Nowton Court

We play duplicate bridge at Nowton Court every Tuesday and Wednesday evening. Tuesday is our regular club night, Wednesday is a more relaxed session for beginners and improvers. Visitors are welcome at both sessions. No partner needed on Wednesday, just turn up and you will get a game. If you would like to play on Tuesday evening we will try to find a partner for you, click partner broker here or on the menu to the left. For directions and times please click club information here or on the menu.

Are you interested in learning to play bridge? Our successful beginner programme will restart in September 2023, and we are planning improver courses in 2023/24. If you would like to find out more click here

Could members please be careful to park only in designated spaces at Nowton Court, one car to one space, without causing obstruction to others. We are asked not to park in spaces reserved for residents. Additional parking is available at the front of the building, but please bear in mind that we are requested not to enter the building via the main entrance.

Mo and Terry

The Hospice Bridge Tea on Friday 21st April raised over £2,000 for St Nicholas Hospice Care. Players enjoyed an excellent tea and an afternoon of duplicate bridge at the Blackbourne Centre in Elmswell. 

Congratulations to Carol Smith and Ivor Thulborn, winners East-West in their section in their first tournament since starting to play bridge as complete beginners last year. Overall winners were Mo and Terry. Nick and Jane Foster tied for second place with Celia and Elizabeth, just a whisker ahead of Caroline Harris and Sam Pickering. Jonathan and Paddy topped their section North-South. Click here to see the full results and boards

Many thanks to all who worked hard to make the day a success, especially Anne and the catering team, also to Stansfield Bridge Club and Cavendish Bridge Club for the loan of Bridgemates and bidding boxes

Members and visitors gathered at Nowton Court on Wednesday 5th April for an enjoyable evening of relaxed duplicate, with a glass of wine on offer to celebrate the return of this popular session. After a short presentation on Red Suit Transfers by Nancy, players settled down to seven rounds of bridge, with members on hand to assist with tricky bidding problems.

Congratulations to Jackie and Jane who topped the ranking with a creditable 62%. Chris and Laila were joint second with Celia and Elizabeth

Duplicate sessions will run every Wednesday evening, 6:30 for 6:45pm start. All members will be welcome to enjoy the sociable atmosphere and a relaxed pace of play. Results and boards will be available on the website, scroll down to Results on the right of this screen to view.

Nancy Williams

Bridge is thriving in West Suffolk. Clubs are reporting increasing numbers playing face to face as well as online, and record numbers of beginners are learning the game.

Do you know any bridge players who are ready to come back to their club? Do you have friends who are thinking of learning to play, or looking for a refresher? Here’s an overview of clubs and learner groups in the Bury area. Click on the club names for more details

Abbeygate, our own club, plays online on Mondays on RealBridge, Face to Face at Nowton Court every Tuesday and relaxed duplicate for beginners and improvers on Wednesday evening. Many Abbeygate members belong to more than one club

Bury St Edmunds Bridge Club plays Face to Face at Southgate Community Centre every Thursday, and online on Wednesdays on RealBridge

Stansfield Bridge Club, online (RealBridge) on Tuesday afternoon and at Stansfield Village Hall every Thursday evening.

Stowmarket Bridge Club meets at St. Mary's Hall at the junction of Windermere Road & Silverdale Avenue every Friday afternoon 

Cavendish Bridge Club meets at Cavendish Hall, Thurston every Wednesday afternoon. Friendly, informal atmosphere, visiting pairs welcome 

Woolpit Friendly Bridge Group, every Thursday evening at the Woolpit Institute

Harry Huson Bridge Club, at the Blackbourne Centre, Elmswell every Monday afternoon from September to April, alternate Mondays during Summer. Contact Chris Gwinnett-Sharp cgwinnettsharp@gmail.com

The Bury St Edmunds U3A Bridge Group meets at the Apex 10.00am to noon every Thursday Morning for friendly duplicate bridge, contact Chris Park chrisandamandap@sky.com

For beginners, there are now more opportunities than ever to learn and improve. From September this year beginner groups started in libraries across the county, including in Bury St Edmunds, Stowmarket and Thurston. Beginner lessons will restart in September. Contact Nancy Williams nancylouisewilliams@icloud.com or click on Deben Project to find out more

George and Terry

Congratulations to Terry Sawers who received his Bridge Master certificate recently from the EBU on achieving 5000 Masterpoints. Terry has a way to go though before overtaking George Moody, who is an EBU Life Master, holding no fewer than 215,500 Masterpoints (as of last week, by this week it may be more!)

