Congratulations to Paul and Mary the 2026 Club Champions

Here is a roundup of the latest Purley Bridge News with some dates for your diary.

Winter Season

The Summer Season 2025 finished on the 31st of August and the Winter Season 2025 commenced on September the 1st and will end on the 31st of March 2026.

All Winter ladders require a minimum of 10 appearances to qualify

Beginner Bridge Lessons

The Beginner Bridge lessons have started again in the Bowls Pavilion but they are now FULL.   Anyone who is already on the list for lessons or who has been to lessons before is assured of a place but we are not able to take any more new people at present.   Returning learners can decide whether to come to the beginner lessons at 12.45 - 2.45 or to the new "improver" lessons which will run from 3pm - 4.30 pm.   

If you do know anyone who is interested in learning to play Bridge please ask them to get in touch with Brenda Blackwell.  Brenda is starting a waiting list and it is possible that places may become available through the year. 

Assisted play will begin again on Wednesday 8th October from 1pm -3pm at the back of the Cowen Suite.

Weekly Bridge sessions

The Monday, Wednesday and Thursday sessions continue as normal.

Stewards are available on all Monday and Thursday evenings and Wednesday mornings.

The Wednesday afternoon arrangement whereby the Directors act as Stewards remains unchanged.

 A new rota for Stewards and Scorers has been set up for the Winter season. Details are on the Bridgewebs calendar.

Purley Bridge Club mourns the loss of a great servant with the sad passing of Butch Manning, just a year after he lost his wife.  Butch did a tremendous amount for the Bridge Club, but was always very quiet and low key about it.   He served on the Committee for many years as our Quartermaster, ensuring we had adequate supplies of everything we needed, ordering replacements before we even knew stocks were low.  He would often somehow magically produce tables from hiding places somewhere in the building.   He used to arrive very early on Wednesday mornings to set up the room for the morning bridge and then go home again.  When everyone else turned up everything was set and ready to go.   In the winter he turned on the heating in the morning in the Bowls pavilion for Brenda’s training sessions without even being asked.   Prior to our separation from Purley Sports Club, Butch was our representative on their Committee and acted as our main liaison point for arrangements, keeping us well informed of any developments affecting us.  He did all this in such a humble and unassuming manner, that nobody really appreciated just how much he did.  He was a true unsung hero and it is a privilege for the Committee to sing his praises now.   With happy memories and grateful thanks - God bless you Butch.

Congratulations to Steve and Terry for winning the club Swiss Pairs event