There isn’t much to report here. We still wait planning permission and approval via a building warrant. We have obtained three quotations for the planned work, but unfortunately these quotations were not comparable as they differed in significant details. We have gone back to all three builders seeking clarification and hope to be in a position shortly where we can appoint a builder to do the work.

I am pleased with the way you feel able to approach me and comment on events as they occur. Please do continue to raise any matters with me as I do want to keep my finger on the pulse of club affairs.

Jeff Bond

General meeting

As you know the last day of the month was used to hold a General Meeting at which the case for building an extension to the clubs premises was made. For those who could not be present, I can report that the meeting approved the plan to build an extension at the east end of the club. This will be of substantial benefit as it will greatly improve the facilities we have. The plans are on display in the club where they will remain for a little while yet. In a nutshell, by moving the match rooms into the new extension we can move the cloakroom and office into the old office and South match room respectively. By incorporating the North match room into the social area and creating an extra servery point, we hope to improve the relaxation area and service at break times. There will be some inconvenience of course but we are confident the long term benefits will greatly outweigh any disruption to the club’s activities. At the meeting members advanced a number of points which were greatly appreciated by the board. It is always gratifying to know that members take an active interest in the club.

Change to the Articles of Association

At the same meeting, members approved a change to the Articles which now allow board members to serve for 5 years if they wish. This should provide an increase in experience of sitting board members to the benefit of the club. It does not however mean that every board member has to “serve” for the maximum period now allowed. We will need members to come on to the board at the end of this year, so do consider volunteering to help run the club. From first-hand experience I can say it is fun, not too onerous a task and is much appreciated by the membership as a whole.

Increased participation at the club

I am delighted to report that participation in club events continues to increase. The last Thursday of the February saw 150 people playing at the club. The trend for all evenings continues upwards with possible exception of participation in club tournaments on Wednesday evenings. The Board are constantly discussing ways to make tournaments more accessible to members, especially those who have just joined the club and want to gain some experience of duplicate bridge. The Board plan to introduce another session of Gentle Pairs [where fewer hands are played and help provided with bidding] for those who are unable to attend the Wednesday afternoon session. These are intended for those who are still attending MBA classes. Look out for a notice advising about this when details are finalised. For those who have completed classes but are nervous about entering a pool with more experienced players [sometimes known as “sharks”], shallow water is available on Thursday evenings.  The relatively new ranked-pairs tournament on Wednesday evening is also a good starting point. Once less experienced players are used to playing at about 7 minutes/board, Friday evenings provide another opportunity to relax in a TGIF atmosphere!

Swipe cards

No newsletter would be complete without some report on swipe cards. There has been a large reduction in the amount of small change that has to be carried to the bank but not such a big drop-off in paper money. The club intends to purchase a debit card reader which should considerably reduce the banknotes handled by the club. When this has been obtained, please do try to top up cards using Internet banking [preferable], or using your debit card and avoid using cash. Using a debit card, however, will result in some slowing down in topping up as it will become a two stage process. Entering the top-up on the card reader will transfer funds to the club but not put them onto your card. This latter transfer will then be put onto the card in the club immediately as at present. So if you need to top up at the club, try to arrive in plenty of time to allow this to happen.

BBQ decision

At its last meeting the board decided not to organise a barbeque this summer. Given the great success of last year’s event this decision was made reluctantly, but with the planned extension work likely to be under way over the summer it is prudent to avoid mixing JCB’s with beef burgers.

Progress with building the Extension

We are in the process of selecting the builder. Several builders are coming to the club to look at the job while we are applying for planning permission and a building warrant. I will keep members up-to-date with developments as they occur.

A General Meeting

You will know that I have promised to keep you informed of our intention to extend the club premises so as to improve some aspects of its use. To this end we plan to hold a General Meeting on: Monday February 29^th at 6-00pm.

At this meeting, I will outline the plans to build an extension to the premises and to modify the internal space. I will explain our reasons for wanting to do this and seek your approval for this work. The Board are now confident that it can afford to improve what are already our excellent facilities by removing some inconvenient aspects of our current usage. If you cannot attend this meeting please do feel free to discuss this with me at any time.

