The weekend 5th – 8th April Glendower Hotel Lytham St Anne’s was a great success.

• Friday evening 5 1/2 tables: 1st Janet & David; 2nd Beryl & Michael; 3rd Sandra & Ernie
• Saturday morning 2 tables team#1 Pat John Leila & Olive; team#2 Bryan Janet Eileen & Maureen
• Saturday evening 5 tables: 1st Leila & Olive; 2nd Sandra & Ernie; 3rd Beryl & Michael
• Sunday morning: 3 table multiple teams
• 1st session; 1st Bryan, Anthea, Sylvia & John; 2nd Pat, John, Maureen & Eileen; 3rd Leila, Olive, Beryl & Diane
• 2nd session; 1st Pat, John, Maureen & Eileen; 2nd Bryan, Anthea, Sylvia & John; 3rd Leila, Olive, Beryl & Diane
• Sunday evening: 5 tables multiple teams: 1st Anne, Linda Janet, Mike & David; 2nd Leila, Olive, Beryl & Diane; 3rd Sandra, Ernie, Bryan & Michael

Click the link for more photos.

George Gould

The club has heard that the very popular Wednesday afternoon bridge player, George Gould, died on Saturday 29th December. George had been ill for some time yet still managed to attend the club until late November.

Chris Rowley

Chris died very suddenly on Monday 7th January. Chris, a regular Wednesday afternoon player, had been on good form at the club only the previous Wednesday.

Our thoughts are with their families at this sad time.

The County AGM took place at SBC on 2nd September. Judy Mitchell is shown here accepting the prestigious Dimmie Fleming award at the meeting from the Chairman, Geoff Davies, on behalf of the EBU.
The present committee agreed to remain in office. Afterwards bridge was played for the Phoenix Trophy and yet again Geoff Davies was on winning form, this time partnered by Paul Cutler.

Shropshire Congress
The Congress is taking place at The Grays Hotel, Telford on 20th and 21st April 2013. Countact Judy Mitchell if you would like to enter.

Do you take The Times?  A member draws our attention to the letters pages of 14th and 15th May 2012 and the meaning of the abbreviation LOL as used by David Cameron.  The letter writers were also a bridge players where LOL has another meaning, see "The Brass Cup" report towards the end of a 82-83 County Bulletin!

The County is looking for someone willing to represent the County on the newly-formed Regional Club Committee.  This not a very arduous task, the committee meets only twice a year.  If you can help contact Geoff Davies.

Click for the results of the Dawes matches.

Many congratulations to Geoff Davies and Robin Adey who were in the winning team of the Midland Teams Challenge Bowl on July 7th. Sorry no pictures.  Three of the other team representing Staffs and Shrops in the event were playing against us in the recent match against Stone

The Summer County Simultaneous Pairs Competition (with a prize) took place on Thursday 23rd August. Stafford was included along with Newcastle, Wolverhampton and Tettenhall, 54 pairs in all.  Congratulations again to Geoff and Robin, yet another victory!! Mike and Ivor were not far behind in fourth place

The Mixed/Flitch pairs took place on June 15th.  The Flitch pairs were won by David and Janet with best non-masters Michael Metcalf and Ann Stevenson.

The Ladies' Pairs and Men's pairs events took place on Wednesday May 9th. Congratulations to Geoff and Robin for winning the men's pairs.  Best Stafford result in the Ladies pairs were Shirley and Deirdre who came third.

The club has heard that Richard Barker died suddenly on October 4th. Richard was a regular player at the club on a Wednesday afternoon until just a few weeks ago.  Well into his nineties and still giving the youngsters a run for their money at the bridge table. 

Funeral: Friday 19th October 3.00pm at the Crematorium.

As members will be aware Tony has not been in good health for some time and the club was very sad to hear that Tony passed away in the early hours of September 24th. Despite his illness Tony always had a smile and a joke at the bridge table. Not so long ago Wednesday players gave him a "welcome back" party after a previous bout of illness, he was on great form on that occasion. Last season Tony played regularly on a Thursday evening, including in the Shelley, and was often at the American Suppers. Tony will be very much missed at Stafford Bridge Club.

Tony's funeral will be on Tuesday 9th October at Colwich Church at 12.45 pm. David suggests that, due to limited parking space at the church, club members might like to meet at the club about 12 and group together in full cars to travel to the church.

