Release 2.19q
Charity Bridge Events

During 2021 we have donated £3400 to various charities. My Sight, Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance, NARA the breathing charity, Marie Curie, Cancer Research UK, Headway Nottingham, Rainbows Children's Hospice, Macmillan Cancer Support, and Children in Need. 

During 2022 we have donated £300 to both Papyrus and Maggies.

Thank you for your support.

Sim Pairs Charity Challenge 14th.March 2024

We have sent £200 donation to  ECats for  MacMillan Cancer Support and MIND.  This national Sim. Pairs event has currently raised nearly £9000. Thank you to all who played in our event.

Cafe Bridge

For information please see
News Page

News Letter
June 2021

Message from our Chairman Paul Morris.  

The Woodborough Bridge Club Committee has provisionally arranged to start playing bridge again, face to face, at the Village Hall from Thursday 12th August.  Subject to government guidance.

We are waiting until after an EBU presentation on the topic of playing Face to Face on Friday 30th July before finalising our arrangements. For example it is likely that we would not initially be providing any refreshments.

In early August we will let you know exactly how we plan to proceed and at that stage ask you to let us know if you intend to come to the Village Hall to play. We would not be offering online bridge on a Thursday evening whilst trialling the return to F2F.

The AGM will be delayed until we have a clearer idea about F2F bridge.

The Monday afternoon online drives will continue until such time as the Monday Club is able to start up again in The Institute in Woodborough.

Meanwhile the Committee thank you all for playing in our tournaments and supporting various local charities over the past year. We look forward to welcoming back those members who have not been playing online; and to seeing some or you we have not yet been able to meet in person..

Best wishes

Paul

August 2020

Chairman’s thoughts

 

When I agreed to take on the position of Chairman for the coming year I had not anticipated that this would be the last time that I would be in the Village Hall for some time.

 

We have now had several weeks of well attended online club sessions on a Thursday evening and I would implore any members who have not tried online bridge to give it a go. From a bridge playing perspective it has many advantages over playing at the Village Hall. No travelling, no putting out or clearing away tables and equipment, no waiting for Bridge Mates to be set up and no waiting for slow players. You can’t revoke and you can’t lead or bid out of turn. We have also attracted new players for whom a journey to Woodborough may have been too far.

Whilst I miss the social aspect of playing at the Village Hall one can still chat online when you have time between rounds. If you are waiting for Bridge to start up again at the Village Hall then you might be in for a long wait. It is my personal view that I cannot see myself playing in a venue again any time soon. I do not fancy wearing a mask, cleaning my hands between boards and worrying about the risk to the lives of my nearest and dearest when I can play bridge in total safety online. If we do decide to open up sessions again at the Village Hall then many players may decide not to take the risk, however small it may be.

 

I can still see your faces in my mind’s eye when I meet you at the table online and I can hear your voices when you send the table a message.

 

It is always good to hear from our members, especially from those not currently playing online. Reg Dove emailed recently asking us to let members know that he is managing three games of golf a week. He is also enjoying our Thursday evening drives and most importantly his most recent scans were "all clear". That is excellent news indeed and we wish Reg continued good health.

 

We are looking at ideas for our annual Charity Drive at the end of November. This would be online of course, but just as much fun. Let us know if you have any suggestions of any local charities who would appreciate our support.

 

Players online regularly thank their opponents at the end of every round but we are possibly so anxious to find out how we have done at the end of the evening that we forget to thank the director too.

 

Paul Morris

May 2020

Dear Members.

 

It is now 10 weeks since we were all seated around tables, with mugs of coffee and chocolate biscuits enjoying our bridge in Woodborough. Seems like a lifetime ago. I am sure the time will come, but not for a while, that we can once again all be together in the Village Hall. In the meantime the club has responded to the lockdown by encouraging and supporting our members to play online through BBO. There are a number of arranged games happening amongst our members, and many are playing in other events run by the EBU, or by the EBU supporting clubs who have set up their own "virtual" clubs and County Associations. Several of us have also been playing with past members of our club who now live far away; or were otherwise too busy to play bridge. There is much on offer on BBO, and other online platforms, for all standards of play. 