At this meeting we will also seek approval to change the Articles of Association so as to allow Board members to serve for more than three years if they wish. I hope this will be a comparatively minor and uncontroversial agenda item. The meeting will be followed by the normal Monday evening bridge sessions.

A more formal notice announcing the General Meeting, in line with Company law, will be issued by the Company Secretary shortly.

The Spring Congress

The one day Spring Congress will be held on: Sunday April 10^th

Congress entry forms are now available. This year we are using the caterer that had such good reception when he catered in the club at the recent SBU Winter Teams of Four. We are confident that the catering will be excellent and the good news is that, at £8, the cost of the meal has gone down compared to last year. For those who want to eat there is a menu on the Congress entry form and you are asked to choose from a choice of main course and desert so that the caterer can know in advance what is required. The Congress proved popular last year and, if increased attendance at the Christmas Party is any indication, you should get your entry in early to avoid disappointment!

The Kelsey library bequest

You will know from my last newsletter that the club has received a generous donation of a complete set of Hugh Kelsey’s first editions as well as his bridge library. I have now catalogued these and can report that [excluding the foreign language editions] there are 67 titles in the “Hugh Kelsey Writings” section. I have also catalogued his library collection along with the bridge books we hold in the club. You might be surprised to learn that we hold a total of 484 different bridge titles. Many are present in several copies or editions and I can report that there are about 750 books in the library. I did try to categorise these books thinking that they would be more useful if they were classified in some way. This proved too difficult for me but if any member has experience and expertise in this area and wants to volunteer……

A downside of possessing this extensive collection is that we have nowhere to display them at present. We will hope to display the complete set of Kelsey first editions when [if] the extension is completed possibly by combining them with a display of the club’s bridge trophies [which are also stored out of sight due to a lack of display space]

Annual General Meeting

For several good reasons, it has been necessary to change the date of the AGM from that announced in the calendar. The AGM will now take place on: Wednesday June 15^th at 7:30pm

I hope this doesn’t interfere with any Accumulator bridge you might have fixed up as obviously there will be no Accumulator event that evening. My apologies if you do have to re-arrange an Accumulator date. The Accumulator will run on Wednesday 8^th June instead.

Jeff Bond

Christmas events.

I can report that the Christmas Party was a great success. The club was full with 96 people attending and enjoying themselves. At present, this is the maximum number we can comfortable accommodate in the club and the Board are delighted the event proved to be so popular. Coupled with the popularity of the summer BBQ it is clear that the club’s social events are proving to be very popular. This is in no small part due to the organisational skills of Pat Walkinshaw and Rose Simpson who, along with a small army of other helpers, work hard to get these events up and running. Starting the party with canapes and cocktails got the Christmas party off to a flying start and the feedback I received from those present was universally positive.

The Christmas Congress too went well although the numbers here were not at a maximum. I feel this was at least partly due to the events proximity to Christmas itself and the difficulty of knowing when exactly to hold the Congress. The Congress itself went well, due, in no small part to the organisational efforts of Damien and Anne. The Board plans to continue with the Christmas Congress and will gain more experience of when to run it in conjunction with Christmas itself as time passes.

Hugh Kelsey donation.

Hugh Kelsey was a famous bridge player with a quite prolific output of bridge books. His family have been in touch with the club and offered us a complete set of first editions of his books as well as other bridge books from his library. The board were delighted to accept this donation and feel honoured to have been chosen as the club to display them. We are going to purchase a glass fronted bookcase to display the first editions along with a notice to explain their significance and origin.

The club’s bridge library.

To continue this theme, you will have noticed that the club has accumulated a number of bridge books in recent months, many kindly donated by Keith Youngs, and these are frequently perused by members. My hope is that over the years the club will develop an extensive library of bridge books which will reflect the development of the game over time. Some of these developments can be very thought provoking. For example, did you know that in the very early days of Auction Bridge there was a bid of Nullos!! You could bid not to take tricks [much like misere in solo whist] so that a bid of 6 Nullos would contract you take no more than 1 trick. You will be pleased to learn this idea was never incorporated into the official rules of bridge – the game is hard enough already!  Of course for the contract to succeed the hand had to be played in conjunction with your partner’s so it was not like misere at all. Both sides in the partnership would have to agree they had poor hands!! Incidentally, the bid was ranked above spades and below no trumps. I got this information from “Foster on Auction” by R. F. Foster (1921).

