BOOKHAM AFTERNOON BRIDGE CLUB

TREASURER’S REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31^ST AUGUST 2017

I have pleasure in presenting the examined accounts for the year ended 31^st August 2017, there has been a small adjustment to the 2016 comparative figures, grossing up the income for spare partners free sessions and showing them as a cost, so no change to the reserves.

The accounts show a small deficit of £185, which reduced our reserves to £4,601, a still healthy amount which equates to approximately one third of the cost of replacing all of our equipment.  During this year we purchased a new cabinet to store the duplimate machine, a new printer and replaced the screen at a total cost of £632; there are no plans for major expenditure on equipment in the foreseeable future.  A further non recurring cost was £120 for directors trainings on the 2017 change of rules led to the increase in general expenses.

Income is very similar to last year though two extra sessions were played which mitigated the very small reduction in average table numbers.

Other than the increase in expenses already mentioned, there were increases in : Directors, Scorers and Spare Partners free sessions, which rose as from January. The spare partner gets a free session if they play or go home;

Bridge and scoring consumables are higher as the cards were changed in this year, they were not in the prior year (they are changed approximately every 15 months);

And tea expenses have risen as Jacqui’s wages were increased in  March of this year and biscuit and cake costs rose dramatically until the issue was bought to the members' attention; they have now fallen, thank you.

Our Christmas party expenses are shown in the accounts after reducing the costs by the £100 bequest left to the Club by a past member, Margaret Gough, she stipulated that it should be used for the party.  We made savings on printing costs  by changing the printers  used for the membership cards and AGM costs by using email to send members the relevant papers.

Our charitable contributions fell in the year, mainly due to lower attendance at the Surrey County Bridge Association Sims events.

The bank and cash balances at the end of the year were £4,423 a solid position.  In view of this and a forecast that we will move into surplus next year the committee has decided to leave table money at £2 per member and £3 per visitor and subscriptions at £10.

I would like to thank the examiner of the accounts, Chris Pullan and all the committee who collect the table money, I would like to remind you that the old £1 coins will no longer be legal tender from 15^th October and we will no longer accept them from next Thursday’s session.

Sue Moss.

Bookham Afternoon Bridge Club.

Chairman’s Report 5^th October 2017.

It has been a pleasure to have serve as Chairman over the last year and I am pleased to have been nominated for a third year. I understand that the past practice of the club was that the Chairman is rotated after three years so you should be electing a new Chairman next year.

I would like to thank all members of the committee and other members of the club for the support they have given to me and the club.

Most of the work for the day to day running of the club fall to the three main office holders. The Club secretary, Kate Castree, The Club treasurer, Sue Moss and the Co-ordinator of the Directors and Scorers, Sandra Cape.

 In a small change of format this year I am going to ask Kate to speak directly to you on membership issues arising during the year and Sandra to speak on issue relating to our directors and scorers, our computer system and the new duplimate machine and the changes to the bridge rules by the EBU. However, I shall follow the previous practice of only asking for comment and questions on our reports at the end of my report.

 Kate Castree.

Report attached

Sandra Cape.

Report attached

Sue Moss.

Sue has done a tremendous job as Treasurer for many years as well as helping make up the boards on the duplimate machine.  Sue is planning to possible move up North if and when she finds a buyer for her house but has very kindly agreed to stay on as treasurer until that happens. We are very fortunate to have a volunteer, Sue McDonald, to stand as treasurer if Sue has to resign over the next year.

Two committee members Maureen Paxton and Carry Kirk are standing down and our thanks to them for the work they have done over the last year.

Our thanks as well to Bruce Paul who stood down earlier in the year.

Carry Kurk.

Carry has had the daunting and thankless task of managing the spare partner list for many years.  The spare partner system is a key part of running a successful bridge club and is vital for encouraging both new members and helping out all existing members and waiting list members when they are short of a partner. Carry was also instrumental in the addition of another disabled parking bay and was always on the lookout that we are taking proper steps to cater for any disabled members.

Neil Higgins, Miranda Moore. Jenny Cameron, and Steve Leach

 My thanks also to the other committee members who have given the club their support in many ways ranging from regularly performing the duty officer tasks, to helping manage the Christmas party and the Village Day Lunch and Bridge Drive and providing me with invaluable guidance during the year.

There are others I would like to thank for their contribution over the last year:

Ron Rutstein.

Ron has continued to do an excellent job with the Website throughout the year with much innovation and also keeping it topical.

Jacqui White for providing such the tasty teas and cakes and being so friendly and always arranging for Tanya or someone else to stand in for her when she is away. It is appreciated if members could help her out with the teas when needed and to show the same friendliness to Jacqui and Tanya that they  shows to us.

Roger Musgrove and his assistant Rob.  for setting up the Old Barn Hall and the Harrison Room for our regular sessions and for always being prompt and responsive with regard to any issue we have raised with him.

All the past committee members who have provided useful advice and guidance to me and other committee members over the year. In particular in my case Coral and Stuart and Geraldine have always been there to give advice when I have asked for it.

Developments over the year.

Attendance.

Average table numbers throughout the year were steady at 18.5 compared to last year despite the increase in membership numbers from 200 to 210. There were only two sessions during the year when table numbers were 24 or more compared to 4 last year and 7 the previous year; indicative that the table numbers are now more consistent and evenly spread between Mondays and Thursday. The committee has established a target maximum of 26.

Parking

Parking at the Old barn Hall remains an issue and the committee has had to monitor the car parking throughout the year to ensure our members and visitors are only parking in bays reserved for the bridge club and park properly and intelligently between the white line and allowing parking in all permissible bays.

