Annandale Bridge Club
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History
History

Early Days

 

Courier and Advertiser

Thursday 7th July 1949

Newport Bridge Club Formed

 

A well-attended meeting in Newport agreed to form a bridge club. Accommodation has been obtained at a hotel.

An interim committee was elected, and the club will officially start on September 1st, when a pairs bridge drive will be held.

 

Committee: Mrs. Tanner, Mrs. E. Hutton, Mr. Beck, Mr. W. Hutton.

Hon-secretary Miss Jean MacDonald, ‘Dhivach’, East Newport.

 

 

 

 

 

For the first year or so the club met in ‘Annandale’ (12 St. Fort Road - pictured above right), home of the Tanner family, playing in two rooms and sometimes the hall as well.

 

            The first A.G.M. was held on 12th October 1950 at “Briarlea” (57 Cupar Road).

 

First full committee:  President – R.J.Beck; Vice-President – Mrs. I. Tanner; Secretary and Treasurer – Mrs. R. Beck; Committee Members – D. F. Tanner and Mr. I. Campbell; Auditor – Mr. Caldwell. 

 

 

 

 

Inter-club Competitions

 

In the earlier years the club held many inter-club competitions. They competed with most of the other Fife clubs, such as St. Andrews, Leven, Elie, Kirkcaldy, Thornton and Markinch, and also travelled over the river to play Dundee, Perth and Carnoustie.

 

The club held many of its competitions in the Seymour Hotel (now the Riverview Lodge Care Home), and Jack Morton remembered Mrs. Tanner bringing coal with her to put on the fire in the room where they played.

 

Social evenings with the Invergowrie Club were also enjoyed for many years.

 

In recent years we have revived the competition tradition with our popular end-of-season inter-club competitions with the Arbroath and St. Andrews Clubs.

 

 

Monday Nights?

 

In the 1960’s members were so keen to play that the club met on alternate Mondays as well as on Thursdays. Rubber bridge was organised on Mondays, the stakes being a penny per 100 points.

 

 

Annandale People

 

Some past members deserve special mention.

 

          The Tanner family, of Annandale, St. Fort Road, were all founder members of the club, and their house, an early meeting-place for the club, gave us our name. Mr. Tanner senior died in 1951 and the Tanner Trophy and the Tanner Shield were both presented in his memory, one by the club and one by Mrs. Tanner. Mrs. Tanner and son David continued playing for many years. In 1982, on the death of his mother, David presented the club with a new trophy, the Annandale Easter Pairs.

 

          Jack and Ina Morton were members of the club from the early 1950’s for over 40 years. During that time Jack was President 5 times, Vice-President 3 times, Secretary and Treasurer 6 times and Tournament Director for 19 years. From 1991 until 2002 he audited the club accounts! Ina also served on the committee and as President, and supported the club in every way.

 

          Margaret Gordon was another member from the 1950’s and was the longest ‘non-stop’ playing member of the club. Margaret was President twice, Vice-President twice and was Secretary and Treasurer for 21 years.

 

          We still have one founder member. Mrs. Jean Campbell and her husband Ian joined the club at the start, and Jean well remembers playing at Annandale. Although Jean no longer plays with us, she retains a great interest in the club and its members.

 

 

 

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Very appropriate for a Fife bridge

Club – in 1957 the two committee members

were J. Kinghorn and Mrs. Kirkcaldy

 

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