Possible extension to the club premises.

The Board are still actively pursuing this possibility although there isn’t much to report in terms of decisive moves forward. Opinion is being sought over whether or not VAT can be recovered by the club and this is likely to be a major factor in deciding what we can afford to do. The Board do not want to do anything unless it is a complete project, significantly improving the club. This has to be done without compromising its sound financial footing.  I hope there will be more positive news next month.

Attendance at the club.

The number of tables in play continues to increase which is very gratifying. We are continuing to develop ways to getting relatively inexperienced players to be more familiar with tournament play. One difficulty we are experiencing is getting members to move on to different levels of tournament play as they progress. I can see the difficulty: If you are enjoying playing in a particular event then why move? I suppose the answer is that the best way to progress is to challenge yourself by playing against the more experienced members. The board will continue to try innovative steps in making different sorts of competition available so keep an open mind about playing in different sorts of tournaments.

Jeff Bond

Club activities over the Christmas period

Tickets for the Christmas Party are selling very well. If you haven’t got yours yet and are planning to come I suggest you buy one before they run out! The same is not true of the bookings for the Christmas congress. Judging by past experience, there is a slower uptake for this event and attendance does vary depending on the time of Christmas in relation to the weekend. However we do need to know soon if you intend to play as the numbers are important for planning the bridge and the caterer does need to know of probable numbers. Can you let the club know if you are planning to come please? Remember that, apart from the congress, the club will be shut between Christmas and the New Year for bridge, so the congress is an excellent opportunity to obtain some relief from TV repeats and couch-slouch syndrome.

Swipe cards

The Board has reviewed progress in the introduction of the swipe cards and are grateful to the membership in the way they have put up with some teething problems. We hope they are temporary and that, as you become familiar with the system, problems will largely disappear. The Board have arranged that, for the foreseeable future, a member who is familiar with the system will be in attendance before every session to help you overcome any hitches. There are a few things you can do to make the system work smoothly. Keep an eye on the balance of funds you have available and try to anticipate the need to top-up your card. You can then top-up at a quiet time rather than try to do so when there is a queue of people waiting to pay. The club intends to get a debit card reader which will mean you can top-up using cash, cheque, debit card or internet banking. Personally, I have been surprised how quickly the balance of funds on my card has gone down; I must be playing more bridge than I thought!!

If, inadvertently, you press any button twice and are going to pay for more than you intended, you need to void the double payment. This is done by first pressing “void” on the screen and then pressing the item you have paid for unnecessarily. The total payment, on the right hand side of the screen will now show the reduced amount that you intended to pay before the error.

Prize money

In the past both the Melville and the Carlton have had money stolen by intruders and one of the benefits of the swipe card system is that unclaimed prize money does not need to be left in club premises. As you will know from earlier newsletters, prize money is to be added directly onto swipe cards.  The Board have decided to increase the prize money slightly so that on average 13% of the table money is returned as prizes. Prizes will be allocated based on master points won (6.5pence per master point). In practice, this will mean prizes will be allocated, like the master points, to the top third of the field. Winners of tournaments will receive slightly less but prizes will be distributed to more of the membership. This change meets a commonly expressed view of the membership that prizes should not be confined to tournament winners. Prizes will be put onto the cards quarterly, starting at the end of January. In order to keep the workload for doing this to manageable levels, prizes will be put on the card only when the winnings are £5 or greater. If, in any one quarter, you have won less than this your winnings will not be lost but be held over until you have passed the £5 threshold.

Possible Extension to the club premises

You will all be aware that the Board have been investigating the possibility of improving the premises by adding an extension to the East end of the playing area. An architect has drawn up some possible extensions and also obtained, from some of his building contacts, rough estimates of the costs. At this stage it is still not clear whether we want to progress with this as there is uncertainty over the total cost but we should have a better idea after the Board next meets in January. If the Board decides it would like to proceed with this project we will hold a meeting with members later that month or in February to appraise everyone of the situation and to obtain approval from you.