The club is indebted to John Edwards who has deligently and successfully been running club drives on BBO. For those who receive his emails you will know this is not always easy. There are frequent references to "darkened rooms" and a "stiff drink"! Many of us have been enjoying John's Team of 4 matches on Thursday afternoons. All for free. We have been joined by members from other clubs and made new bridge friends. We acknowledge the tremendous support from David Dunford the current chairman of Nottingham BC, and his wife Elizabeth, in setting up our drives. A big thankyou to them. We have had more tables than we were getting just prior to lockdown. We would like to have more players join in, so please contact me if you are interested. The bridge is all about social interaction, as well as some competitive bridge. We use our own pre dealt hands; and with the results these are on the website after the match.

Some of our members are now able to return to their golf courses, tennis courts, fishing lakes, and maybe work; or just wish to spend more time outside over the summer. So the club is looking at further options for offering duplicate pairs on a Thursday evening. Pairs does seem to be a preferred option, and also on a Thursday evening. The Committee will be considering opportunities for future events , such as a "virtual club", over the next few weeks. Any views or offers of help are very welcome, just email me and I will share with the Committee.

For those eager to play duplicate Keith is setting up a drive on Monday mornings at 10.15amstarting on Monday 1stJune.Full details on our website. There is a $3 charge for this drive, but you will receive Master Points etc,and the EBU will receive their UMS/P2P sub. which in turns benefits us all. Everyone is welcome to join in. Please contact Keith direct via email: keith.m.spencer@btinternet.com; or register on the WBC website; you will find the link at the top of the homepage. 

We have also put on the website a series of videos to help you with BBO. From registering to setting up your own games. Also the important topic of "How to Alert"; all quite different from table bridge, and needs a little practice and reminding! We found these videos on the Little Clacton BC website following a recommendation from the EBU. 

I have been in contact with Reg Dove who had a heart attack several weeks ago. He was soon home again after an operation and has been told he can play golf from 1st June. That is good news indeed. Reg has asked me to pass on a message to you all:

"Please pass on my sincere thanks to everyone enquiring about my health issues but tell them it takes more than open heart surgery, cancer, a liver resection and a heart attack to stop the bionic man." 

Reg is playing a little bridge online, so we hope to see him joining in club events soon.

Our AGM was scheduled to take place on Thursday 25th June. Ray is looking into how we can meet our constitutional requirements as well as establishing a committee for the next club year. You will hear more in due course.

Let me know how you are getting on, and if you need help playing online. Do not worry if you do not have a partner for our events; I have played five times this week with as many partners; all slightly different systems. It adds to the fun, and you also pick up new ideas.

Do take care of yourselves. No need to tell you all to be "alert"...we bridge players are always alert!! 

 

Best wishes

 

Jane

June 2019

Chairman’s circular June 2019

This is just a brief note on two important topics- The AGM and slow play.

The AGM for this year is to be held on the 27th June before the club duplicate. An agenda will be issued a week or so before the event and this will include the starting time agreed at our committee meeting next week. However it should be around 6.30 prompt or a little earlier. Please try you best to attend and make any contribution you wish to.

Perhaps the most important action of the AGM is to elect or confirm the new committee to run our club next year. There is a notice in the club asking for volunteers and we do have one in the form of Helen Smith, a fairly new member. I could go on at length about the need for new committee members but I will simply reproduce the note at the head of the notice.

We elect all committee members for the next year at the AGM. Most members of the current committee have said they will stand for next year but we do need new or returning members to offer their services. Many of the existing committee have served for a long time and would be happy to take a break if other members offered to serve. It is important for a healthy club not to be run by the same people year after year.

And back to slow play and complaints about it last Thursday. We started a bit late because of slight difficulties setting up the movement, with a change from two sets of boards to one after we had started. There were reasons for that, but clearly a bit of director training on the subject is required!

