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Walks Linking All Sussex Bridge Clubs
Introduction

Dear All,

 

A group of us have decided to try and link all Sussex Bridge Clubs by walking to each one from another.  We will then play at each club and present trophies (kindly sponsored by Richard Newton) to the winners of each session.  The walk and Bridge will be recorded for posterity on a new Facebook page which you can access from:

https://www.facebook.com/LinkWalk/

The aim will be to raise funds to be split between Junior Bridge in Sussex and Alzheimer’s Research.  We envisage the venture taking the best part of a year and I hope to meet as many playing members from Sussex as possible and hopefully get you to part company with some money for a couple of excellent causes. 

Our first walk will be from Crawley to Meridian Bridge Club on Thursday 12th October a total of 7.6 miles.  If you happen to miss out on us visiting your club and would like to donate, I'll gladly take a cheque made payable to SCCBA.

Andy Ryder

1. Meridian

The winners of the first Lord Newton Link Walk were Anthony Vaughn & Andrew Kennedy.  Many thanks to the Meridian Bridge Club who raised a fantastic £147 for Alzheimer's & Junior Bridge.  We all had a wonderful day's walk & bridge at a really friendly club.  You can see some photos at https://www.facebook.com/LinkWalk/.

The walkers were Andy Ryder, Matt Smith, Neil Watts and Richard Newton.

Andy

2. St. Leonards

Massive thanks to the members of St.Leonards Bridge Club who raised an incredible £158 for Alzheimer's/Junior Bridge on Friday 3rd Nov.  Many Congratulations to Rosamond Palmer and Sue Clark who won the event with a brilliant 67.5 %.  We had a wonderful day and were made to feel very welcome indeed.  Special Thanks to Noreen for her super donation to the cause.

 
Andy
3. Chichester, 4. Bognor and 5. Bailey

The Lord Newton Link Roadshow headed west in early December and raised a fantastic £385 for Alzheimer's and Junior Bridge in Sussex.

The winners at Chichester were David Telfer & Chris Bury.  See full results.

The Bognor Leg was won by Leslie Simmons & Dick Pembery.  See full results.  Jennie Wright posted the highest score by a Bognor player but was ineligible as she partnered Richard Newton.

 

The Bailey leg was won by Jonathan Hooker & Neil Joughin.  See full results.

 

Huge thanks to all for making us so welcome and your stunning generosity.

 

See pictures on Facebook.

 

Andy

6. New Year Swiss Teams at Henfield

An added bonus to the day was the arrival of intrepid bridge charity walkers Andy Ryder, Matt Smith, Sharon, Lord Richard Newton and Mike Allen who had walked from Shoreham to Henfield to raise funds for Sussex Juniors and the Alzheimers Society.  NYST players kindly donated over £335 to the charity fund!  Pictures are available on the facebook page SCCBA linkwalk.

Charity-walkers Richard, Matthew, Mike Allen and myself were not too tired to finish in the runners-up position!

Lord Newton presented a trophy to the winners of the Non-Expert Prize who were Tomasz Serkowski, Jim Downes, Josie Allen and Francis Kelly.

Andy

7. Pulborough

Congratulations to Geoff & Joan Kellett who became the 8th winners of the Lord Newton Link Walk on Thursday January 25th.  Huge thanks to the Pulborough Bridge Club for their generosity, raising £112 for Alzheimer's & Sussex Junior Bridge.  Again, we were made extremely welcome and had a fantastic time.

There are some pictures on Facebook but not many as a lot of the walk was done in the dark!  See full results.

Andy
8. Thakeham

Hearty congratulations to Timothy Greenhill & Stuart Henderson who became the ninth winners of the Lord Newton Link Walk on Friday February 23rd.

Since we started walking from Bridge Club to Bridge Club in Sussex, raising money for Alzheimer's and Sussex Junior Bridge, I have come to realise just what a privilege it is.  We have met really nice people, laying to rest the myth that bridge players are miserable.  I have also been stunned by the generosity of Sussex Members.

Walking from Henfield to Thakeham was a treat on a bright sunny day and we raised a fantastic £214, taking the running total to just over £1600.