Win a Dinner competition

The results of the three win-a-dinner competitions have now been computed. As was the case last year, there was tough competition for the winner of the match pointed section, but the aggregate tournament did not have so many who fulfilled the requirement of having played 6 times with at least three different partners. Congratulations to Denise King who won the match pointed tournament, to Jennifer Marshall who was first in the Aggregate section and to Keith Clark who was first of the less experienced players [ranked Local master or below]. Each wins a £60 dinner at the No.11 boutique hotel in Brunswick Street.

Maintaining a friendly atmosphere in the club

One of the best things about the move to our new premises has been, as one member put it to me; “the future has walked through the door”. It is both exciting and gratifying to find so many newcomers on the bridge scene. However it is important to remember that newcomers to the game are much less experienced in tournament play and we must all (no exceptions!) work hard to maintain a friendly, welcoming atmosphere in the club. There have been a couple of instances reported to me recently where the sharp word or unsympathetic comment has been made at the table or during tournament play. Please remember, we were all beginners once and it does take a long time to learn everything both about play and procedures at the table. If you are upset by an unwelcome comment, please do get in touch with me and I will do my best to defuse the matter and have a quiet word with the person involved to try and avoid a repeat.

Jeff Bond

The major event of the last month has undoubtedly been the introduction of swipe cards as a method of paying for tournaments and refreshments. I must thank you all for your forbearance and tolerance while we have all been going through the learning process and getting used to the new system. The board members have tried to be on hand every night to help but there have been queues and some delays while problems have been sorted and lessons learnt. At the last board meeting the various processes were reviewed and some small changes to the procedures have been made to try and circumvent some common problems. It has been decided to do away with the duplicate receipt. In the future only one receipt will be needed. This change will start on Monday 10^th November. The receipt will be given to the Tournament Director as usual and these will then be handed to the server who will use them to calculate how much coffee and tea is required. This should eliminate waste and also help to make the payment procedure a little simpler when you arrive.

We have also decided to move one of the registers to make it less congested around the entrance doorway. I think experience is showing that using the corner of the card to tap the computer screen is much easier than trying to use a finger. It seems more reliable and accurate. You might have noticed in bars and restaurants that the staff often do this and perhaps these professionals do know best! We do hope that, as we become familiar with the system, it will operate more smoothly. On the positive side, as you might expect, the club is now carrying far less cash on the premises and this must make us less vulnerable.

You will know that the club intends to put prize money on the cards and that the prizes in the future will be awarded on the basis of master points won. So the top third of the field will receive prizes. We hope this change meets with the wishes of members who had expressed dissatisfaction with the prizes being confined to the winners and runners-up in tournaments. Although the exact scale of prizes has still to be calculated, the policy of returning about 12% of table money to the members in prize money will be maintained. To reduce the workload for Damien and Anne, prize money will be placed on cards quarterly.

The Christmas Party and Christmas Congress

The Christmas Party is scheduled for Thursday December 17^th. Tickets are now on sale and can be bought at the club. Please do support this event; if the barbeque in the summer is any yardstick the party will be a great success. Tickets cost £20 which will include a three course meal and wine.

The Christmas Congress will be held on Sunday 27^th and Monday 28^th December. The popularity of this event continues to grow as members seek a break from Festive activities. As usual the club will arrange that the Swiss Pairs event (on the Sunday) will have an even number of pairs so there will be no sitting out involved. A Swiss Teams event will be held on the Monday so please organise a team of four so that you can enjoy the whole of this popular event.

A possible extension of club premises

I expect you will have heard of the embryonic plans to increase the flexibility of the club’s premises by extending the building out to the Eastern side. These plans are only a little further forward. The board are unanimous in the view that the premises could be greatly improved by an extension with the advantages spelt out in my last newsletter. We are meeting the architect shortly to try and get some estimate of the costs and only when we obtain these will we have a clearer picture. As I said last time, no decision will be made without involving the membership and obtaining your approval.

Mid-session break

On some occasions the social area is very crowded. This is especially true of Mondays and in an attempt to stagger the demand we will experiment with taking the mid-session break a little later. The MBA class has a natural break at the end of the taught phase of their lessons before they start card play and this is usually about 8:00 or just before. To ease congestion therefore the break on Monday for the two tournaments will be put back to 8:15 and 8:35. Of course we will monitor the success (or otherwise) of this change.

