NEWSLETTER NO 9       JUNE   2012

At last it’s summer, or that’s what they say! This newsletter has been somewhat delayed due to a three week trip pulling a shed, Phil’s word, (caravan) round the Czech Republic. Sorry, but the weather was lovely until we hit the M25 on the way back.

NEW ARRANGEMENTS FOR RUNNING RUGBY BRIDGE CLUB LTD

Following the Members’ Meeting on 17 April, the new arrangements for running RBCL are being put into practice. 

Jim Shoesmith has resigned as a Director, leaving Terry Bradbury, Terry Leary and Chris Malthouse as our three directors.  They will be responsible for the Articles of Association and for filing financial returns with Companies House.

A working group of five people, chaired by Terry Leary, is being set up to re-examine the Articles of Association.  It will report its findings in time for the October 2012 Annual General Meeting.

The new Management Committee will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the club.  It consists of Terry Bradbury, Anne Carrington, Clare Dixon, Judith Kleiner, Peter Langley, Terry Leary, Chris Malthouse, Phil Shorey and Wendy Pattinson.

Peter Langley has been elected as Chairman of the Management Committee with Wendy Pattinson as Vice Chair.  Judith Kleiner will be the new Secretary and Phil Shorey will continue as Treasurer.

The Management Committee will adopt Terms of Reference on an interim basis but these will be made available for discussion at the October 2012 AGM before being finalised.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR NEW CHAIRMAN

The new Management Committee met for the first time on 14 May and I was elected as the Chairman.  This is not a much sought after role and I did not need to fend off any competition.  However, having been elected I shall take the job very seriously indeed and give it my all.

We have been through a rather introspective period in which we have agonised over RBCL’s Articles of Association and mode of operation.  Mistakes have been made and we need to address those.  I am pleased that a working group is being set up to look at the Articles and  recommend any changes.

However I believe our main challenges lie elsewhere.  We must:

-       redouble our efforts to attract and retain new members, which will only happen if we are a genuinely welcoming club; 

-       develop more innovative ways of publicising our activities to develop a higher profile in the town; 

-       find a venue where all our sessions can be unified and which is a significant improvement on where we play now.   It’s frustrating that we have pursued this for so long without being able to clinch a deal.

We have a straightforward strategy to guide us in these and our other activities.  It is important that it remains a living, breathing document to which we refer regularly and which we modify as we go along.  It must never be allowed to gather dust on a shelf.

Above all, we should not lose sight of the fact that our primary activity is playing enjoyable bridge.  It is all too easy to get sidetracked onto constitutional and other procedural issues.  I want to see a forward-looking, outward-looking, friendly club, run with a light touch by directors and a management committee who are accessible and open to new ideas.  I will do everything in my power to bring that about.

Peter Langley

We are sorry to lose our Secretary Graham Clarke who has done a fantastic job and also Peter Augustus , Jim Shoesmith and Sue Osborne who resigned as Directors.  They have made enormous contributions to the running and development of the club and will be missed.

Thank you all.

EVENTS PAST AND FUTURE

JULIA MILLS TROPHY

It was a particularly nasty day on Sunday April 29^th and just the time to be a bridge player not a golfer.

A smaller group of players than usual enjoyed a pleasant and friendly day’s bridge at the Railway Club, Hillmorton. This is our main charity event and despite the rather low number of players we still managed to raise £460 for the Northampton and Warwickshire Air Ambulance.  As usual we welcomed players from Kenilworth and other clubs.

Bob Foster and Val Cooper, Paula Olive and Neil Jenkinson were first and second respectively with Peter Langley and Tony Ross third.  Peter and Tony as the highest placed Rugby pair were the winners of the Julia Mills Trophy.  Well done you two, especially as they had never played together before.

We were treated to a delicious supper much of which was home-cooked and donated by members. Many thanks go to Janet Chapell and her band of helpers, Peng Ward, Cynthia Martin and Pat Wren.