If you are interested in joining the training sessions for either club TD or to assist with scoring then please enter your name on the lists on the club's notice board. One scoring session has been held but any others who who like scoring training please contact Ann to fix a date for the next session, preferably at 6 p.m. on a Friday.  (Archived 23rd September 2012)

10 pairs represented S.B.C. against a similar number from Stone on Friday 22nd June. It was a most enjoyable evening with Stone coming out the winners by a small margin. The ladies, led by Sylvia, Janet, Pam and Pat laid on a wonderful spread that was much appreciated by all.

Stone Friendly Match

These are the 10 pairs who will represent S.B.C. against Stone on Friday 22nd. June

1. Janet & David Drinkwater
2. Pam Ewan & Mike Sherriff
3. Sylvia Ullmer & Ann Stevenson
4. Ivor & Liz Clarke
5. Rachael & Alan Ashmore
6. Beryl & Michael Metcalf
7. Sam Holden & Sylvia Hilton
8. Pat & Norman Martin
9. John & Joyce Taylor
10. Barrie Woodward & Philip Pym

There are 2 reserve pairs Pauline Goggin & Ghayur Zaidi and Mike Wood & Bill Inns

Since Friday night players have opted to join in the event rather than play independently the normal Friday night bridge session will not be running.

Click for the 2011/12 final league match results Division 1 and Division 2.   Congratulations to Geoff Davies and his team for coming top of Division 1.

The Ladies' Pairs and Men's pairs events took place on Wednesday May 9th. Congratulations to Geoff and Robin for winning the men's pairs.  Best Stafford result in the Ladies pairs were Shirley and Deirdre who came third.

The County winners of The Garden Cities Trophy qualifying event were Shrewsbury. Our team was D & J Drinkwater, Beryl & Michael, Paul & Linda, David A & Margaret.

Some of our members competed in the Shropshire Congress at Shrewsbury, 21st, 22nd April. Best result from Club members was in the Swiss Teams event with David D, Janet, Mike & David A.

The Bearn Final, a green pointed event, was played at Stafford on Sunday April 1st event run in two sections, a Howell movement followed by a Mitchell movement.  Best placed Stafford players were Dave Rowley & Peter Collier were top of the Mitchell section and 7th overall.

The County is looking for someone willing to represent the County on the newly-formed Regional Club Committee.  This not a very arduous task, the committee meets only twice a year.  If you can help contact Geoff Davies.

Click for the results of the Dawes matches.  In the November match vs Leics our club captain was part of the winning Markham team.

Monthly inter-club sims December 2011 results.
Monthly inter-club sims January 2012 results.  Winners, Mike Sherriff & David Alderson.
Monthly inter-club sims February 2012 results.
Monthly inter-club sims March 2012 results. Second Shirley & Joan, third Geoff & Robin
Monthly inter-club sims April 2012 results. Second Pam Allen and Rachael

An EGM was held prior to the President's Cup on Sunday March 4th at 2:00 p.m.  The motion that "The management of the Club shall be entrusted to the President, Chairman, Club Captain, Secretary, Treasurer, House Manager and Social Events Organiser" was carried unanimously.

2011/12 EBU Master Point Promotions (Magazines and websites)

4 Star Master (25,000 MPs)

• R Ashmore (website)

Master (5,000 MPs)

• S Elphick (website)

County Master (2,500 MPs)

• J Woodward (website)

District Master (1000 MPs)

• P Allen (website)
• A Ashmore (website)
• A Clarke (website)
• P Green (website)
• G Zaidi (website)

Area Master (500 MPs)

• J Brew (website)
• T Brew (website)
• J McCann (website)
• P Martin (website)
• O Morgan (website)
• S Palmer (website)
• J Round (website)
• A Sleightholme (website)
• B Webb (website)

Club Master (200 MPs)

A Dean (website)
R Farmer
• G Gould (website)
• F Greaves (website)
• R Jennings
• P Pymm (website)
• C Raven (website)
• L Richards (website)
• C Rowley (website)
• D Rowley
• A Smith (website)
• A Whiteman (website)
• J Whiteman (website)
• B Woodward (website)

Local Master (100 MPs)

• M Aherne (website)
• T Aherne (website)
• V Chapman
• B Cooke
• A Devoy
• S Hilton (website)
• G Hodgkinson
• H Jones (website)
• M Lock (website)
• J Palmer (website)

For 2010 and earlier entries see website, we have recently promoted 9 star premier, 6 star premier and 4 star premier masters on the committee!

The club is sad to report the recent death of Sue Anslow. Sue has been poorly for some time and for a few years has not been very active on the bridge scene.