Masterpoints are a measure of lifetime achievement in bridge. Higher ranking players will usually have played for many years and competed successfully in county and national events. George has played card games since childhood and took up bridge in his thirties, going on to play in national competitions. He also played football until he was 59.

To find out more about Masterpoints, go to the EBU website, sign in with your EBU number and password and from the Home page select Gradings and Rankings. To see your own Masterpoint record, from My EBU select Masterpoints

ONLINE BRIDGE

Abbeygate Bridge Club is running its online Club nights on RealBridge on Monday evenings at 7 pm.

These events are open to Abbeygate members only and table money will be £2, for which you will be invoiced later.

See Realbridge Link in the Menu on the left hand side of this page. 

If you are unfamiliar with the RealBridge platform it does enable you to see and talk to your opponents, for more information please go to:
https://realbridge.online/player-guide.html

Please make sure you have read the guide before you log in for the first time.

You can test your microphone and camera here:
https://play.realbridge.online/camera.html

The RealBridge Room will be open from 6.30 pm on Mondays.   Please log in no later than 6.50 pm.
After clicking on the link please fill in your forename and surname, e.g. Ian Jones (not I. Jones) and ID number (which is your EBU number).  Once you have logged onto the site please sit at a table with your partner and chat to them and your opponents while you are waiting for the start.

If you require any further information regarding the event please contact Tim Evans: tim@suffolkclocks.co.uk

Edward Wallbutton has kindly offered to be the Partner Broker  edward@wallbutton.uk 

There is a dedicated tournament for Bury, Abbeygate and Stowmarket members on Realbridge on Wednesdays at 7.00 pm. Bury Bridge Club is also now back face to face at Southgate Community Centre on Thursdays, 6.45 for 7.00 pm.   See the Bury St Edmunds Bridge Club website for details:

https://www.bridgewebs.com/bury/

Many Abbeygate members also belong to Stansfield, which has tournaments on RealBridge on Tuesdays at 4.00 pm and at Stansfield Village Hall on Thursdays at 7.00 pm  Click on STANSFIELD for details

Abbeygate Bridge Club is registered as a club on Bridge Club Live (see below). Members can play at any time of the day or night.

There are plenty more opportunities for taking part in online tournaments and the Suffolk Teams Leagues on the Suffolk Bridge website:

https://www.bridgewebs.com/suffolkbridge/

Celia

Celia Jeal has been awarded honorary life membership of Abbeygate Bridge Club in recognition of the outstanding contribution she has made to the club over many years

Celia started teaching bridge at West Suffolk College in 2000 and continues to teach online, as well as on cruise ships and on land. Many of us now playing at the club have been Celia’s students. At that time Risbygate Bridge Club, as it was then, met just once weekly on a Monday

Our popular Tuesday evening club duplicate was started 20 years ago by Celia and her then bridge partner the late Alex Parker, as a more relaxed event at which her students could play as they improved. This was so popular that Celia started an additional learn and play session on Wednesday evenings, which ran until 2020 and Covid.

As well as her teaching commitment Celia is actively involved in running the club as a committee member and regularly directing Monday Realbridge.

Without Celia’s contribution, Abbeygate Bridge Club would probably not exist as it is today, with its friendly and supportive atmosphere encouraging players of all standards, including those (most?) of us who are always striving to improve our game. Thank you Celia

Celia has written about her bridge teaching and the development of the club, click HERE to read

LEARN BRIDGE IN SUFFOLK  AUTUMN 2022

 

If you know of anyone wishing to take up bridge please ask them to email learnbridge@suffolkbridge.co.uk

COURSE START DATES + DAYS & TIMES

WOODBRIDGE  6 June. Mon 2-4pm

FRAMLINGHAM 6 July. Wed 6.30-8.30pm

ALDEBURGH 3 Sept. Sat 3-5pm

THURSTON 7 Sept. Wed 1.30-3.30pm

BURY ST EDMUNDS 19 Sept. Mon 10am-12noon & 2-4pm

IPSWICH 26 Sept. Mon 3pm

Online course: 29 Sept. Thurs 7pm

HAVERHILL 9 Oct. Sun 1.30-3.30pm

STOWMARKET 9 Sept. Fri 10.30am-12.30pm

Find out more about the Deben Project on Suffolk County Bridge Association website - click on DEBEN