Win a dinner competition

You will have noticed that I have put a leader board for the win a dinner competition on the notice board. The rules are also on the board as many members seem unaware of this competition. I have not had time to compute the winner of the “inexperienced player” section but you can survey the leader board to see where you are and, if you qualify for this section, where you are in relation to other candidates. The important point to remember is that you need 6 scores with a maximum of 2 counting with any one partner. The prize is a £60 dinner-for-two voucher to be spent at the No 11 Boutique hotel & brasserie in Brunswick Street. There are a couple of weeks left in the competition.

Jeff Bond

Introduction of swipe cards

We started to use these on Monday 5^th October and, so far, things have gone relatively smoothly. Most members have added money to their cards by renewing their subscriptions and adding extra funds as suggested. Monday night was a good test of the new system as the club was very busy. However, the hard work put in by Damien to ensure that these funds were correctly recorded on the cards and in making sure most of the cards were handed out in advance of the start date, really paid off. Members were able to use their cards without too much difficulty. I believe the frequently asked questions document circulated by email also helped. I hope that, as we come more familiar with the system, the system will operate even more smoothly. One detail has still to be finalised. The “loyalty-points” system, whereby frequent users of the club would obtain further financial benefit, has proved difficult to implement due to the nature of the software driving the whole process. We will find a way of providing benefits for frequent users but this will require more work.

Possible extension to the building

The Board has had some interesting discussions about increasing the flexibility in the use of the club premises. Members will have been aware for some time that we are a victim of our own success! On some nights the social area becomes very crowded. We are aware that the MBA teaching room is a bit on the small side when classes are full, which is most of the time!! The match rooms too are a little small and can get stuffy when matches are played with the door shut. The Board have been looking at the possibility of extending the premises to get round these difficulties. Investigations are at a very early stage but one possibility being considered is to build an extension at the East end of the building and moving the match rooms into this extension. If we can afford to do this, and at the moment we do not have an estimate of probable costs, we might be able to overcome these problems. The important thing for you to realise is that no decision will be made without holding a members meeting to obtain approval of any plans. We will only recommend proceeding if the benefits far outweigh the inconvenience and only then if the membership provides the authorisation.

The Board also arranged:

First aid training

Dr. John Steyn has kindly agreed to provide a first air training session, including use of the defibrillator, on: Monday 2^nd November starting at 6:00.

We are sorry about the delay in getting this organised but hope that as many as possible of those who signed up can make it. The session should last about 40 minutes. Anyone who has not signed up would like to take part is welcome, but please do let Damien or Anne know or add your name to the list.

Success at Dunbar

Congratulations to Julia Palmer and Jane Stephenson who won the Pairs event at the Dunbar Congress. Congratulations also to Fiona Greenwood and Veronica Guy who were part of the winning team of four at the same event.

Jeff Bond

Bridge teaching starts

My luck is not confined to fine weather while on holiday, I am fortunate to be Chairman while the club is burgeoning and the membership continues to grow. The new teaching season starts this month and once again we anticipate a successful season. Exact numbers will not be known for a few weeks yet but it is already clear that the demand is high and numbers will be at least maintained at last year’s level. For those who are just setting out on the lessons, I hope you enjoy the challenge and find the club a welcoming place to learn new skills. For those who are continuing in the classes, welcome back! I trust you will find the new teaching year as stimulating and as challenging as the last. The club will continue to provide new playing opportunities for you to reinforce your bridge experience and I hope this is just the start of a successful and enjoyable time playing bridge in the Melville.

Times they are a changin’

Members will have noticed that the hardware for going cashless has been installed in the club and we are on course for introducing swipe cards from October 5^th. You will have received your letter inviting you to pay this year’s subscription [reduced this year to £45] and to add a supplement [suggested minimum £20] which will appear as credit on your swipe card. I have my fingers crossed that all will go smoothly when the new system is introduced. We will have people on hand to show you the ropes when the system starts, but, in principle, it is very simple. Simply touch the screen for the item you wish to purchase and swipe your card to obtain a receipt. We hope that buying your refreshment in advance of the mid-session break will avoid large queues at the interval. If you are paying for both table money and refreshments at the start of the evening simply print out two receipts – one to be handed to the TD at the start of play, the other handed in at the interval when you get your refreshments.