For many years Sue was a County Committee member including County Membership Secretary with responsibility for collecting County subs - rather an arduous task before Pay to Play arrived. Sue enjoyed success at the bridge table including winning the County Mixed Pairs.

Before her illness Sue played regularly at Stafford, Chasetown and Wolverhampton. She also arranged regular bridge lessons in Penkridge and a number of her former pupils are now playing duplicate bridge.

Sue will be very fondly remembered by all who knew her.

Hopefully most members were able to make it to one or more of the most enjoyable club Christmas events.  The picture above was taken at the Tuesday Evening party by the club photographer, alias Captain David.

Over the period up to January 2nd bridge sessions at the club are:

Normal bridge: on  20th, 21st, 22nd, 28th and 29th December and January 3rd onwards. 

No bridge: 19th, 23rd, 26th, 27th, 30th December and January 2nd.

Weather forecast for January better than last year?!

David wishes you all a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Doug's lessons restarted on October 4th and it is not too late to join.  Classes are at 2 p.m. on Tuesday afternoons. Many of last year's pupils are now playing regularly with the club and going from strength to strength.

If you, or anyone you know, are interested please contact Doug, on 01785 824225, who will be happy to give you further information regarding the course.

Full members should be receiving their magazine every two months and have received their membership cards (with the June 2010 Magazine) and diary (with the August 2010 magazine).

Your EBU membership number and password for logging on to the EBU website are shown in the letter attached to your June 2010 magazine.  It is advisable to change your password promptly to one that you find memorable!  Log on to https://www.ebu.co.uk/members/ type your EBU number (without the leading zeros) and password in the appropriate boxes.  The "change password" button is at the bottom of the "my details" page, the page shown when you have logged in.

By default, if you are a new EBU member, the club will be able to read and change your details.  Should you wish to change either of these default settings then click the "my club membership" tab where there are two buttons to set the "read" and "change" options.  You may also change the amount of detail shown, eg email and phone number, on the "my details" tab. To view your Master Points click the "Master Points" tab.  Master points are updated monthly under P2P.

Finally logout when you have finished, button at the bottom of "my details" section.

On Tuesday 15th November the club took part in the ECATs Children in Need sim pairs. How pleasing to see so many players representing all the club sessions together with visitors from Chasetown .  The club raised the fantastic sum of £196 for Children in Need collected from table money and donations, 50% more than last year.  Click for the National Results, our local winners were Geoff and Robin with 2nd Rachael and Pam closely followed by Olive and Malcolm in 3rd place. 

Thank you for your support.

An Extraordinary General Meeting of the Staffordshire & Shropshire Contract Bridge Association will be held at Stafford Bridge Club, at approximately 7.15pm on Sunday, 9^th October 2011 following the Dawes Matches vs Worcestershire, to which you are invited.

The purpose of the Meeting is to ratify the proceedings of the A.G.M. held on 4^th September 2011 as there was not a quorum (less than 15 members present).

Matters which have to be voted on are the County Subscriptions for 2011/12 and the re election of County Officers . The chairman is particularly keen to attract new members to the Committee, either as Club representatives or Committee members. If you know of anyone who might be interested in serving on the County Committee, please let John Withers know who will forward their details on to the Chairman

Stone use Bridgemates for scoring. Some of our members have requested that we consider purchasing these.  It has been decided that, for the time being, not to purchase these devices for our club as the cost involved  is too great with respect to the use they would get.  There is an alternative device, a Bridgepad.

Andrew Robson is holding a masterclass on Friday 30th September at Holmcroft Youth and Community Centre.  This event is being organised by the County 

• 2 - 5 p.m. Signaling in Defence,  cost £10 (Sold Out)
• 7 - 10 p.m. Competitive Bidding Tactics, cost £10 (A very few tickets still available, contact Kath Adams 01785 748941)

A fish and chip supper is also available between the two sessions at a cost of £6

Now that we have reached the "silly season" Rod asks "How would you bid this hand?"  Please email your suggestions to Rod at rodewan1@ntlworld.com.  West has passed and you and your partner are North/South.

Rod reports he has had some responses to this question but he is not awarding a prize just yet,  he asks for you to keep on trying!

A more complete report to follow.  For the moment - a new club secretary, Anne Smith and a new Treasurer, Michael Seavers, have been elected.  Many thanks were extended to Pauline Goggin and Paul Laughlin who have stepped down after giving sterling service to the club.

Unfortunately, due to lack of support, the Bryan Baker Trophy event has been cancelled for this Sunday and a new date to be advised later.