I would like to emphasise again how important it is for our members to be considerate and courteous to other users of the Barn Hall and to the people who manage the facilities.

Competitions. The competitions all seem to go fairly smoothly and we will be handing out the trophies to the winners shortly

Christmas Lunch 12^th December

This was attended by 84 members and again was a very enjoyable social event. Our thanks again to all who contributed so much to making this happen. The club raised £502 for “The Meeting Room” charity through the raffle and they have expressed their thanks.

 Village Day Lunch and Bridge Drive

We kept to the same format of duplicate bridge session in the afternoon session. It was very successful in terms of attendance 88 and money raised £850 for the Bookham Community Association (which manages the Old Barn Hall) for which they are very thankful.  Most people seemed to enjoy the event based on the Bookham Village Week’s Space theme and the challenging quiz devised by Neil Higgins kept many of us seriously engaged over lunch.

We sort to cater for any players who wished to play Chicago bridge but there were not sufficient takers.

Our thanks again to all the members who helped support these two events.

Money raised for other charities.  £1151

Children in Need raised £315 and Charity Challenge £216.  Surrey Sims £620.

Looking Forward.

(Assuming I and others on the committee are re-elected)

We will explore ways in which the club can promote and facilitate training and teaching to enable members to improve their bridge. Can I mention the training Sue is now providing?

We will aim to maintain the ethos of the club as “a club which continues to be somewhere people want to come because they can to have a good game of bridge, played according to EBU rules in a friendly, non-threatening atmosphere.”

Lawrence Penney

5^th October 2017

 Membership Report AGM 2017

As agreed at last year’s AGM our membership was increased by 10 and now stands at 210. Over the past year we have, sadly, lost three members with the deaths of Sheila Partington, Mike Holt and Mike Hatton. There were ten resignations, and three non-renewals of membership. Consequently, we enrolled a total of 26 new members. There are seven people on the waiting list. One very positive aspect of our new membership is that they provide the vital seed corn for the Committee. Having received no nominations from long-standing members we are therefore extremely grateful to Carol Newton and Julie Kamieniecka for accepting our invitation to stand as committee members. Carol and Julie have already proved themselves to be committed to the Club during their several months of membership and are familiar with our routines.

At last year’s AGM the committee was tasked with devising a system for enrolling new members in an attempt to address some membership problems which had occurred. Dealing with membership complaints is a stressful and painful procedure for all concerned, and is something we really wish to avoid.

Under the new system, in addition to the three initial visits previously required, applicants now have to make six additional visits before they can make formal application to join, making 9 qualifying visits in all. This gives applicants the opportunity to consider whether they really wish to join. It also gives members a greater chance to get to know those who are applying for membership and to raise any concerns at an early stage. In addition, we are now able to assess likely attendance; under the previous system, in a number of cases, visitors who had been granted membership after three visits, rarely attended afterwards.

This procedure seems to be working well. It does mean more work from an administrative point of view but I believe it is worthwhile in order to achieve a harmonious and congenial membership.

The feedback which we receive from visitors and new members indicates that the ethos of our club is attractive: we try to be friendly and welcoming to players of varying ability, while recognising that as an EBU affiliated club we should strive to maintain high standards at the bridge table. I believe I speak for many when I suggest that members not only enjoy the competitive element of playing bridge, but also value the club for the sense of fellowship which it offers.

In conclusion, I would like to thank those members who regularly come early to assist with setting up, and stay to help clear away. Your contribution is much appreciated by myself and by the committee as a whole.

Kate Castree

Bookham Afternoon Bridge Club - AGM 2017

Preparing for play - Duplicating the boards

Directing the play - New laws

Scoring the event - On site

Duplicating the boards:

Until now - the boards have been dealt by individuals in their homes. We use 132 per week and transporting them in very heavy bags to and from the club. At the time when Sue handed over the task, Miranda mooted the idea of dealing the boards at the club - at the time there seemed to be too many obstacles too overcome - but the seed was sown. I, with Miranda’s help took over duplication of the boards from Coral and Stuart in February, the task in itself is straightforward it is just the volume and I really felt there must be a another way.  Between then and now there has been a revolution in the storeroom. There was a large ancient metal cabinet in the space by our cabinet which belonged to another club. When opened, we found it contained one empty carrier bag. We took over the space and now have an excellent cupboard for the equipment, and a power point has been installed in the storeroom. Kate has done a sterling job in sorting through all the club’s stuff accumulated over the years. Just storing the bridge cloths in a bag has created space and makes life easier. 

We have had a trial run and yes we can do it on site. Several of of you have already offered to help and we will go forward from here.

Directing - New Laws:

The new laws were introduced in August and made compulsory for all at the end of September. The Bookham directors together with directors from 5 other clubs in Surrey attended an EBU day course covering the changes to the Laws. Some of the them have been mentioned at recent bridge sessions.  As directors we aim to make the correct judgements, but as we learnt on the course there are some grey areas especially concerning the comparable calls. (Quiz)

It is a work in progress and we have been sent an Online Club Refresher Course on the new laws, I will fix a date for those directors who would like to get together to complete this course - it looks quite difficult!

Scoring the event:

Now that we use the WiFi at the club we can send the results to the web page and the EBU at the end of the session. They are there for you when you get home. It also means that scorers no longer need to be set up on their own computers as it is all completed at the club.  If anyone would be interested in becoming a scorer, I would love to hear from you.

Thank you for your time and keep bridging.

Sandra Cape