See results and pictures.

Andy

9. Lewes

Leg 10 of the Lord Newton Link walk from Patcham to Lewes on March 22nd has been deservedly won by Julie Williams & Richard Pearson with a very impressive 66.07%.

Again, we were made incredibly welcome by the members of Lewes Bridge Club and had a great time in their impressive premises.

Lewes members dug deep in their pockets too, raising the fantastic sum of £145 for Alzheimer's & Sussex Junior Bridge.

See results and pictures.

Andy

10. Crowborough

Leg 11 of the Lord Newton Link Walk saw us starting off at Forest Row at 8.45 in the morning.  We had a tremendous walk through the East Sussex Countryside arriving at Crowborough at 12:30.  Just in time for a Crafty Pint!
 
Crowborough is the highest town in Sussex so most of the 11 miles were uphill.  We were treated to some amazing views enhanced by carpets of bluebells.
 
Crowborough Bridge Club could not have been more welcoming, even baking us cakes for the tea break (the Orange cake was quite spectacular).  The event itself was won by David Ball & Howard Nunan and they raised a magnificent £103 for Alzheimer's & Sussex Junior Bridge.

See results and pictures.

Andy

11. Forest Row
Many thanks to Forest Row for hosting us on our latest walk to link all of the Bridge Clubs in Sussex, especially Linda Souter & Dave Burman.  In Dementia Awareness Week  #DAW2018, we raised a fantastic £200 for Alzheimer's & Sussex Junior Bridge.  This takes  the total to over £2000 and miles walked to 116!
 

John Cull & Derek Ryan ran out winners of the Lord Newton Link Trophy.

See results and pictures.

Andy
12. Framfield

Framfield Bridge Club play at Buxted Park and has one of the prettiest outlooks I have seen at a Bridge Club (so far). It overlooks the Cricket ground and is charming.  We walked from Crowborough to Buxted Park in early April, but as play starts at 9.30am on a Tuesday, we didn't manage to play there until 5th June.

Again, the members were extremely welcoming and generous, boosting our fundraising for Alzheimer's Research UK and Sussex Junior bridge by £80.

Congratulations to Liz Thornton & Sarah Riddick who won the Lord Newton Link Trophy with an excellent 63.19%.

See results and pictures.

Andy

 

13. Crawley

Back in October last year, we started our series of walks linking Bridge clubs in Sussex at Crawley Bridge Club on our way to Meridian Bridge Club.  On June 13th, we were back but this time after a 12.5 mile walk from Horsham Bridge Club.  Again we were made incredibly welcome and our collection raised £100 for Youth Bridge in Sussex and Alzheimer's Research UK taking our amount raised to £2242 and our miles walked to 141.5.

Many Congratulations to Bill Draude and Cecil de Araujo who won this leg of the Lord Newton Link Walk.  Also, many thanks to Helen Kent, Mervyn Wotton and Leon Northeast who was kind enough to partner me.

See results and pictures.

Andy

14. West Worthing

Over half way there.  Leg 16 was a pleasant 16-mile walk from Bognor to West Worthing.

We were met by a really friendly club that went out of their way to make us feel welcome and raised a magnificent £129 for Alzheimer's & Sussex Junior Bridge.

Roy Harden and John Buckland ran out winners of the Trophy but special thanks to Greg Brown & Pam Graves.

See results and full report and pictures.

Andy

15. Horsham

Hayward's Heath to Horsham was a tough walk. 15 miles in hot conditions meant a six hour slog but through some absolutely stunning countryside.

We arrived at Horsham who once again made us feel completely welcome.

We raised a staggering £1150 and no, that's not a typo.  It includes a personal donation of £1000 made by one of the Horsham members that took our breath away.  This means we have now broken through the £3500 barrier raising money for Alzheimer's Research UK & Youth Bridge in Sussex.

Winners this time around were Kamran Nadim and Andrew Morris. 

Thank-you once again to all at Horsham for a great evening.

See results and pictures.

