1. A WhatsApp group is available to all members for use when they need to advertise that they are seeking a partner for a particular date. Linda Muirhead is the administrator and can be contacted by email on lindamuirhead@me.com or by mobile on 0780 9059287. Please send Linda your mobile number and name so she can add you to the group. You’ll need to download WhatsApp on your mobile if not already loaded, and then respond to the invitation to join the group. It’s then a good idea to send an introductory message to the group on WhatsApp to introduce yourself and make people aware you have joined the group.
2. When you need to request a partner, please send a brief “partner request” message to the group, giving your name and date requested, then wait for a response. Responders should state their name, the name of the person they are replying to and for which date. (This will be obvious if you “respond” to the specific WhatsApp message.)
3. Please keep the group for this purpose only to avoid volumes of detailed info being sent to everyone. Once there is an agreement to partner, any follow up can be done by messaging directly to the individual concerned.

THE CLOCKHOUSE BRIDGE CLUB

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting
Thursday 10th October 2024

1       ATTENDANCE & APOLOGIES

         The meeting started at 18.15.

Present were Mike Welton (Chair), Richard Lowther (Treasurer), Penny Jann (Secretary), Christopher & Christine Bell, Josie Craig, Frances Cousins, Helen Dean, Joyce & Martin Dennison, Pat Gregory-Carlton, Anne Lowther, Maggie McCune, Linda Muirhead, Angela Paterson, Andrew Scott Plummer, Penny Shawyer, Doug & Nina Smit, Joan Stenson, John Wells, Alison Welton, David Winter.

Apologies were received from Pauline Bayliss, Janet Holtham, Barbie & Philip Kitchen, Jane Milton, Lynne Morling, Hasmita Shah, Mike Valmas, Antoinette Williams, Leon & Nicky Wynne.

2       MINUTES OF LAST AGM

         The last AGM took place on 6^th October 2022. As there had not been an AGM in 2023, it was agreed to take the 2022 AGM minutes as read.

3       MATTERS ARISING

         There were no matters arising.

4       ANNUAL REPORT

         Mike Welton noted that since the pandemic the membership had reduced. Currently there are 55 members and this number has remained constant despite efforts to encourage new members. If the club can create a new feeder club (e.g. a Wednesday club), this could help but a feeder club would need funding and volunteers to run it. If this could be agreed, members should talk to neighbours and friends and help attract new members to the club. MW alluded to a rather odd relationship with the Clockhouse, mainly in relation to perceived issues regarding the room not being put back properly. However the club has been careful to put the furniture back as required. The club has a good surplus of funds and at some point needs to show how this is dealt with. MW thanked all the members who put get the room ready for the evening and also those who put everything away.

5       TREASURER’S REPORT

         Richard Lowther tabled the accounts showing the income and expenditure and balance sheet for the year ending 31 August 2024. Key drivers are the number of sessions and the number of members. In 2023 there were 67 members, currently there are 55 members. In August the club played on Tuesdays which added £400 to room hire. There was a loss of £800 this year. There is also an issue that the club is out of step with Age UK which will need to be addressed at some point but the outlook is good. Post-meeting note: the club’s accounts had been audited by Brian Morrison and RL has thanked BM for his work in auditing the club accounts.

6       ELECTION OF COMMITTEE

         Mike Welton confirmed that he was standing down as Chair. Penny Shawyer is also standing down. Doug Smit, Linda Muihead and Angela Paterson agreed to join the committee. It was noted that the committee positions are a matter for the committee and not decided at the AGM. The committee members for the coming year are therefore Doug Smit, Richard Lowther, Penny Jann, Jane Milton, Joyce Dennison, Josie Craig, Linda Muirhead and Angela Paterson. 

7       ANY OTHER BUSINESS

1. 1. Andrew Scott Plummer said what a lovely club we have and the friendliest he had ever come across.
   2. Doug Smit thanked Mike Welton for his hard work as Chair, recognising that MW had saved the club through Covid.

7.3     It was noted that all members can bring a friend for £3 a session, and come as many times as they can.  #

The meeting closed at 18.45.

Penny Jann

Secretary

#  Item 7.3 has now been superseded by a new rule as at 16.04.2025.  Visitors can come three times free of charge. After that they have a choice: join as a fully paid-up member by paying a pro rata fee for the rest of the year or pay £20 for temporary membership for a further 4 weeks. Temporary membership cannot be extended past the first 4 weeks.