As I wrote last month, using the swipe card will give you an immediate financial benefit as the table money will be less than if you decide to pay by cash [£3.60 as opposed to £4.00]. There will be discounts on refreshments too.

Club competitions

These started this month. The annual Ladies v Gents was held as usual but this year there were two sections. The ladies triumphed in the “more experienced players” section but the men were ahead in the “no fears”. Honours even! Turnout in this event has been declining over the years so this has led to some discussion as to whether this event should continue. It could be replaced by a new event to mark the start of the Melville competitions if this was to prove more popular. Let me know if you have any strong views on this subject.

The Garden committee

Several members have commented on the garden around the club and the Board have decided to set up a small sub-committee to look into this matter. Nothing has been decided yet but some changes are likely come next year. Again let me know if you have any views or, more importantly, can volunteer some expertise.

Jeff Bond

Another matter raised by some lady members was about the Ladies toilets. “Not up to the standard of the rest of the club” and “basic” were two comments. This matter has been noted by the Board although refurbishing the toilet area might not be a simple matter so no immediate action is planned. If you have any brainwaves or suggestions about this do let me have them. At the very least, they can be put into the pot of “future developments”. I will continue with my “meet the users” sessions this month and a notice of my availability can be found on the notice board.

The New Season

Before we know it the new season will be upon us. Traditionally, the season’s start is signalled by the Eastern District teams’ competition for the Watson Trophy. This year this will be held in the Melville on Sunday 6^th September. Do consider putting a team in for this trophy; it would be nice if the winning team came from the Melville membership. On a club level, there will be several competitions running and details of these will be available in the Club calendar, due out shortly. One competition to which I want to draw your attention is the “Win a Dinner” competition which was held for the first time last year. There are three winners, each winning a £60 dinner-for-two voucher and I can assure you this is a prize well worth winning! The competition runs from September 21^st, to November 20^th. Counting the six best scores, the best placed member from the match pointed club nights, the aggregate club nights and the best placed less experienced member (unranked, novice or club master counting either aggregate or match pointed events), will each enjoy a fine dining experience. I am highlighting this event early because, based on the experience of last year, not many members qualified for the prize, especially in the aggregate and less experienced categories. Why was this? Many members did not qualify because the six best results with at least three different partners are required and many partnerships did not vary. So organise your bridge diary now so that you play with three or more different members! The competition rules can be found on the notice board.

Don’t forget too the new tournament I mentioned last time. For members who are of Club, Local, District or Master rank a tournament will run on Wednesday evenings starting in October. It will be run alongside, but separate from, any existing tournament for more experienced players.

Going cashless

As I mentioned above, we are progressing with the introduction of swipe cards and the Board have agreed on many of the details. We have identified a preferred supplier of the new system and when we know a likely start date following its installation, I will write a separate newsletter about it. We will also hold a members forum to explain the details and answer any questions you might have.

The BBQ

On Saturday last the club had a very successful BBQ “flanked” by two sessions of bridge. Fifty two people attended and I think it clear from the enthusiastic involvement of those present that it was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Already we plan to repeat it next year but will avoid clashing with the Festival and Fringe next time. The BBQ’s success would not have been possible without the hard work and organisation of Pat Walkinshaw, Rose Simpson, Elaine Greenslade, David Land, Peter Bowbrick and Rose’s friend Anne-Marie so thanks are clearly due to them. The success of the BBQ augers well for the next big social event…..

The Christmas Party

We have decided to hold the Christmas Party on Thursday December 17^th. This date avoids a clash with the Carlton party which happened last year. We will use caterers who have provided us with good service and great food in the past. Keep the date free in your diary so that you can start the Festive season with a bang.

Damien away

Things might not run quite so smoothly towards the end of this month and the beginning of September as Damien plans to be away. Plans have been drawn up to cover routine matters such as opening and closing up the premises and setting up tournaments. Please be understanding however if there is the occasional hiccup.