Subscriptions were due during April.  After many years since the last increase the charge went up to £12.50 on April 1st for 2011/12.  

Shirley collected subscriptions during April.  If you have not already paid and you wish to do so please give your subscription to Shirley, Paul or David as soon as possible, late payment usually incurs a penalty fee! If you pay by cheque please make it out to "Stafford Bridge Club". 

Pauline and the regular Stafford Friday night bridge players welcomed Doug's pupils together with Geoff's pupils and other friends on April 15th.  It was an enjoyable evening, several of the regular lady players provided refreshments which were appreciated.  Geoff was able to be there for part of the evening to give encouragement to his charges but sadly Doug was not well enough to attend.  We wish Doug a speady recovery. 

 Hopefully the new players enjoyed the relaxed atomosphere of Friday evenings and will be back soon.

Charity bridge drive at Ingestre on March 7th, therefore no bridge at the showground that day.

The club raised an excellent total of £124.50 for the Children in Need appeal at the Simultaneous pairs held on Tuesday 15th November. My thanks to all who supported this event

David

There will be no bridge at the club on the following Mondays:

18th October,   25th October,   1st November and   15th November.

 as a number of the regular players will be attending charity games at local golf clubs.

The event was very well attended and a most enjoyable evening won by Rachael and Alan with Beryl and Michael coming second.  A number of players that we do not see so often came along and hopefully we shall see more of them in the future. Your ed (E) was particularly pleased to make 1 spade with 16 points, A 10 x x in spades, partner 3 pts and  x x spades when N held Q J x x x x spades!

Unfortunately our American Supper scheduled for 28th August has to be cancelled since Scope horse festival have banned vehicular access from Friday 27th. Apologies

30/7/2010 Results for this session now scored, apologies for the delay.  Please note that only 28 boards are printed from the Duplimate, due to the original making of the boards

Please note

30th July - 4th August: Passes to be issued to all members before hand wherever possible othewise collect at security gate

Ivor was duly elected as President of the club at the AGM on May 16th.  He is seen here collecting the individual trophy from Leila at the annual dinner.  Pam has stepped into Ivor's vice captain's shoes and three new members were welcomed on to the committee, Paul Laughlin (treasurer), Shirley Elphick and John Whiteman.

No winners, John, Paul, Jeannie and Audrey (not George and Ringo) fooled you all!   

Have you any better ideas for this spot? 

Meanwhile a little puzzle, ABC is an equilateral triangle containing a point P within it. PA measures 5cm, PB measures 12 cm and PC measures 13 cm.  What is the length of a side of the triangle?  First correct answer gets a mention here.

The County Show takes place during the first week in June and the club is inaccessible from May 31st until (and including) June 3rd.  Alternative arrangements have been made for bridge on the 2nd and 3rd.

Monday May 31st         No Bridge

Tuesday June 1st          No Bridge

Wednesday June 2nd     Bridge at Hopton Village Hall, 1:15 pm for 1:30 pm

Thursday June 3rd        Bridge at Hopton Village Hall, 7:00 pm for 7:15 pm

Friday June 4th            Normal Bridge Session at the Showground

NOTE: Match vs Stone Postponed until later in year

Hopton Village Hall is very close to the showground, OS grid reference SJ 9484 2611, post code for your Sat Nav ST18 0AW

1. Which member when choosing a new car has to first check that her Maypole will fit inside the car?

2. Which member recently accompanied a competitor who came 4th in their class at an international event?

3. Because of Eyjafjallajökul which member swapped his usual small white ball for a larger red one and pulled a hamstring as a result?  Should have gone to the American supper instead!

4. Also as a result of Eyjafjallajökul which member moved mountains to get back from the Middle East in time for the £10 subs deadline?

5. What is your EBU membership number?

Email your answers to webmaster@staffordbridgeclub.co.uk First 5 out of 5 correct answers will be mentioned in despatches, well on the website anyway!  (Best so far is 4 out of 5)! 

The meeting will commence at 2:00 pm in the clubroom on

 Sunday 16^th May 2010

Prior to the start of proceedings for the AGM it will be necessary to elect a new President.

-

The AGM will be followed by light refreshments.

Do you want a hung parliament?  Ensure your views are heard and registered (nuclear reactor, bike shed, tea trolley of Parkinson cf SBC P2P, chairs, biscuits), see that your session (constituency)  is represented on the committee.

If you have paid your 2010 subs and not yet received your AGM agenda please ask for the agenda when you are next at the club.

