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"Welcome to another AGM. And welcome to the centenary of the existence of contract bridge. As you probably know, it was in 1925 that Harold Vanderbilt emerged from a cruise through the Panama Canal clutching the rules of this new game, based on the modifications which he and his posh friends had made to auction bridge.
"Over here, gambling had replaced drunkenness as the scourge of the working classes, but at least it lured the unemployed away from the temptations of Bolshevism and revolution. And so the British government let bridge through, without taxing the game or playing cards, and perhaps because it is difficult to drink and play good bridge, the game has remained socially aspirational. As yet, we still don't know how the EBU plans to mark this centenary, but we will keep you posted.
"Over the past year, the club has coped with the mercurial behaviour of local … government. Without warning, we arrived one Monday evening to discover that the handy square tables had been replaced by the large circular ones you see tonight around the periphery of this room. It didn't take more than an evening's play for you to realise that these circular ones were wrong for bridge, so Rowena and I drove up to Aylesbury one day to buy the cheapest bridge tables that the EBU stocks.
"We have also lost the caretaker who used to guard the entrance, but on the plus side, we now have the front door keys, which give us more control over our use of the community centre. …
"In terms of club finances and membership numbers, the past year has been a steady one. The number of tables in play in the first ten sessions of the year has gone up from 10.4 last year to ten and three-quarters this year. According to the most recent figure I saw, we now have 70 members.
"You, the members, are the club's greatest asset, and I would like to say a massive thank you to all of you, particularly those of you who arrive early to put the equipment out or stay on afterwards to put it away, to John Murtagh for directing whenever Rowena cannot do it, to Carol for scoring when I have been away, to all our hosts who turn up with no promise of getting a game, and to the rest of the committee for all that they have done during the year. We are in the fortunate position where every member of the committee is prepared to stay for another year. If anyone else wants to join the committee, it is probably too late to say so now, but we can co-opt you onto the committee before our next meeting.
During the year, the EBU started sending out automatic emails to every member the morning after they had played, to notify them of the change to their NGS grade as a result of that session. … Personally I have not been in favour of the introduction of NGS grades into a mainly social bridge club, because I believed it could make members much more picky about the partners we choose. So I went into the club's EBU settings and switched off the EBU's transmission of these automatic emails. But the trouble was that other clubs in the area didn't take the same course of action.
"After a couple of weeks of receiving emails about my NGS performance at Oxshott, I decided to switch Claygate's setting back on. And to help you understand the meaning of your NGS grade, I compiled a list from the EBU's public website so that you could see how you stood against the rest of the club. I apologise again for any upset this may have caused. That list is no longer on the home page of our website, and we can have a discussion about whether you want to hear about your NGS grades at all.
"During the year, the Club held its usual events such as the Christmas Party. Judging by the feedback we received at the time and afterwards, we will never again serve up alcohol-free wine.
"We also held the annual Club Championship, which takes into account the best four performances of each pair across seven months of the year. Until the final round, our previous winners Bob and Robin were in first place, closely followed by Meena and Fiona. I regret to say that Rowena and I were partly responsible for the reversal of those positions on the final evening. We played well against Bob and Robin and then, on the very last hand of the evening, we let Meena make a ridiculous 3NT contract that no other pair had even bid. But that is not to take anything away from Fiona and Meena, who have now deservedly won the Championship for a second year in a row.
"My final point is a concern about the long-term viability of the club in this building. … I personally would be surprised if our club is still playing in this building in five years' time. But there are other venues dotted around Claygate, and this is an issue for a future committee to worry about.
"For the time being, let us continue enjoying ourselves playing bridge here. From the feedback I get, this centre is still one of the best bridge venues in the area.
"Thank you."
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