Thanks also to the Railway Club staff who are incredibly helpful and who produce the VERY best chips in Rugby. It’s worth playing to get those chips.

The raffle raised a significant amount, for which the prizes were all donated by our very generous members.

FUTURE MATCHES

Lutterworth     Monday           July 25^th             

Coventry         Wednesday     August 8^th

We have a team for the Lutterworth match but are still looking for players for the match against Coventry.

If you are interested please contact Peter Langley

Club  Summer Event will hopefully be organised in the next few weeks,

BRIDGE LEAGUE SUMMER EVENT

There will be a Bridge League Summer Event, held at the Ex-Servicemen’s Club on the 12th August -Sunday.
£6 per person, teams of four can be registered, or individuals. It is an end of season fun event with a buffet provided by the club, there is a bar and refreshments available, raffle and prizes. Liz Edwards and I are collecting names and ticket money.

MEMBERS’ CORNER

The Friday sessions continue to thrive with 8 tables on some afternoons, sadly Wednesday evenings are not so popular and more players would be welcome.

Our membership continues to grow and we welcome the following members:-

Peter and Alison Crowhurst, David and Jane Reed, Hugh and Lynda McClean. Pat Exelby, Howard and Jean Kirk, Cynthia Martin, Margarita Smith, JimBainbridge, Howard Carless , David Owen,  Eve Norton and Ken Wakeman,

It is great to see Margaret Bias and Denis Angove back at the bridge table.

Bridge is not just a game of cards, just ask Cassie Shaw and Petr Malis.  On June2nd they were married at the Chateaux of Valtice in the Czech Republic.  It was a memorable  occasion,  the bride looked beautiful and the groom wasn’t too bad either.  The guests were treated to three days of Czech hospitality, wonderful food and lots of wine and beer, not forgetting the slivovice.  Phil will fill you in on details.

A Taste of what’s to come                   

Cassie and Petr                      

AN INTERVIEW WITH ANNE CARRINGTON BY OUR ROVING REPORTER

Peter Langley

 When and where did you start playing bridge?

I was first introduced to bridge by my Aunty Lucy. One holiday in Scotland, at Lucy’s, Jane, my sister and I had a quick introduction to the game. Some months later, Jane telephoned me to say “The first bridge class starts tonight, at Finham Park School, Coventry. Are you coming with me?” So I cancelled my badminton and that was the start of the bridge lessons. That was April 2004. Nicky Cook was our teacher initially. Nicky used a board with Velcro playing cards. This was the best medium for me as I could see the cards in each hand and how the game worked. After a few years we were told to go out and join bridge clubs and put our learning into practice. I popped along to the Saturday morning session at Clifton. Chris Malthouse took the lesson and the topic went right over my head! So I decided it would be good to continue at Clifton.

2 What is the most unusual hand you have ever had?

Another holiday at Lucy’s found us playing at a hotel with parlour palms, very 1920’s. I was very nervous and opened a hand with 29 points! I bid 3NT and hoped Jane didn’t take it out – we were novices. I made 12 tricks. My heart was racing, it was so exciting. I have never had a hand like that since – yet!

3 If someone was going to partner you for the first time, what advice would you give them?

I would say “enjoy your bridge”. There is no point playing if you don’t enjoy yourself.

4 What do you think will be the benefits of being a member of the newly formed Management Committee?

 I can see how we can concentrate with the everyday running of the bridge club now, leaving the legal details to the directors. I see our priority, as finding and securing premises. This doesn’t preclude running our bridge sessions to our best ability and increasing our membership. 

5 What responsibilities do you hold in the club?

As the Membership Secretary I really enjoy meeting and welcoming new members. Our membership increases every year. People join from our very successful Saturday morning bridge lessons, others move into the area, and others find us even though they are not new to Rugby. Although we did not join the EBU, we still attract new members – so we must be doing something right.