Despite this early delay we did complete 24 boards by 10pm but, with a sit out, it meant that E/W pairs played only 21 boards. With 3 board rounds we should be able to play 24 boards easily in the time and even try to play all or part of the next round. As director I found there always seemed to be one table or another running behind, but not so far that I could cancel the hand. As we have discussed earlier, this is the most stressful situation the director meets in the evening and, as a playing director, he/she could do without it.

Fortunately, we do seem to have found the solution with Keith’s coloured timer. Unfortunately, Keith was away and so was his timer. The committee meeting next week will discuss this problem and I feel sure the club will buy its own version of the timer, after which I hope board cancellations will become self-regulating.     

Ray Furlonger   

April 2019

Chairman's newsletter.

Spring is here and winter is history.  No more cold dark nights to persuade you not to come to the club. It has also prompted another effort from me

The 18/19 teams of eight season has also ended.  For those who are into teams’ activity, the 1st team are likely to be relegated despite a strong finish. The second team was promoted by a big win in the last match and our third team finished mid table. All who took part enjoyed the season but we are always looking for new recruits to the team scene.

Julia and I represented the club recently at the NCBA club conference, so here is a very brief report.   

The NCBA is seen by many only to organise county matches, county leagues and a  few prestige events for the top players. They do do this, but the main purpose is to further the cause of bridge in our county for players at all levels and this is not really understood in the clubs.  The current NCBA committee is well represented by Woodborough members: Toni Smith ( chair), Jane Hall ( Team of 8 League Secretary),  Keith Spencer (IT  website manager and county tournament director), Paul Sweet ( Youth development and safeguarding), and Maciej Lejman.  Under Toni, the committee is dedicated to providing countywide events and services to players of all levels. The conference was  to exchange views and decide on suitable projects for the next few years and it proved to be a very worthwhile day. The three key topics were:

1. Safeguarding.

Clubs do have a responsibility for looking after vulnerable members. This includes children, disabled and elderly and for most clubs that means mainly the elderly. We must make sure that everybody is treated well in our club and if we hear that any of our vulnerable members are being mistreated outside the club we should take some suitable action.

2. May Festival

The NCBA, together with their colleagues in Derbys and Leics intend to organise a Summer Festival with something for everybody. I have not yet seen this advertised but we were told that the aim is to include most of the following

A Green point event for the stronger players
County wide sim pairs events including afternoon events for improvers
Further training for existing tournament directors
Master classes by some of the top players
Open days for all clubs that can manage it
A mixed sim pairs at Spondon

As soon as more details emerge I will make sure everybody at the club know about them. We should try to support when we can because the NCBA are making a real effort to be relevant to all players.

3. Membership Development.

Everybody knows that bridge clubs have an aging membership and that the sport will die out if nothing is done. It is possible to teach kids in school and students in university, but realistically this is not going to produce a flood of new young players wanting to play several times a week, but it can sow the seeds for later.  The EBU has identified those nearing retirement or newly retired as the most likely source of new players.  These could be people who played a bit in their youth or could be total beginners.   It was felt that clubs have responsibility to the game to offer ways for such people to develop skills and eventually become valued club members.

A group of clubs in the S of the county have already started this by jointly offering teaching facilities and it seems to be going well.  What I would like our club to do is combine with our own group of nearby clubs for the same aim.  This will include the non EBU affiliated clubs as well as bridge groups in golf and bowls clubs.  This has to be a combined effort so I would love to hear from members, particularly those who perhaps play at these clubs to join a group to develop this idea.  You don’t have to be on the club committee, just somebody who thinks this is a good idea and worth helping with.  Let me know by email or tell me on a club night. I intend to put the suggestion to the committee on the 25th April.

We would also like to hear from the members of any other items that you would like to be discussed at our next Committee meeting on the 25trhApril. If you don’t ask you don’t get, they used to tell me!

And finally I must mention the AGM now scheduled for the 27th June. This is when the new committee is elected.  It is unhealthy for a club to be run by the same people for many years so we need new people to come in every year with new ideas and new enthusiasm. I am told that the Phoenix club allows only 4 yrs continuous service on their committee, which might be a bit too much but we do need fresh faces ( or returning ones)  Think about it because we will be asking fairly soon. 