Andy

16. Worthing

A short walk this time - just 5.5 miles from West Worthing saw us arrive at Worthing Bridge Club for our 18th Walk in the series to raise money for Alzheimer's Research UK & Youth Bridge in Sussex. The Lord Newton Link trophy was comprehensively won by Peter Nursten & Ken Bays with a super score of 71.02%,

The welcome & generosity we have encountered on our walks has been incredible and Worthing Bridge Club certainly didn't disappoint, raising a fantastic £220 for the causes.

This brings our total amount raised so far to £3741 and miles walked 178.

Thank-you to everyone at Worthing for making our evening so enjoyable.

See results and pictures.

Andy

17. Mid Sussex

The walk from Burgess Hill was only three miles, so our chief guide, Neil Watts, decided to do it there and back!

What a cracking welcome we got at the Mid Sussex Bridge Club.  They even provided us with wine & canapés.  We had a brilliant evening with Ian Sanderson & Richard Hopperton running out winners of leg 19 of the Lord Newton Link Trophy.

Not only were the members generous with the wine and canapés but they also raised the fantastic sum of £148.50 for Alzheimer's Research UK and Youth Bridge in Sussex.

Many thanks to all the members of the Mid Sussex Bridge Club.

See results and pictures.

Andy

18. Hailsham

So it's 37 degrees - what would you do?  You probably wouldn't elect to walk 9 miles for a game of Bridge!

It was already hot as we set off from Punnet's Town, home of Cross-in-Hand Bridge Club, for a game of Bridge at Hailsham Bridge Club.  Fortunately, our trusty guide kept us mostly in the shade as we walked through Sapperton Wood and down the Cuckoo Trail to Hailsham.

Another terrific welcome awaited us, something which unites all of the 20 clubs we have played at.

Clear winners on the day were Chatterton & Mary Sim with a great score of 60.05%.  Hailsham also raised a fantastic £130 taking our total to over £4000 for Alzheimer's Research UK and Youth Bridge in Sussex.

See results and pictures.

We are hoping for slightly cooler weather for Saturday when we walk from Lewes to Burgess Hill.

Andy

19. Burgess Hill

Looking for a game of Bridge on a Saturday Evening?  Well, Burgess Hill Bridge Club is the place.  It's a charming venue and the members really looked after us with a lovely spread of canapés & wine as well as donating a fantastic £155 to Alzheimer's Research UK and Youth Bridge in Sussex.

It was a lovely walk from Lewes to Burgess Hill, walking the South Downs National Park to Black Cap before dropping down the escarpment to Streat then though Ditchling to Burgess Hill.

Many thanks to Andrew Robson for his article in the Times at the weekend highlighting one of the many hands that has bemused us during our walk around all the clubs in Sussex.

We have now passed 200 miles walked and £5000 raised, an amount which was beyond my wildest dreams at the start.

Winners of the bridge were Julia Brown and Margaret Drake.

See pictures.

Andy

20. Adur Valley at Shoreham

Leg 20 was a shortish six-mile walk along the seafront from Worthing Bridge Club to the Church of the Good Shepherd in Shoreham Beach.  We were joined by David Park & Mary Lawrenson for this walk so we were five.

Winners were Shirley Price and Howard Da Vall 62.22% and the amount raised was £100.  Many thanks to all at Shoreham Beach who made us feel extremely welcome.

See results and pictures.

Andy

21. Wilton, 22. East Sussex, 23. KIBBridge and 24. Bexhill

With four clubs to choose from, Bexhill is the place to be for a game or two of Bridge.

We started Legs 21-24 at the Wilton club before walking all of 350 yards to East Sussex Bridge Club who play at Cooden Beach Tennis & Squash Club.  We were met there by the proprietor Barbara Herold who expertly runs the club and provided us with lovely tea & cakes.  The winners were Patrick Hutley & Josie Boryn and the members donated a fantastic £124.  See results.

On then to Bexhill Bridge Club, stopping off first at KIBBridge who are an affiliated teaching club run by mother & son combination Katie & Stephen Kennedy.

