In accordance with the constitution, the committee have elected Jill Innes as Acting Chairman following the resignation of Mervyn Scutter. The decision to hold bridge on Tuesday nights was less than successful and the Committee decided to cease playing bridge on Tuesdays with effect from the end of October.  

Subsequently, the Wensum Community Centre was identified as a viable venue for mid-week bridge on a Wednesday evening. The address is: Hotblack Road, NR2 4HG. The Community Centre is just off Hotblack Road in a cul-de-sac that is also called Hotblack Road.  This is a link to the map

Note that bridge is continuing at the Willow Centre on Friday evenings as usual.

I suppose many of us react in different ways when a new copy of English Bridge falls on the doormat. Some may read it all fairly quickly from cover to cover, others browse through it hoping for ways to improve defence or dummy play. As a director I tend to go first to items devoted to solving directors' dilemmas, some of them quite unusual. I hope you all got time to read Jeremy Dhondy's article “Calling the Director” on page 25. Although we do not want an evening's bridge to be spoilt by frequent and unnecessary calls for the director I wonder if perhaps we are leaning too much in the other direction, unwilling to call for the director unless there is a revoke. I was asked recently if I should have been called when someone accidentally dropped an ace face up on the table during the bidding. Yes, I should, though it would have taken me a couple of minutes to find it. When this happens offender's partner must pass when next it is their turn to call and if they became defenders the card would have been a penalty card. I know some players may think that sometimes a penalty may seem extreme but the laws are the same for everyone.

It is particularly important that the director is called if there is any infringement of Law 74 which deals with Conduct and Etiquette, some subsections of which are repeated here for information:

• A1 A player should maintain a courteous attitude at all times

• A2 A player should carefully avoid any remark or action that might cause annoyance or embarrassment to another player or might interfere with the enjoyment of the game

• B2 As a matter of courtesy a player should refrain from making gratuitous comments during the auction and play.

May I take this opportunity to thank those players who have been prepared to move tables so that less agile members could have sitting positions.

John Massey