Happy New Year to you all and hope 2025 is a wonderful twelve months for everyone.

Penny Hodgson and Caroline Connor would like to introduce ourselves as the new Roving Reporters for the Bradgate Bridge club.

We would like you to tell us about the Bridge holidays you enjoy or recommend at home or abroad. It would also be nice to hear from any of our newer student members who are coming up through the classes and beginning to join the tables. Let us know about  your successes (or otherwise!) at the many Bridge events that some of you take part in, either online or in person.

It is not just bridge news that we would like to hear. Maybe you have made a notable achievement in another field that you would like to share with members or celebrated a newsworthy birthday or anniversary. This is your opportunity to send your news to the club so that we all get to know each other a bit better during the coming year as the club continues to thrive and grow.

You can contact us either in person at the Club or via email.

We'd like give a big thank you to the dedicated team of teachers and buddies who make our teaching classes possible.

Also, congratulations to our member Lucy Pathan and her husband Dick for winning the LCBA’s Hyman Crammer Trophy, (representing County), and congratulations to Anne Wright and Philip Harrison, and Gary Jones and Margaret Butterworth for being in the top half of the competition for Bradgate.

Taking part in any competition is a great way to broaden your Bridge experience for players at all levels either at the table or online.

The National One Day Online Green Point event is being hosted on Real Bridge on January 26th. Good luck to Pauline and John Dignan who are taking part in this, and to everyone else taking part in any competition.

Just a quick reminder that the closing date for the Pairs League is coming up soon on January 19th, this is a friendly event played over 5 nights during the next few months.

We would also like to draw your attention to the Wilde Cup on February 25th in the afternoon at the County club, this is aimed for lower ranked players (NGS8 or below) and the cup has been held by several Bradgate teams in the past so please think about giving it a go.

Please also look at the websites and David Pollard’s email for forthcoming competition events. Remember the saying “you have to be in it, to win it” and even if you don’t win, hopefully you will enjoy taking part.

If this cold weather is making your thoughts turn to holidays, here are a few ideas for you. Anne Wright works as a host for First for Bridge and she will be with them in Malta in February, Majorca in March and Turkey in November. If you are interested in any of these or other holidays abroad or in England, please ask Anne for a brochure. Anne is also hosting (and Steve directing) for the County Bridge club holiday in March (10th-14th) at Mackeney Hall, just north of Derby. There are still a few places left and Bradgate players would be very welcome. See the County Bridge club for details.

Thank you for everyone who has suggested topics for this quick news update and please keep the suggestions coming.

What a busy club we are, it seems that two or more of our members are playing Bridge somewhere, either at the table or online every day of the week. So it is inevitable that if we report on some of these events then some people will get left out of a mention so we apologize if that includes you. We congratulate all of you who take part in these games, including the many team events as well.

Last fortnight seemed to be a particularly busy time. John Dignan and Jim Wilkinson were playing in an online Green point event and there are many similar events organised by the EBU if you are interested.

Some of our members took part in the quarter-final of the LCBA’s Butterworth Langley trophy and a team including Richard Bell, Anne & Steve Wright narrowly beat the team that included Debbie Pullen & Graham Kendal.

Elsewhere in the County match against Staffs/Shrops the Markham Team including Judith Simpson, Mark Wiggins, Pauline Dignan, Val Rees, Paul Anderson and Susie Perrett won 13-7.

The Porter Team including Richard Rees and Phil Harrison, Lucy Pathan and Duncan Jones were less fortunate, losing 7-13. But Richard and Phil can console themselves with being Leicestershire's 3rd best pair overall.

On a social note many congratulations to the family of Duncan Jones. His daughter Louise who is the MP for North East Derbyshire has recently become engaged to Dr Jeevun Sandher, who some of you will know is the MP for Loughborough. They met on the campaign trail and we wish them every happiness for their future together.

What a busy club we are, it seems that two or more of our members are playing Bridge somewhere, either at the table or online every day of the week. So it is inevitable that if we report on some of these events then some people will get left out of a mention so we apologize if that includes you. We congratulate all of you who take part in these games, including the many team events as well.

Hi folks, more success stories to report and many congratulations to all of you who enter any pairs or team competitions and do so well. (Sorry if we don’t get to report them all, we can only include those we hear about.) A particular mention must be made this time of the EBU Online Green Point for 2024 event which attracted over 500 people, including some of our members. Many congratulations to Mark Wiggins and Judy Simpson who were ranked 27th in this huge field and Judy was 2nd overall in the C Stratification strand, a wonderful achievement. We also had success further afield with Mark and Kerry Taylor, who were on a Bridge holiday in Tenerife recently, winning the championship pairs event held over 2 nights. Well done to them.

We all know that there are many weird convention names in Bridge and we wonder where some of them come from. A new one to us was in this month’s English Bridge magazine; the ‘Goldilocks’ bid ? This is a bid that “is not too weak and not too strong” for example a raise from one heart to three hearts, it’s about striking the optimal balance for your hand.

Also in the magazine is a timely reminder to show our appreciation for our club directors; they all do an incredible job and we are very fortunate to have Steve on Monday evenings and the team on Wednesday afternoons. So please remember to call them as soon as anything untoward happens. It is why they are there and most problems can be sorted out at the table.

Finally for those of you who like a drink either before or after a game of Bridge, you might like to know that The Woodman’s Stroke, next to Rothley church (aka “The Woodies”) has been voted the best pub in Leicestershire, so why not check it out sometime.

Also please be aware that the Rothley crossroads where all the roadworks are happening is currently closed and diversions are in place.

We are in the throes of competition season but we wanted to wish Good Luck to everyone taking part in the Wilde Cup on Tuesday. For some of our members this will be their first experience of taking part in a competition and we hope that have fun. If you do that then you can't lose.

Also, as many of our members are keen crafters we thought that you might be interested to know that John and Pauline Dignan's daughter Zoe Gibbons has been nominated in a shortlist of 20, for the prestigious The Broderers' Exhibition 2025 Viewers' Choice Award! If you would like to see her piece, click the link below and please feel free to vote for her. Viewers' Choice Award 2025 - The Broderers' Exhibition 2025: The Art of Embroidery.

Please keep letting us know of any interesting news.

As we move into March and slowly put winter behind us (hopefully), there is lots happening in our Bridge diaries.

Firstly congratulations to the team winning the Wilde Cup a couple of weeks ago. It is nice to see more Bradgate names joining others on the silverware, especially first time competitors Caroline Connor and Sarah Braithwaite; with Jim Wilkinson and John Dignan.

Many members have qualified for the Midland regional final heats of the National Pairs competition to be held either on Real Bridge or BBO.

Heats have also been held for the Gimson Trophy, the Premier pairs’ competition of the LCBA, named after its first Chairman David Gimson which has been held since 1948. The current holders are Bradgate members Richard Rees and Phil Harrison. We wish everyone taking part in these events and others, lots of luck, whether online or at the tables.

Sadly a few members have had less luck recently, with at least three members including Penny suffering falls. These sudden accidental falls are more common as we get older and we don’t bounce back so easily! I would urge any members living on their own to seriously think about getting one of the safety alarm bracelets for peace of mind. Some of these also have an ‘automatic fall alert’ and could be life- saving. One or two other members are unwell and it is sad to see occasional ‘gaps’ at the club. Many thanks to Margaret Butterworth who kindly sends cards to these people. When you are recuperating it is so nice to get calls and messages to remind you that you are missed and your friends at Bradgate Bridge club are thinking of you. Hope everyone gets better soon so they can return to Bridge.