At Bexhill Bridge Club we were greeted with a buffet with wine, which might be the reason why my photo of deserved winners Shirley Bodle, Pauline Stephenson, Julia Gayton and Claire Weston is blurred!  Including a contribution from the club, the sum of £162.18 was raised for Alzheimer's Research UK & Youth Bridge in Sussex.  See results.

See picturesThanks to all the fantastic people we met.

Andy

25. Sovereign Harbour and 26. Eastbourne

We did the walk from Hailsham to Sovereign Harbour back in January, hence the overcoats. The game itself was on Tuesday September 11th when we were met with a splendid buffet.

Sovereign Harbour is a cracking place to play bridge with views over the water, brilliantly run by Hilary & Robin Levett.

Winners of the event were Kathleen and Roy and the runners-up were John & Harry.  The members raised an excellent £130.

From Sovereign Harbour we walked about 3 miles to the Eastbourne Club where we were quite stunned to receive cheques for £500 from their chairman Crombie McNeill, a tremendous gesture, which was increased by a further collection from the members to an absolutely amazing £711.50.

Winners on the night were Roger Poulter & David Walker with Albert Armstrong & Glenda Pelling.  See results.

See pictures.

Andy

27. Seaford
The Walk from Eastbourne to Seaford is a stunning one.... unless, that is, you are trying to do it in a gale!  Gusts of 50mph greeted us at 6.30am and didn't stop for the entire six hours of our walk.  We even had to shield our eyes from pieces of chalk blown up into our faces.

It was still pretty spectacular though and the welcome we got from Seaford Bridge Club made it all worthwhile.  They donated their table monies and plenty more too, raising a brilliant £175 for Alzheimer's Research UK & Youth Bridge in Sussex.

Winners of this leg were Alan & Carol Hughes with an excellent 62.96%.  See
results.
 
Andy
28. West Sussex

The short walk from Mid Sussex to West Sussex resulted in a good win for Rob Harris and Linda Gardiner with a very creditable score of 61.52%.  See results.

Many thanks to the members of West Sussex for the magnificent amount of £344 for Alzheimer's Research UK and Youth Bridge in Sussex.  And thanks also for the wine and nibbles which are always welcome!

See pictures.

Andy

29. Avenue

The Walk from The Church of the Good Shepherd in Shoreham to the Avenue Bridge Club was unique.  It was the first time in all of our 30 walks that it rained!  It is the first of two walks to the Avenue, one from the East and the longer walk from Seaford will be our finale, thus disproving Kipling's assertion.

Hilary Seddon & Mimi Howett ran out deserved winners with an excellent score of 64.88.  See results.

On the evening we raised £232.50 breaking through the £7000 barrier to be split between Alzheimer's Research UK and Youth Bridge in Sussex.

See pictures.

Andy

30. Wilton
Wilton play at the charming venue of Cooden Beach Golf Club.  We walked the 8 miles from Sovereign Harbour Bridge Club along the beach, again in stunning sunshine.  We have certainly picked the best year for linking all Sussex clubs raising money for Alzheimer's Research UK and Youth Bridge in Sussex.
 
Paul & Christine Williams ran out winners of the Lord Newton Link Cup with an excellent 64.55% and Wilton raised an excellent £77.50.
 
See results and pictures.
 
Andy
31. Cross in Hand
We walked twice to Punnet's Town, home of Cross in Hand Bridge Club.  We walked West 9 miles from Framfield and East 19 miles from St. Leonards.  The actual bridge session was on a third day.  As we had already walked from Punnet's Town to Hailsham, this was to be our fourth visit.
 
Congratulations to Mike Snatt & Wendy Trepass who won the event with 60.05%.  Dierdre Booth finished top but was ineligible to win as she partnered Richard Newton.
 
We were made most welcome by Cross-in-Hand who ran a raffle and sold some delicious home-made cakes to raise £75 for Alzheimer's Research UK and Youth Bridge in Sussex.
 
See results and pictures.
 