Enjoy your bridge

 

Ray Furlonger

January 2019

Chairman’s ( late) New Year newsletter

Having felt a bit guilty about my lack of communication, I thought the 13th might be a good time to start again. This was not a superstitious decision, rather an onrush of good news, for competition players at least.

There are only three clubs in the county that fields at least three teams in the League.  We do well to achieve this and thank our captains for managing the teams.  On the 7th January our enthusiastic C team under the equally enthusiastic captain Tony Brook beat Nottm B the unbeaten league leaders. Our B team  is currently placed midway in the division, alongside the C team.  On the 11th January our A team beat their nemesis West Bridgford A. And then, on the 12th Jan, two pairs from WBC entered the mixed pairs comp the Eric Nunn trophy at the NBC. There were 19 pairs and the comp was won by Toni Smith and Maciej Lehman with Julia and myself coming second.  Keep it up everyone.

Not everyone at the club aspires to play in teams and other comps, but these wins do wonders for the club’s reputation and encourage players of all levels to give the club a try. We are fortunate in having a few of the best players in the county now playing regularly at the club and those of us who are not of that standard can learn much by watching  how they play and asking for advice on problems that arise. This is a very important part of club development and we appreciate the support which all our players give to each other.

Last week, normal service resumed after the holidays with 12 tables, an enjoyable trouble free evening and a timely finish. What more could we want?  Well there is more.  We have welcomed 7 new members this last year, and sadly have lost a few  who have moved away or play elsewhere for various reasons.  Competition among clubs is strong at the moment; there are only so many club players around and the options are increasing; and Woodborough is not alone in having to retain it members as well as attracting new players.  As a club we all need to review what we can do to ensure Woodborough continues to be a successful club.  No room for complacency, your ideas are welcomed!    

A perennial complaint concerns  slow play. One way it can be helped is by quicker refreshment stops. A suggestion of how to limit this went out in my newsletter a year ago and I repeat it here to jog memories .

The tea break can be a problem sometimes and we can all help here. Members should try to arrange that they go for drinks only when they are dummy and bring two back. There should be plenty of time for that unless the kitchen is very busy. To help this, the kitchen is arranged so that all coffee is made from the boiler and tea from the two kettles.  Then if a kettle runs out, try to fill it from the boiler and not a cold tap. It all helps and many do it already.

Do put used cups and saucers in the tray and place in the dishwasher when full.  If you are sitting out for a round please proactively collect empty china, switch on the dishwasher or empty and put away if the cycle has finished. 

Another area where play can slow down is slow inputting onto Bridgemates. If you are sitting north do not leave it until the hand has been played.  The contract and lead can all be quickly input at the start..  All players at a table have a role in helping to make  sure play is kept to the required timescales.    Keep discussion to a minimum if you are running late, and quickly move on to the next hand or table.

 Your committee wants to build the club and keep it a happy place, which it largely is. Our next meeting is on the 17th Jan. We would welcome any comments/grumbles and would love to know your suggestions for improvement or new ventures.  Please contact me or any committee member before that meeting if you can, but any time thereafter is also welcome.

As things stand our main topics for this week's Committee  will be more teaching, future events, membership and possible daytime duplicates.

Happy New Year to you all and continue to enjoy your bridge

Ray Furlonger

August 2018

Chairman’s report

I am writing this while it is raining continuously and it is cold. Farewell to a brilliant summer and hello autumn. Or am I just being pessimistic?

Anyway, change is in the air for us at WBC.  The teams season starts with our first match on the 18th Sept with our own teams in a B v C match.  Then the A team follows up with their first match on the 26th Sept.  A teaching program will also start in Sept . Autumn will also see another big charity event plus our annual open evening.

None of these programs will be successful without a lot of work from the organisers and a lot of support from members. So this letter from me is mainly written to keep everybody up to date on where we are and what everybody can do to help and to get the maximum enjoyment from our club.