Strategy Proposal for the Future of the EBU
and
Duplicate Bridge in England

The Proposals - A personal View

1. What is reason for change ?

“Reverse decline” - This is unlikely to occur at any major level. Society has changed since the 'heyday' of bridge. There are more things to do, people have more money and choices.

“unite all players” - will this do so ? Compulsory membership is unlikely to be very effective -  the 'closed shop' was not a resounding success. The proposals are in themselves divisive. How can they unite ?

In Appendix 2 that the EBU admit that they may lose up to 1/5 of affiliated clubs . “However, it is likely that, at least initially,some clubs will disaffiliate from the EBU. The completed questionnaires suggest that that could be as high as 20% ... “

“efficiency improvements ? What are they? Membership and Master points administration seem to work quite well at present.

2. Raising Money

Payto Play' (PTP) - “...does not have the objective of increasing the income available to the EBU; it is solely about an efficient and fair method of collection of money across an increased membership”. This seems to be a circular argument - 'PTP will increase membership' - 'Increased membership requires PTP'.

If the real reason is to ensure a regular income, the EBU should say so and argue for higher subscriptions or alternative means of fund raising.

3. Independence of Bridge Clubs

Bridge Clubs do not exist in a vacuum, they are often part of other organisations such as golf or social Clubs. They are run for members,by members to suit their own local requirements. Officers are volunteers who do it because they are happy with club structure and who are prepared to donate their time. Clubs have many different priorities and playing levels and people join to play bridge at their own level.

The proposals will enforce a legal contract with EBU who will, in effect, control the club's procedures. Many existing club officials will not be prepared to work under these conditions.

            Note: EBU is not run by its membership

The EBU is a company whose shareholders are County nominees who elect EBUofficers.

County committees elected by very small proportion of membership. There were about 25 members at the Stafford & Shropshire AGM out of 441 EBU members (1422+ club members).

County committee members are not representative of club members; the main function of the County organisations is to organise competitions.

The questionnaire was flawed.

Question 6. “Would you expect your club to continue to affiliate to theEBU?”

                    Yes/No– The circumstances for continuing to affiliate are not specified.  

            Question 7. “Would your club prefer a single average Pay to Play fee (1)  
                    or a higher one for Master-Point sessions and a lower one for non-Master-Point sessions(2)?”

Note – there was no option that did not assume PTP was implemented.

The analysis of the questionnaires is almost entirely based on the responses to these two questions both of which are flawed. The meaning of a club's responses to these questions must remain uncertain.

It is interesting to note that many clubs did not reply to these questions

Q6 133 out of 634

Q7 139

The analysis is based on the assumption that clubs who did not return the questionnaire have the same views as those who did. This cannot be valid – many clubs may not have replied because they did not feel that the questionnaire was reasonable.

The analysis does not show the response rate by County, (we do not know how many clubs were polled, only the number that responded. In Staffordshire 17 responded out of 20(?))

The questionnaires were sent to each club and probably filled in byofficers who may not have had time to fully consult with their members who did not have the full proposals available.

5. Implementation of PTP

The proposals involve a very large investment (110,000 pounds +/- 10%+50% = 165,000) a large proportion of this will be on the IT project. Experience with this type of project shows that the cost overrun could well be huge, especially when the specifications have not been completed. Already the EBU are talking about mortgaging their offices to fund the project (“It is therefore intended, if necessary, to take out a loan, secured against the asset of the Aylesbury office building, to support the funding of the implementation.”).

The success of such a project depends on the ability and judgement of those controlling it. There is not a lot of evidence for optimism.The last major EBU IT project was the Scoring Program which was heralded as a great advance and all clubs were encouraged to take it up. After much effort by many clubs the project was quietly abandoned (no explanation – it just disappeared).

Note on Bridge Computer systems.

All the successful Bridge administration systems have been developed independently, Scoring and web-administration systems have been compared and tested by clubs who have then chosen the one most suitable for their purposes. The developers have been flexible enough to respond to the demands of the clubs.

Currently Stafford BC uses ScoreBridge and BridgeWebs which are proving very satisfactory. The likelihood of the EBU developing anything comparable is low. However we will be forced to replace our scoring system with one that reports on all our sessions automatically to the EBU,

If the proposals go ahead there is a strong possibility that clubs will split into two – an non-EBU club that continues to run as before and a small EBU-affiliated club for members who wish to play in EBU sponsored events. These EBU clubs would not need to hold many events and therefore would contributevery little in the way of funds to the EBU.