For several years now I have really enjoyed running our Friday afternoon bridge sessions, at Clifton. In attendance is my dog “Amber” (The Rugby Bridge Club mascot).  She greets all the players, enjoys the biscuits, and mostly stretches out in front of the fire. The atmosphere on Friday is very friendly. We range from new beginners to the best players in the club. Afterwards we migrate to The Bull, where discussion of the hands is rife.

6 Have you ever been on a bridge holiday?

I have been to quite a few Mr Bridge holidays initially, and recently hotel bridge holidays. A couple of years ago on a Bridge holiday with Lucy in Bournemouth, I picked up a weak 2H hand. Somehow we ended up in 3NT! Dummy went down, and Lucy said afterwards that I took so long thinking about the contract that she thought we were in the wrong one. The only way I could get to my hand was if the hearts split 3-2 with the J being in the doubleton. It was! I made 11 tricks. Afterwards, in the bar, the Director announced that we were first! Everyone else was in 2H making 8 tricks. Nowadays, my nickname is “overbidding Annie”, perhaps this was the start?

7 What are your non-bridge activities?

My hobbies include badminton, bird watching, sewing and DIY.

Thank you Anne.

TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR TRAINING

When Chris first asked for volunteers to train as Tournament Directors I thought to myself ....        ’We need more female TDS.  How hard can it be?’

How wrong could I be!  First of all giving up 3 Saturdays to go to Stratford for the Training was quite tricky to fit in.  Then finding the club house was no mean feat.  Narrow Lane was well named.

So what did we learn?  Well, the first day was fairly basic organisation of events, movements and scoring which we all survived in good spirits.  The second session was more stressful, as suddenly we were put on the spot in delightful role-play situations with half a dozen others watching our panic stricken search through the Red Book trying to discover what on earth we would do with a pass out of turn or a board that some pairs had already played last Thursday.  We came out late and exhausted. Then factor in being a passenger in the car of a keen Aston Villa fan when we were in danger of missing the kick off.  A gin and tonic beckoned.

The third session was difficult, we all agreed.  We had a whole day of exercises on psyches, mis-bids, unauthorised information from your partner, mis-information by your opponents.  Our brains were spinning.  Luckily we had a little bit more role play as light relief. 

All that was between us now and the coveted TD certificate was a day of assessment on what we had learned.  Revision of topics was called for.  John devised a fab new version of the rules in Plain English which I cheekily copied for myself.  We were pleased with the new document until we got called in to make a ruling on an insufficient bid and found he had missed out an entire section.  It would be due to Murphy’s Law of course that we were both questioned on that particular section.

We adjourned to the local hostelry for lunch but daren’t have a drink for fear of our judgement being impaired for the afternoon session.

Luckily we all passed.  Now comes the really difficult bit of trying to put it all into practice.

Please be gentle with us.

Sue Osborne                (or maybe you will have to be gentle with me. Wendy)

RUBBER BRIDGE TOURNAMENT

The 2012 Rubber Bridge Tournament is well under way – well in some places anyway.  This year we have 38 pairs entered – twice the 2011 number – several of whom are drawn from Daventry and Lutterworth Bridge Clubs and from the non-Club rubber bridge community.  This meant that the draw consisted of six Round 1 ties where the winners join in Round 2 the other 26 (who received Round 1 byes).  Matches commenced shortly after the May draw.  Later in the Tournament I’ll be able to donate over £300 to Myton Hospice as a result of your support.  Thank you.

The first winners were the reigning champions, Judith Kleiner and Patti Jarvis, who swiftly stormed into Round 3 only to be thwarted there by Ray and Jean Gaunt who become this year’s first Quarter Finalists.  Well done Ray and Jean!

Other winners (that I know of) to date are:-

Round 1   Ann Wood and Lynda Houston, Hugh and Lynda McClean, Phil Shorey and Sue Osborne.

Round 2   Sid and Pat Downton, Alan Webb and June Parsons, Elisabeth and Owen Davies, Richard and Rhona Holland, Heather and Malcolm Spencer, Chris McCarthy and Celia Tunnicliffe, Diane Graham and Richard Cosgrove.

Congratulations to all our early winners.