Jeff Bond

I plan to continue the Board’s policy of listening carefully to the members and will call in to the club regularly to obtain your views and opinions. I want to be a listening chairman. I believe those that use the club should have a say in how the club is run and so I will start my term on office by making myself available for comment and discussion at regular intervals.  I will try to be in the club early in the evening well before the start of bridge so if you want to talk to me on any matter you can do so. If I am playing that evening I will obviously be available afterwards too. I normally play most Mondays, some Wednesdays and nearly every Friday. I do intend to be around on Tuesdays and Thursdays too and I have placed a list of my attendance dates on the notice board, so you will know when I intend to be in. Of course, that does not preclude you contacting me in other ways if you have something you want to raise.

Going cashless

Those of you who were able to attend the AGM will know that the club has had a very successful year and both the membership and members’ use of the club continue to grow. At the July meeting of the Board several developments were discussed. One of these was raised at the AGM; in order to reduce the amount of money held in the club and to reduce the frequency of trips to the bank, the club is considering adopting a card system of payment similar to that already used by many golf clubs. The board have decided to progress with this idea. Members will be encouraged to pay for table money, refreshments and annual subscriptions using a club card which has been preloaded with the necessary funds. We are consulting several different companies who provide this service and when we have more details on how the system will operate, I will let you know these. The intention is to get the new system operational by September if possible.

New tournaments

The club calendar of events is being prepared and will be available shortly. There are several new initiatives which I hope will interest you. The Board has listened to complaints about the format and timing of the Purves clock and has decided to revert to the Wednesday slot. It has also decided to change the format to a Pivot teams event.  Run over three weeks, players partner a different team member each week. This is a new format for the club and is something different; some of you will recognise it has a similar format to the Atholl Cup run by the Eastern District. We hope everyone can identify three members they enjoy playing with and make up a team.

The club are introducing, for the first time in my experience, a stratified tournament on Wednesday evenings. We are conscious that the club has many less experienced players who have joined the club only recently and we will provide a tournament specifically for those in this category.  A tournament for members who are of Club, Local, District or Master rank will run on Wednesday evenings.  This will start in October and will run alongside the normal club tournaments which, as usual, can be entered by any club member. By expanding the number of competitions the Board hope there will be greater participation in club tournaments which have seen a falloff in numbers recently. We wish to encourage new members to take a full part in club tournaments and to be adventurous in widening their bridge playing experience.

Details of this and other tournaments will be publicised separately both on the notice board and on the website.

Helping the club

You will now that Anne is off work at the moment and we are finding out just how much she does for the club. Anne is now out of hospital and has started on the road to recovery. We all wish her steady progress in regaining her health, drive and enthusiasm.

On several occasions recently the playing area has been left with a large number of plates and mugs on the tables. Please can you help the club by taking any cutlery and crockery back into the social area at the end of the evening? Even seemingly small things like this are a great help in keeping the place running smoothly and looking tidy.

The club would welcome help too with more bridge-related matters. We appealed recently for volunteers to help with tournament directing and were gratified with the response we received. At the moment Denise King and Bill Rae are shouldering much of the burden of dealing boards. If anyone has some spare time and would like to help with this it would be greatly appreciated. The procedure is not very complicated and can be learned quite quickly.

First aid training

There has been a gratifying response to the appeal for first aiders. The delay in setting up the training session has had two major causes. Firstly it is another illustration of how much Anne has been doing for the club as she was overseeing and organising this matter and secondly we have been investigating purchasing a defibrillator and wanted to combine training for this with the first aid training session. The Board believe they have identified someone who will deliver the training and when the defibrillator is delivered we will contact the volunteers directly to work out the timing of a convenient training session.

Jeff Bond

It has been another very busy bridge playing season as we approach tonight's AGM.

Over the past twelve months membership of the club has continued to grow and now stands at 351 with a further 107 associate members who have been taking classes in our bridge academy. There has also been a growth in our bridge playing activities and we have exceeded the target of 65 tables of play per week, set last year, by on average 10%. This has been achieved partly by offering more playing opportunities for new players and partly because we have a lot of new members.

It's fantastic to see the club full on so many days of the week with opportunities for players of all levels of ability being able to enjoy a game with other members of a similar standard.