For various reasons, no meeting was held in 2023 for which I apologise.

Following Covid we, like all clubs, suffered a reduction in numbers and a changed relationship with our landlord. There was, therefore, a period of uncertainty but now a more stable situation exists.

After Covid our membership reduced from approximately 100 to the high fifties where, for 2024/2025, it appears to remain stable. We have investigated and carried out local advertising with little success but we remain viable with the current numbers. A point of note is that a higher proportion of members play now compared with the situation when we had a larger membership. However, we would always welcome recruits and I encourage all members to seek new people.

As the Treasurer will indicate, we currently enjoy a financial surplus and as a result have fixed the membership fee over the past few years. We have also considered the establishment of a novices club to feed in new members. However, this would involve the cost of employing help to run the section and would require some members time to assist. As this would be a major decision, no action will be taken without the approval of the full membership.

Our relationship with Age UK (our landlord) has been mixed over the past two years with a number of complaints from the café staff about our treatment of the room. Most of the complaints have been ill-founded as our members continue to make considerable efforts to reinstate the room at the end of the evening.

Finally I wish to thank all who help to run the club including the committee, the directors and scorers, the tea and biscuit monitors and all those members who set up and dismantle arrangements for every session.

Mike Welton

Please note that it is important the club has correct information (address, phone numbers and email address) for members so contact can be made if required. You must also check the "Opt Ins" are as you wish them to be for the display of your personal data in the members only section. It is the responsibility of members to make sure this data is correct, and kept up to date via the website.

Before you use the "Members Only" area you will have to be a member and have an e-mail known to the system. 

1. First click on the "Members Only" button on the Home Page (on the top right of the page), or on Membership then Members Area on the menu on the left of the page.
2. Then click on the "Set/Reset Password" button on the "Member Login" page.
3. Enter your e-mail.
4. Within a few minutes the system will e-mail you a link to set/reset your password. This link will only last for 24 hours, so please do this as soon as you can. If the link expires then go back to step 1 to request another.

The "Members Only" section has 7 Tabs.

A "Find a Partner" Tab.

Allows members to find a playing partner. This isn't currently used by any members club but could be.

A "Messages" Tab.

This page allows you to see messages entered by other members and enter your own message, for example "I am looking for a lift to the club next Tuesday".

Messages can be created quickly using one of the system generated messages or you can enter your own. You can also set how long a message should stay there for. 

A "Members" Tab.

This provides the email and phone number for all current members who haven't opted out.

A "Ranking" Tab

Gives the EBU ranking of any members who are members of the EBU. The club isn't affiliated so not many names will appear here.

An "NGS Grades" Tab

EBU National Grading Scheme. The club isn't affiliated to the EBU.

An "Accounts" Tab

The "Accounts" Tab allows users to check and change their details. This information remains in the "Members Only" section and is not accessible by the general public.

There are multiple opt-in options to determine which items of your personal data will be displayed on the website:

• Opt-In Show in Lists - details will not be shown in any Member list
• Opt-In Bulk Email - your email will not be included in any Bulk Email
• Opt-In Show Email - your email address will not show in any list
• Opt-In Show Phone - your phone number will not show in any list
• Opt-In Show Mobile - your mobile will not show in any list
• Opt-In Show Rank etc. - EBU/ACBL Rank, NGS or Master Points will not show in any list

A "Download" Tab

This Tab allows members who have registered and are logged on to download information from the web site to their own computer. This is included in the "Members Only" because the information is actually sent by email, so that you have a copy in your inbox. And you can move it from there to any directory of your choice.

At present, you can download results in 2 formats

• Web Page - The results are made available as a single HTML file, which means that they can be opened and read just as on the website. This can be useful for members with Dial Up connection to the internet, but is not of so much interest to those with a broadband connection, where access to the Internet is permanent and does not interfere with the phone line. You can send the file to yourself and then review the information on your PC offline at leisure.

• Results file - This can be used to retrieve Results files for use either as backup or on to a master copy of results for club use. You can select several results to be sent in one email. The results files are in a special format for use by the Scorebridge program, so you will not be able to read them directly. This feature is more for Scorers.

The files will be sent via email to the address of the person logged in (indicated on the screen) when you click the Send button.