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
 

Chairman’s Report

I’d like to begin by thanking our previous Chairman for leaving the club alive and kicking despite the challenges of covid.

Membership

I am very pleased to say that we remain viable as a club with 61 playing members. Over the year we have lost four members but gained nine new members.  Thanks to Jane Milton for managing the membership process.  We do advertise the club, but most of the new members have come through word of mouth.  We are not getting any younger and our long term survival depends on attracting new members, especially younger ones.  Can I encourage all members to invite visitors to the club, especially younger ones.

Finances

As our Treasurer, Richard Lowther, will report, we have enjoyed the safety of substantial funds, and as a result have fixed the membership fee over the past few years.  This will continue for next year too.

Playing Evenings

My thanks go to all the directors and scorers for their time and effort in making our evenings run so smoothly and to Penny Jann for rostering them.  Special mention should go to Josie Craig who frequently arrives early and sets up the tables on her own, despite our pleas not to shift the tables by herself.   I am really pleased also that more members have been willing to help clear up afterwards.   Thanks to Ali Welton for providing such tempting sustenance at half time, and also to Angela Paterson and John Thomas for organizing a successful Christmas party last year.

Relationship with Age UK

Earlier in the year we received a few complaints about relatively trivial things, some not really justified.  I’m pleased to say that we have tried a bit harder and there haven’t been any recent complaints.

System Support

We rely on two systems for our scoring and club information : Scorebridge and Bridgewebs.  For many years Philippa Brunton has provided us with systems support despite not playing in the club anymore.  Over the last year Leon Wynne has gradually taken over from Philippa and is now fully in charge.  Many thanks to Leon for his successful efforts.

WhatsApp Booking

Perhaps the biggest and most beneficial change during the year came when Linda Muirhead set up and managed our new WhatsApp group for finding bridge partners.  This has certainly made a big difference.  Thank you, Linda, especially as this has been a very difficult time for you.

Your Committee

Last, I would like to thank all the members of our committee for the support they have given me, and especially thanks to Joyce Dennison whose advice has been invaluable.  I’m grateful our committee members are all willing to stay on in the team.

Doug Smit

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 the following Tabs.

A "Messages" Tab.

This page allows you to see messages entered by other members and enter your own message. This is seldom used as its main use was to find a partner, but the WhatsApp group has taken over this function.

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 "Personal Analysis" Tab.

This analysis shows a chart for the members results as a percentage over time. This is automatically generated by BridgeWebs.

An "Account" Tab

The "Account" 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

A  "Results" Tab.

This tab displays a listing by month of all results

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.