Although our premises were built to a very high standard, the Board has worked hard to improve the facilities at the club. In particular we have a new automatic door entry system which makes it easier for people who were otherwise struggling to open the rather heavy existing doors. The social area has also been improved with more modern seating which allows more members to have a seat during the mid-session intervals. The emergency access path at the rear and side of the building has been widened and extended to make it easier for anybody in a wheelchair to evacuate the building.

I'm delighted also that the Bridge Academy continues to be a huge success – many thanks to David Briggs, Jeff Bond and all the teachers for their considerable efforts.

The two Melville congresses at Christmas and Easter have both been very successful with record numbers of participants again this year. I have no doubt that both congresses will continue to thrive in the future. The biggest danger is that demand may soon exceed the amount of space we have available. I hope this doesn't mean we have to start looking for larger club premises!

Members continue to make significant contributions in regional and national competitions and on the International scene. Although the club boasts many of Scotland's finest players it is also extremely proud of the fact that our membership is made up of a cross section of players from beginners to expert. Long may that continue.

Although the year has been a great success, this would not have been possible without the enormous efforts of a number of members. Having a club manager and assistant has not only ensured the club runs very smoothly but has allowed us to introduce many more sessions of bridge for all levels of experience. Both Damien and Anne have made an enormous contribution far beyond the call of duty on many occasions. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude. Our thoughts are with Anne as she battles with her health issues- we hope she gets better very soon. I would also like to convey my thanks to all the many volunteers and to Board Members, especially Fiona Greenwood who is retiring from the Board this year and Scott McDonald who has taken over the demanding job of treasurer with great enthusiasm and diligence.

Finally I'd like to close on a personal note. I shall be stepping down from the Board after 3 years as chairman. All I can say is that I am delighted to have been able to play a part in the recent development of this great club. Thanks to so many people who have provided the support to make my job as chairman so easy and enjoyable.

Alan Goodman

The season has been a great success with record numbers of tables on a number of evenings. Thanks to all members for their support.

Building Alterations

In response to members' comments we have agreed to change both the front and inside doors to make entry and exit more manageable. We have also instructed a local builder to improve and widen the exit from the emergency door at the back of the building to make it easier for everybody to evacuate the building in the event of an emergency. Work will be undertaken as soon as possible.

First Aid Training

A number of members have asked if there are any trained First Aiders available during any given bridge session and also if a defibrillator is available on the premises.

St Andrew’s First Aid would hold a session for interested members that would cover the following:

• Managing an incident
• Priorities of First Aid to include primary/secondary survey and recovery position
• CPR
• Disorders of the airway
• Disorders of circulation
• Control of bleeding
• Burns and scalds

The Board  would be willing to pay for this course to be run at our premises, but it only becomes cost and practically effective if we have 12 – 15 people willing to undertake it – the more trained people we have, the more likely that at least one would be present on any given occasion.  When we have  enough people with basic first aid training, the club will also purchase a defibrillator such as they have at the Carlton and many golf clubs.

Anyone willing to undergo this First Aid course should let Anne or Damien know by the end of March please.

Prize Money

Views are very mixed about whether we should pay no prize money at all, pay only to winners or spread winnings out to a wider number. Bearing in mind that the wider the distribution of prize money the more administration is required,

I would ask members that have strong views on the matter to let Anne or Damien know their opinion. We would only propose to make changes if there is a strong weight of opinion in favour of change.

Future Board Members

There will be at least one vacancy for a new Board member at the AGM in June. If you may be interested please let me know so we can have an informal chat.

Clocks for timing tournaments

We propose to introduce visible timers so that players can see how much time is left during rounds of a tournament. The purpose of this is to ensure rounds are time managed more effectively.

Future Tournaments

Following the success of earlier sessions, more “Play +” sessions are planned.

The Ronaldson Bowl and Pinkhill teams tournaments start soon. Whatever your standard or experience please enter a team and enjoy these friendly tournaments.

Please look at the notice board for further details.

Results

Well done to Iain Sime and his team for winning the Manson Cup and to Mike Ash and Laura Middleton for winning the club mixed pairs.

Well done also to the numerous Club members who have won national and regional events over the last few weeks (details of which are published on our website).

Alan Goodman

Previous chairman's  newsletters below  are in PDF format. Click on a link below to read one.