In some trepidation I had signed up for the annual 1989 Bridge Club Away Trip, never imagining I would ever enjoy playing bridge for a whole weekend !!! How wrong was I ......

The trip took place from Friday 12th to Sunday 14th April and the venue was a repeat of the successful 2018 event - The View Hotel, Eastbourne. Very aptly named with sea views from almost all of the bedrooms, the restaurant and even the bright and airy bridge room set up with nine tables for all our bridge sessions over the weekend. Other than those unlucky enough to be “South”, everyone else had stunning sea views, at times quite distracting !!!

36 members had signed up, two more than last year. The whole event had been masterminded again by Kris and Krystyna who had thought of everything. Our first session was played on the Friday afternoon. Following drinks and a delicious three course buffet style dinner, nearly everyone returned to the bridge room to participate in a general knowledge quiz set by Kris and Krystyna which certainly tested our brains and was great fun.

Further bridge was played on Saturday morning after breakfast. A finger buffet lunch was then laid up for us all, and following some free time to either relax or explore Eastbourne in the afternoon, another bridge session was held, half played before dinner and finishing off after our meal in the evening. I am sure the glass of wine or three with dinner made for some very interesting bidding - there was definitely a lot more hilarity !!!

We all somehow managed to eat yet another well prepared buffet style breakfast on the Sunday, with the sun continuing to shine for our last morning of bridge, this time played in teams.

Prize giving and a light buffet style lunch followed with everyone really appreciative of the hard work put in by our organisers, the four Directors, Peter, Alan, Nina and Rosemary, and particularly for Jenny who had done all the scoring.

I started off my report saying I was not sure what to expect. I can only say I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. This may have been my inaugural away trip but the first class organising by Kris and Krystyna and the friendliness of everyone, with the opportunity to get to know so many of the members better, has definitely made me want to sign up again for next year !!

It was almost a unanimous decision that we would return to The View again, and hopefully more members will be encouraged to sign up for a repeat of an event that I am sure everyone will agree was a great success with lots of laughs and fun.

Prizes were awarded to the N/Sand E/W winners of each pairs session. In addition players bidding and making slams were rewarded as were the Quiz team victors. Too many to name so all shown below.

Pat Reed

To enable the Director to organise play could players please be seated by 7.15

Friday the 13th April was certainly not an unlucky day for the 34 members of the 1989 Bridge Club who travelled to Eastbourne for a weekend break.

The hotel chosen by Kris and Krystina was called The View and was situated right on the sea front with wonderful views of the sea from most of the rooms. It was the perfect location and Eastbourne proved to have many attractions which were all on our doorstep.The hotel was modern, light and airy. Most of us were lucky enough to get a bedroom with a sea view and a balcony. Bliss.

The room allocated to us for playing bridge was on the first floor with plenty of space for eight tables and again lots of light and views from all the windows.

After bridge on Friday afternoon we reconvened in the bar before going to the restaurant for a delicious three-course buffet-style dinner. I think all tastes were catered for at the buffet.

Before we were allowed to retire to bed, most of us participated in a fiendish Quiz, which was created by Kris. He had put a lot of work into this and I am sure all the participants would agree that it was great fun. There were seven teams and it was very closely fought.

We wakened on Saturday morning to see the sun streaming in our windows and the promise of a beautiful spring day. Some of us went for an early morning stroll along the promenade before tackling the cooked breakfast in the buffet.

More bridge followed during the morning and then a light lunch was served to us in our bridge room.

We then had a couple of hours of free time and so some of us hit the shops, some went for walks and others relaxed with a book. The hotel is ideally situated to be able to walk into the town centre for the shops or for the more energetic to walk up to Beachy Head.

The last session of bridge was split into two halves, before and after dinner, and once we finished the bridge everyone was then very ready to tumble into bed.

Sunday morning and again the sight of the sun over the water made you want to get out and enjoy the sea air.

We finished off the weekend with a session of teams' bridge which was fiercely fought and the winners were Liv and Rusty Lawyer, Rosemary Miller and Mary Irving.

Prize giving and a light lunch followed the bridge and we all applauded Kris & Krystina for choosing such a successful venue and agreed it would be good to return next year.

Many thanks to Jenny Clapham who did all the scoring over the weekend and to all the directors who kept us under control.

It would be good to see more members coming along next year, especially those who have never been on a bridge weekend before, and I can certainly recommend it.

Lorna Alexander

Unfortunately many of us had a slightly delayed start to the weekend away with queues on the notorious M25.  However, most of us still managed to arrive for a tasty bar snack lunch and have a look around the extensive grounds and facilities: offering an outdoor tennis court, indoor swimming pool, spa bath, sauna and gym.
The modern hotel gave us very adequate bedrooms, nicely decorated spacious communal areas with an outside patio and an ideal Bridge room, including a cold water facility.  Also a bonus was the drinks stations, offering coffee, tea, hot chocolate and biscuits at any time all free of charge.
The thirty two Club members met in the Bar early on the Friday evening for a drink before heading off to the Restaurant.  We were seated on three large round tables which allowed us to chatter easily to all.  The restaurant ran a self-service buffet offering an excellent choice of dishes at breakfast, lunch and supper each day.  I'm sure many of us ate in excess as we were tempted by the many choices!
Everyone attended all the Bridge sessions held on Friday evening, Saturday morning, a split session Saturday afternoon and evening, finishing with a Teams event on Sunday morning.
It was lovely to see a number of our more senior members joining in on this trip and thanks must go to all those who volunteered lifts to enable this to happen.
Unusually, our package included a full lunch on the last day after which we had a group photo.
Before the homeward trip (or duing the weekend) some of us visited the very picturesque village of Denham with beautiful old cottages, a couple of pubs and a lovely Church with pretty flowers throughout the villages, including a Wisteria in full bloom.  There was also a National Gardens scheme garden open to visit.
Very warm thanks to Kris and Krystyna who organised an excellent weekend along with support from others who ran the Bridge sessions without a hitch and to Jenny who managed the scoring for all the sessions!
I'm sure many of us will be back for the next trip for this popular event in our calendar and may I encourage any of our newer members to join in, it's great fun!
Rosie Kiek