Andy
32. Patcham
Neil Watts tried to sell the penultimate Link Walk from Avenue to Patcham on a Halloween theme, walking via gardens, twittens, steps, past murder sites most foul, through dark parks and even a graveyard.  Unfortunately, a downpour kept any potential guests from walking so we were down to three.  We arrived at Patcham after a necessary warming in the Longman Pub, pretty much soaked to the skin.
 
Patcham BC had already donated £100 to Alzheimer's Research UK and Youth Bridge in Sussex plus a couple of members boosted that up to an excellent £120.
 

Deserved winners were Franco Civello & Stuart Marks with a brilliant 68.94%.  See results.

Andy

33. Avenue (Final!)

The final walk of the Lord Newton Link Walk was a 14-miler from Seaford BC to Avenue Bridge Club, completing the whole of the coast from Pagham Harbour, West of Bognor, all the way to Hastings Pier.  We linked every Bridge Club in East & West Sussex with at least two others walking a total of 300 miles.

Six of us walked from Seaford to Rottingdean where we picked up another six for the final 5 miles to Hove, meaning twelve of us turned up for a very welcome hot parsnip soup and canapés.

The walk was coordinated to coincide with the Avenue's Annual Charity Event hosted by Gunnar Hallberg.  Junior Internationals Stephen Kennedy & Laura Ersek kindly offered themselves to be auctioned.  The amount raised on the evening was £2515.50 which included a donation of £1000 from Vivian Priday, meaning that the grand total raised for Alzheimer's Research UK and Youth Bridge in Sussex was an absolutely staggering £8818.65!

This is an amount that I would never have dreamed about raising and would like to thank each and every one of you that contributed as well as each of the clubs that have so graciously accommodated us and made us feel welcome.

Running out winners with 61.01% were Nanette & Alan Gillespie.   See results.
Reports and pictures of all of the Walks can also be seen on the Walk's Facebook page.
Andy
Completion of Lord Newton Links Project – Congratulations and Thanks

The county management committee wishes to congratulate Richard Newton, Andy Ryder and those that walked with them and to pass on our thanks for the great success of their hard work in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society and Youth Bridge in Sussex.  Walking a total of 300 miles is a fantastic achievement and the infectious enthusiasm conveyed at each Links bridge session raised nearly £9,000.  The sum raised, which included wonderful individual donations of £1,000 from Vivian Priday, £500 from Eastbourne BC, and £1,000, £1,000 and £250 from three other generous members who wished to remain anonymous, is equally impressive.  Our thanks must also go to the 31 clubs which hosted the bridge sessions and to their members for their generous contributions.  The success of the project was reported formally to the management committee on 30 November where members recorded their hearty appreciation for the benefit delivered.  The injection of over £4,400 to our ring-fenced youth bridge fund will be greatly appreciated by all concerned.

In parallel with this tremendous achievement, the county has broadened its planned investments in youth bridge, building on the foundations which Andy Ryder established whilst SCCBA Chairman.  We have a three-pronged approach.  First, we have divided the roles and responsibilities amongst four people to spread the associated load and one of those involved, Ollie Powell, a member of the England Under 26 squad, is ensuring that our efforts are accurately focused on the needs of the target audience.  Second, we are developing a long term strategy, led by William Bourne, in partnership with Surrey CBA and Kent CBA aimed at creating and growing a ‘critical mass’ of young players through a series of teaching/playing events held throughout the year across all three counties.  Our primary contribution is an annual two day Junior Bridge Camp, led by William Bourne, with a mix of residential and non-residential places available, developing the concept which Andy Ryder introduced to Sussex some years ago.  Third, we have just started another project, led by Ian Wright, designed to introduce Minibridge to primary schools across the county.  Over 50 volunteers have been trained to form two or three person teams to work in conjunction with primary schools and an encouraging number of schools have already shown an interest.  We hope that Minibridge teaching streams will start early in 2019.  The long term aim is to establish bridge ‘clubs’ as after-school opportunities for children to develop their intellectual potential and, over time, to create links with those local SCCBA affiliated clubs that wish to encourage youth membership.

Very many thanks again to everyone involved in the ‘Links’ project for your fantastic support in delivering such a successful outcome.

Dick Wheeler (SCCBA Hon Sec)