Terry Bradbury

ODD-EVEN AND DODD DISCARDS

I have found that there is some confusion about these discards and hope that the following information helps to clarify the situation.

Page 13 of the April 2012 edition of Bridge gives the following question and answer about Odd-Even and Dodd discards.

Q  Please enlighten me about the difference between the ’Odd-Even’ and ‘Dodd’ discarding systems.

A  There are two differences, one of which is highly significant.  With Odd-Even discards, the odd cards are encouraging. With Dodd discards, the even cards are encouraging.

The other difference is what the discouraging cards mean.  With Odd-Even, the even cards are suit preference.  With Dodd, the odd cards ask for the suit of the same colour as the one discarded.

However Page 143 of the 1999 edition of Ron Klinger’s book titled Bridge Conventions, Defences and Counter Measures contains the following full description of the Odd- Even convention.

The Odd-Even method provides you with the maximum flexibility in your discarding.  You can signal within a suit that you want that suit led  You can tell partner that you have no interest and at the same time indicate to partner the suit that you want played.

Odd discards are encouraging.  If you discard a 3, 5, 7 or 9 you are asking partner to lead the suit discarded.

Even discards are discouraging.  If you discard a 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10, you do not want partner to lead that suit.

Even discards carry a suit preference message.

A low even discard asks partner to lead the lower outside suit.  One suit you do not hold and the even discard discourages the suit thrown.  That leaves only two suits.  If you discard the 2, you are asking partner to shift to the lower outside suit.

A high even discard asks partner to lead the higher outside suit.  Discard a 10 or an 8 and you are asking partner to switch to the higher of the remaining suits.

You are always bound by the cards you have been dealt.  With odd-even discards, you ually have a wide range from which to choose to carry the intended message to partner.

If you have the opportunity to make two discards and you have no suitable discards available, you can play high-then-low with odd cards.  High odd card followed by low odd card in the same suit = ‘Please disregard the encouraging message’.

Note that Odd-Even applies only to discards and not to following suit, whether it is partner’s suit or declarer’s.  There are usually too few choices to use the method when following suit.

Malcolm

RESULTS FOR RUGBY & DISTRICT LEAGUE 2012

Division 1

Division 2

Handicap Competition winners are Daventry Dragons.
Open Cup winners are Grahams Gambits

Congratulations on a good season.  I hope everyone has enjoyed themselves. There will probably be some team movement next season. We are encouraging new teams to join the league and if you know of anyone who is interested in joining could you ask them to contact Liz Edwards or myself please.

Jane Carrington

EDITOR’S THOUGHTS

The meeting in April provoked me to consider the roles of the Directors over the past year and I would like to share my thoughts with you. All the Directors have worked hard to further the development and future of the club. They have given a great deal of their own time to this, Phil is Treasurer with all that entails, he together with Sue and Peter has been negotiating a possible  move to Cawston . He has trained people to use the computer system, he is the one we call on if things go wrong. The boards that are ready for us when we sit down to play are not produced by the Card Fairy but by Clare.  Peter Augustus is responsible for the organisation and development of bridge at the Ex-Service Men’s Club. Anne is Membership Secretary and responsible for the success of the Friday session. The teaching team give up their Saturday mornings to teach newcomers and develop the skills of others. I could go on…. I suppose what I am saying is that few do a great deal, so don’t be too harsh on us if things don’t  go exactly as you might wish. Following up Peter’s message please discuss any concerns with a committee member.

A special note to newcomers, please, please if you are upset or concerned about any aspect of your bridge experience have a word with any committee member, Do not stop attending!   Problems WILL be dealt with.

Wanted.

 A volunteer to place the weekly reports in the Rugby Advertiser and the Rugby Observer. This is not a very onerous task and would be very helpful to Wendy and Peter.

 And finally, at the end of what promised originally to be a very short newsletter, how wrong can one be, is there anyone out there who fancies being a sub-editor?

Wendy Pattinson

 My thanks as ever to all who have contributed.