Teams

The new system requires a captain for each team and they now are: A team Steve Fordham, B team Paul Morris and C team Tony Brook. They will pick the teams, but are supported by Julia who is compiling an availability list from willing team members and is booking venues. If you have said you want to play and have not given your availability, please do so as soon as you can. Then, whenever changes in your availability occur, as they inevitably will, please let Julia know asap.

Teaching

Unfortunately we have lost the services of George Ripley and Toni Smith who have worked hard delivering very popular teaching to the club over a number of years  All is not lost and I am working on a new programme.

Several members, including past county captain Lloyd Eagling, have offered to help, so we intend to hold monthly sessions from September. Initially it will be for “improvers”. We would all like to improve but my aim will be for the course to appeal to those members with less than around 52% in the club averages. ( No problem with attending  if you are above of course!!)  I would be pleased to hear what particular topics you would like covered, so please email me with your preferences so we can plan the classes accordingly. 

The first session is now booked for the 18th Sept at The Institute from 10.00 to 12.00. I will present this session and it will concentrate on the basics of Acol bidding and the common errors that can be very expensive.

It would be a huge help if you could let me know by email:
If you wish to attend on the 18th September.
If you hope to attend most of the sessions.
Which subjects you would most like to see presented.
Any days in the week you cannot attend ever.

Teaching teams tactics.

Some members will be playing in our teams who are fairly new to teams play and therefore have limited knowledge of the differences between pairs and team tactics. We intend to give such members some advice before the season starts, so will soon distribute a set of notes which cover most of the differences.  We also hope to run at least one of our club sessions using a Butler imp scoring system instead of the match point system we normally use. The Butler imp system is very similar to teams scoring so the evening should provide further experience.  The announcement of when that evening is, will be accompanied with a short explanation of how it works. We would then follow up with written comments on those hands which most demonstrate the differences.

Notes for your diary

Children in need Sim pairs is a normal club night on November 15th

Club open evening 11th Nov.  Please bring your friends to sample what we can offer.

Club charity drive is planned for  28th Nov. This is a day time event. Again try to attend and bring along anybody you know to swell the numbers and the proceeds. And do help with running the event if you can.

Have a great autumn and continue to enjoy your bridge at our club.

Ray Furlonger

January 2022

Message from the Chairman.

I would like to wish all of our players a Happy New Year.
 

We are hoping that we will be able to return to playing face to face at the Village Hall after Easter on Thursday 21st April. Let us hope that the situation has eased by then and that this will be possible. I am sure that we are all looking forward to meeting both old friends and new players in a more sociable environment.
 

Playing online during 2021 has meant that we have been able to donate in total £3400 to various charities. In January we donated £400.00 to the My Sight, in February we gave £400.00 to the Lincs. and Notts. Air Ambulance, in March we gave £400.00 to Nara, the Breathing Charity, in April we gave £400.00 to Headway, in May we gave £400.00 to the Rainbow Children’s Hospice, in June we gave £300.00 to Macmillan Cancer Support, and in November we gave £200.00 to Children in Need and £600.00 to Cancer Research UK. We plan to continue to give to charity from our online income over the coming months. If you have any suggestions for suitable charities that you would like us to contribute to please let us know.
 

Woodborough has two teams playing online on BBO in the Nottinghamshire Teams of 8 Leagues. The A team are currently lying third in the first division, having played five matches and won three. The B team have played three matches in the second division ,and whilst not winning any, have lost by only small margins.

The Val Malone Trophy is awarded in December to the pairing that have improved most in our Thursday evening sessions over the year, compared with the previous year. We are very pleased to present the prize this year to Gill and Reg; Reg died at the end of 2021 but I know he would have been delighted to receive the cup. The top five places this year, with the percentage change in averages, are as follows:
 

1st Gill Lindley Reg Dove +2.07
2nd Paul Morris Richard Page +1.96
3rd Delia Travell Peter Butler +1.79
4th Julia Furlonger Mike Last +0.
5th Lloyd Eagling Stan Zygadlo +0.44
 

I would like to thank Jane, Keith and Ross for their support in directing online sessions throughout the year.

Paul Morris

Chairman