Conclusion

The EBU seems determined to implement PTP regardless of the opposition (or extreme apathy) of the bridge players in the country. They deny that it is a money making operation and say that income will not be appreciably higher than current levels. They talk about the need to unite bridge players and then accept that 20% of clubs may leave.

Interest in Duplicate Bridge may be declining but it's decline has little todo with the EBU and its influence. Social changes mean that there arefar more alternatives. This does not mean that we should not try to increase the number of players of all ages but to pretend that PTP is the answer seems rather misguided.

Currently players join the EBU (via the County bodies) because they want to support the game and they enjoy the benefits (English Bridge,training sessions, competitions, master points etc.). They are prepared to pay for these. Clubs affiliate for similar reasons.Making membership compulsory, or automatic, will reduce it's meaning (1960 union 'closed shop' ?).

There is no evidence that the proposals will actually improve anything. The option to modify the existing individual and club membership subscriptions, which would maintain the current relationship between the EBU, Clubs and players does not seem to have been seriously considered .

Master-points are important to some players and the National Rating System has strong merits but they could be developed under a less disruptive regime.

BridgeClubs have developed over a long period and it is very important that they maintain their independence. The PTP proposals threaten this independence by instituting a contractual relationship whereby much of club's administration is determined and policed by a external organisation over which they have virtually no control..

If the EBU persist in implementing their plans it will divide BridgePlayers. Many clubs including Stafford may decline to join, creating unnecessary conflict and resulting unpleasantness.

For what ?

nb.The views expressed above are my own and are not necessarily shared by other members of the Committee. If anyone has opposing (or any other) views we can publish them on the Club website so that members can consider their position before the club's AGM on Tue May 13^thand the meeting with the County chairman on Wed 7^thMay.

(006)

Would you like the results of the games you just played emailed to you as we update the website with the results?  Just send us your email address and we will update the records so that this happens automatically.

We are soon going to be able to send your master points direct to the EBU as well and so will require your EBU number in order to do this for you.

The latter will help us all to be GREENER

and save our planet's resources!  No wasted printing of slips (some of which are not even wanted) and a lot of 'personal' time saved for the committee member who has to do this tedius job!

So please help us, help you and our planet! by sending in your email and EBU number and if you are happy, your telephone number so that we can update all our player database records.

Many thanks.

Website Address

If you experience any problems with the URL, www.staffordbridgeclub.co.uk, over the next few days please report them to Ann.  In case of difficulty you can reach the bridgewebs site directly:

 www.bridgewebs.com/stafford/home.html

Your Committee 2009/2020 (Click on menu for more details)
President        Arthur Bloxham
Captain           David Drinkwater
Vice-Captain  Ivor Clarke
Secretary        Pauline Goggin
Treasurer        Ann Sleightholme

Committee Members
Pat Andrews 01785 663933
Mike Sherriff  01889 882296
Pam Ewan    01785 661507
Rose Jessop 01785 859071

I was interviewing a new Cleaning come Friday lady and I asked why she had left her last employment.  She replied "Well Sir, the wages were good but it was the most ridiculous place I ever worked, I really wasn’t sure what type of people I was working amongst.

They played a game called Bridge, and the last night I was there, a lot of them were there.  As I was about to take the Refreshments in, I heard a man say "Lay down and let’s see what you’ve got.

Another Man said `I’ve got strength but not much length`, then another Man said to a lady `Take your hand off my trick`. I pretty near dropped dead as a Lady answered `You forced me, you jumped me twice, and then you didn’t have the strength for one good raise!’.

Another lady was talking about protecting her Honour, and another two Ladies were saying`Now it’s my turn to play with your Husband, while you play with mine’.

Well, enough was enough, so I got my Hat and Coat, and just as I was leaving, I hope to die if I didn’t hear another man say.....

‘Well I guess we can go Home now, that was our last Rubber’.

(Apologies to all who have heard it many……….many times before)

Unknown source.

PATSY PALM

Funeral: Rev. Preb. Geoff Staton conducted an uplifting service for Patsy, with over 50 family and friends present. This was followed by a warm and friendly "wake" in the bridge club with over 35 of us enjoying an excellent spread of food. We gave Patsy a really good send off. God bless.

 at Brocton Village Hall

On

Saturday 15th May 2010

at 7:00 pm for 7:30 pm

• Parking limited, please share cars if possible
• Remember no bar so please bring your own drinks
• Shelley Results will be announced

Doug's lessons continue on Tuesdays as normal but Friday lessons are stopping during the summer.  Any pupils who wish to join the normal Friday 7:15pm session are very welcome, to participate fully, to watch or to have their own separate table.

The following motion has been submitted for the AGM :

“That the Club writes to the EBU Board stating 'that while Stafford Bridge Club wishes to remain affiliated to the EBU it is not prepared to implement the proposed Pay-to-Play system' ”

It is proposed and supported by the following members :

Iain Simpson, Arthur Bloxham, Alan Ashmore, Bryan Purslow, Malcolm Roberts

The motion was defeated 18-14

Notes relating to the motion :

• This is NOT a proposal to disaffiliate from the EBU

• The proposers support the general aims of the EBU as the 'game's national governing body'

• The timing of the motion (rather than wait until contracts are available) is to warn the EBU Board of the seriousness of the opposition to P2P.

• We oppose P2P because -

  • it is a major interference in the running of the Club

  • It discriminates against members who are currently not EBU members who will pay substantially more if P2P is implemented

  • The proposals have already created major splits in the Bridge Community with a number of major clubs opting out.

  • The proposed levy of 29p cannot be economically justified unless about 80% of Clubs remain affiliated. It has been estimated that the 'economic' levy would be nearer 70p.

  • The proposals will weaken the financial position of the EBU :

    • The levy of 29p has been determined before the level of take-up is known

    • The Club will lose existing direct debits and subscriptions long before any income arrives.

    • The proposal to 'mortgage' the EBU's premises during the present economic situation is 'unwise' (to say the least !).

  • The proposals have been imposed without any real consultation :

    • The Club was not given any alternatives to P2P (apart from minor options on the levy.

    • P2P was approved by 82-52 by the 'Shareholders' – who are nominated by the County bodies who themselves are almost solely concerned with national and local competitions and have no authority to speak for members or clubs – this has been recognised by Staffordshire & Shropshire CBA who consulted all the local clubs before voting against P2P.

    • Members have never been consulted although a magazine is distributed every 2 months.

(Members are invited to sign on theNotice Board to show the level of support within the Club)

It was agreed at the committee meeting on the 12th September 2009 that the club would not be buying new chairs at present. The comments made by all the club members were taken into account when they had tried out the various ones offered.

The committee will debate the matter again after the present chairs have been  re-examined and any requiring repair are assessed for the viability of doing so and in deed, if they are repairable.

To those bridge boffs(!) - I have only received one answer so far!  I don't know if it correct?  Let me have your answers please........then I will know what it is!
 
The four bridge players sitting round the table each had an ACE of a different suit in their hand on the deal in question! From the clues given below, can you fully identify the player in each of the four seats, and work out which ACE each holds?!! NB. North and South play as partners against East and West!!
 
CLUES
 
1 Richard's Ace was the same colour as the one held by Ruff, who was in the North seat.
 
2 Martina's partner was holding the Ace of Hearts.
 
3 The woman sitting West, whose surname is not Tenace, had the Ace of Spades.
 
4 Paul Hand was partnering Esther
 
5 The Ace of Clubs was not held by the player sitting South
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIRST NAMES: ESTHER; MARTINA; PAUL; RICHARD.
SURNAMES:  HAND; RUFF; TENACE; TRICK.
 
ACES:--  CLUBS. DIAMONDS. HEARTS. SPADES
  
NORTH---first name-----------------------------
WEST-- first name------------                                                                  EAST-- first name--------------------
SOUTH--first name--------------------

PLEASE LET ME HAVE THE ANSWER! 
I HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO DO IT!

Tuesday 17^th March – Computer problems

Good evening,

Tonight I am sending the attached letter, questionnaire and petition to as many Bridge Clubs in England as I can find the email details for. If you are not the Chairman of the club, I would be grateful if you could send on to him or her.

The objective is to establish how all clubs are reacting to the EBU’s P2P plan and I am looking to have all the replies back by 10^thFebruary. If you have any queries then please do not hesitate to send me a note

Dear Bridge Club Chairman, 18 January 2009

EBU Pay to Play Proposals

You are no doubt all too aware that the Shareholders’ vote in June 2008 was 52 to 31 in favour of the EBU proposals for Pay to Play (P2P). Like ourselves in Coventry Bridge Club you probably have many members who generally support the EBU, but who are dismayed with the P2P plan and surprised at how many shareholder votes were cast in favour despite what appears to be such a strong feeling against the plan at club and individual level. This letter to all affiliated clubs aims to discover what the feeling at club level really is to help determine whether support exists to try and stop the EBU progressing any further with their plans by means of calling for an EGM. For your reference, and to go alongside the EBU publicity, I have listed at the foot of this letter the main objections to P2P I have collated from talking to other club and county representatives.

At Coventry we regard the prospect of forcing our members to join the EBU and then recording all their playing sessions as an unwanted imposition and will consider either total disaffiliation from the EBU or find a legal alternative that combines both options. I imagine these are difficult and upsetting decisions for all of us to be considering. It was interesting to see that the famous Acol club in London has already withdrawn from the current EBU Master Points scheme from the start of 2009 and has created its own ranking system. It may be quite difficult to now bring them back into the fold and strengthens the argument for taking action now rather than wait for the EBU’s contract and other details to be published, before many more vote with their feet.

We do not wish to take further action without sufficient support, so please respond whether you agree or not with our view. I would be grateful if you would email me back the attached questionnaire by 10 February 2009. I also attach a petition-style form which you may find useful to put up in your club to help establish the views of your members, the results of which may be useful at a later date if and when we present to the EBU.

Please be assured that all responses to me will be confidential and I will not release any club-specific details without permission. However I will of course send you back a summary of the results. At this stage we are not proposing any alternative strategies, but these will clearly have to be created if sufficient of you agree with our plan to halt P2P,

Thank you for your attention,

Stephen Green ,Coventry Bridge Club

Objections to P2P

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  The principle that clubs will either be “100% in” or “100% out” thereby creating unnecessary division

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  The administrative burden on clubs to manage the P2P systems and complexity

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  Rather than promote membership, P2P acts in the reverse

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  Is a costly distraction from the main objectives for the EBU

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  Social players will be subsidising the more competitive players

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  Financial risk to the national and county organisations

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  The consultation process leading to the “Yes” vote failed to properly listen to or give airtime to alternative strategies

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  The possibility of a high level of disaffiliation could seriously damage the viability of many County Associations, as well as the EBU.

Many thanks

Stephen Green

P2P Questionnaire for Bridge Clubs in England

Please highlight your answers

Name & Role of Person completing this form:

Club: County Affiliation:

1 – The June 2008 Vote

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1. ~

   How did you advise your county representative(s) to vote?

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   • ~

     For P2P

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     Against P2P

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   • ~

     Did not advise

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2. ~

   Did your county encourage you to make your views known to them?

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   • ~

     Yes

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     No

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   • ~

     Kind of...please explain....

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3. ~

   Did your county represent your view with their vote(s)?

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   • ~

     Yes

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   • ~

     Yes – but after much persuasion

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   • ~

     No – but they took the majority view of the clubs

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   • ~

     No – they took the minority view of the clubs

2. The Future

2.1 Does your club now support the EBU’s P2P plan?

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• ~

  Yes – with no reservations

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• ~

  Yes – with these reservations:

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• ~

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• ~

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  No

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  Undecided

2.2 If P2P is implemented is your club likely disaffiliate from the EBU?

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  Yes

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  No

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  Yes & No ... we are likely to affiliate but will also look for a legal alternative to protect the interests of the Members of our Club who do not want to be EBU or County Members

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3. ~

   If there is sufficient national support, would your club be prepared to request your county representatives to support an EBU EGM to stop P2P?

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• ~

  Yes

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  No

2.4 Any other thoughts or specific proposals for an alternative strategy?

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Petition Form

EBU Pay to Play Proposals

We the undersigned members of..................................................................Bridge Club have considered the effect of the EBU Pay-to-Play proposals on the future and unity of the Bridge playing community and..

They do listen !

Table  Money : Effective 1^stJune table money to be £2.50 members and £3.50 for non-members, which now includes free tea, coffee and squash. Also a discount scheme for members playing four or five times in any one week. If a member plays four times in a week total payment will be £9.00 and for five times total paid will be £10.00 (ie the  4^thsession will be only £1.50 and the 5^thsession would be free).

The 'Shelley' - the handicap Teams of Four competition is under consideration and it is hoped that it can be re-scheduled. This is an enjoyable competition for teams, from our Club and others within the County League. The more teams we have the better it is.  Each team has a handicap which always makes the final result very close and it's not always the "Big Boys (or Gals!)" who win.

Anyone who would like to become a team member, or who is already in a formed team,
 PLEASE forward your details.
If you have any suggestions for the days suitable for the competition to take place, perhaps on a Sunday? let us know. 
The committee is here for the benefit of the members and we would like your suggestions for this or any other competition and even on whether you would like another playing day, evening or afternoon? for Chicago or Rubber bridge perhaps.