Durham Bridge Club
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Membership Successes

2023 NEBA
Summer Pairs
Frank Bouweraerts
Irina Hendrickx

2022 NEBA
Swiss Pairs
John Dobson
Audrey Bainbridge

2021 NEBA
Gazette Cup
Joan Crompton
Irene Burns

2021 Runners-Up
NEBA CORWEN TROPHY
For Champion Pairs
Dorothy Pearson
Susan Penswick

2021 EBU
Easter Congress
9 High Tournament
Irina Hendrickx
James Foster

Club Tournament Winners

Club Champion
Evening 2022
Audrey Bainbridge

Club Champion
Afternoon 2022
Adrian Darnell

Durham City
Trophy 2022
Bill Dixon & Peter Sykes

Sykes Cup
2021
Nigel Martin
& Adrian Darnell

Cansino Cup
Pairs 2021
Margaret McCabe &
Iain Gordon

 

Committee Minutes

Durham Bridge Club

Minutes of Committee Meeting 6th August 2019

Present:  Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, Jill Hancock, Nigel Martin, Dave Thompson, Irene Hancock, Susa Penswick,  John Portwood

Apologies:  Christine Farnsworth, John Dobson

Minutes : Minutes of the Committee meeting of  Tuesday 2nd July were accepted.

Matters arising:

            a) Intermediate teaching : Agreed that Ann Squires would do a session on 16th September and Adrian Darnell on 14th October: topics to be announced

            b) Interclub Team Entries : The Secretary reported that the entry fee had been paid and the room bookings for the three home matches had been confirmed. The Team Captain  reported that he had discussed the fact that we had 3 home matches (with a possible 4th for the B team) for a second year running with the NEBA organiser and that it had been agreed that a) the fourth “homeˮ match would be played on neutral ground at Wearside with no expense for the club and  b) that next year he would ensure that we only had 2 home matches.

             It was confirmed that Ian Mordue and Clive Nichols had agreed to organise the C team

            c)Token of Appreciation: Token and wording agreed on. The Secretary would organise it

            d) Kitchen Provision: Jill Hancock reported that we could take what cupboard space we wanted in the new kitchen. The Chair undertook to print labels for our cupboards. It was reported that the dangerously     high microwave was not expected to be used . The Committee recorded its view that the design of the kitchen was extremely impractical. It was also reported that the sofas in the second kitchen had been moved, making it easier to use.

            e) Calendar on webpage- held over to next meeting

            f) Room Booking for 2019-20: The Secretary was still waiting to hear from the Building manager

NEBA Swiss Pairs on 4th September : Reported that Norman Gray, the director, had requested a maximum of 15 tables and that there should be a reserve pair . Adrian Darnell and John Portwood agreed to be the reserve pair. Susan Penswick agreed to organise the lunch arrangements with Norma. The Secretary was to tell the caretaker to leave the tables in place after Tuesday eveningʼs game on 3rd September. The NEBA secretary was asked to encourage local secretaries to promote the event

 Grants and Future Developments : The Chair reported that the AAP grant of £5000 had been confirmed and the new cupboard had arrived. The Chair would now go ahead with buying a duplimater from EBU, a monochrome laser printer which automatically printed double-sided and 3 boxes of appropriate cards and boards. He would discuss with Bev Godfrey whether Darlington would now have surplus cards and boards they wished to sell. He would also explore getting in a store of pinting paper (possibly of more than one colour to make identifying different sets of boards easier) and buying more (and more durable) tables

Chairʼs Invitation Sunday 29th September : The Chair had the list of those who had played for the club in last yearʼs Interclub competition and would issue invitations

Beginnersʼ Teaching: Agreed that this should be advertised on the web, in the local paper and libraries etc. The Chair agreed to approach U3A and possibly 6th forms in the area and we should liaise with Alex Skelton who is now chair of the University Bridge Club. The Secretary reported that Peter Sykes had agreed to be a back up if those teaching regularly couldnʼt manage a particular date. It was agreed that the Chair would order one full set of the material for the EBU fast track teaching programme with a view to offering this alongside a regular beginnersʼ class

Costs: The Treasurer reported that regular room bookings and the new permanent room cost the club £609 per month (gas and electricity not included)

EBU regulations: John Portwood reported that from 1st August there were new editions of the EBU Blue and White books

Next Meeting : September 3rd 2019 – if required

Durham Bridge Club

Minutes of Committee Meeting 2nd July 2019


Present:
     Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, Jill Hancock, Nigel Martin, Christine Farnsworth, John DobsonDave Thompson, Irene Hancock

Apologies:   Susan Penswick,  John Portwood

Minutes :     Minutes of the Committee meeting of  Tuesday 11th June were accepted.

Matters arising:

            a) Intermediate teaching : Agreed that Nigel Martin would provide a session on NT play on July 22nd and Jill Hancock would provide a session on 19th August, topic to be announced.

            b) NEBA Summer Pairs Final at Durham – Saturday June 29th: The Committee warmly thanked Irene Hancock, Christine Farnsworth and Ailsa Scott for their hard work in providing tea and coffee for the meeting and John Portwood for clearing and locking up after the event. It was felt that a message should be sent to NEBA about organising thanks to the hosting club.

            c) Interclub Team Entries : The team captain reported that 3 teams had been entered. The Secretary was asked to check whether the entry fee had been paid. The Secretary reported that provisional room bookings had been made for all 5 Interclub dates. Those needed for home matches would be confirmed as soon as the schedule appeared

            d) Future plans: The Chairman had yet to sign the renting agreement as the figure for the Clubʼs damage liability had been set at twice that covered by the EBU insurance. This was being adjusted. The approval for the AAP £5,000 grant was now with the Councilʼs Scrutiny Committee. The made-to-measure cupboard had been ordered and the date of delivery was 12th July (or earlier). Committee members agreed to help with “kerbside deliveryˮ when an exact date was known. The new PC was now ready for use.

            e) Token of Appreciation: Ann Squires and Jill Hancock would investigate possibilities

            f) Room Booking: The Secretary was still waiting to hear from the Building manager

Club Trophies and Awards : It was agreed that there should be a radical revision of the current awards which recognised the changed pattern of play as the previous system was designed when there was only a regular evening session.

            The Sykes Cup and the Durham Cities Trophy would continue to be awards to the winning pair at a single evening session – the latter on the day of the AGM

            The Cansino Cup would remain as an award for the pair with the best average from 6 (out of a possible 12) results at afternoon or evening sessions on the 1st Tuesday of the month. It had already been agreed that if a pair played both sessions on a particular Tuesday the result of the evening session only would count

            The Chairʼs Progress Award would remain as at present

            The current division of the year into Winter and Summer Championships would end and the Club would recognise one Tuesday evening, one Tuesday afternoon and one Monday evening Champion. The Championships would run from April 1st to March 31st . The Club Salver would remain as the trophy for the Tuesday evening champion and the two cups currently belonging to the club but unassigned would become the trophies for the Tuesday afternoon and Monday evening champions. For each of these awards there should be an entry threshold of 16 results in the year and the award would be made on the average of all results in the year.

            With the exception of the Cansino Cup all awards would be made at the AGM

Calendar for 2019-20: The Committee accepted the Secretaryʼs draft calendar with one or two revisions. It was agreed that evening team sessions before Interclub matches (with the exception of the qualifying heat for the Kempson Vases) should be abandoned. The Web Master agreed that he would contrive to enter the complete calendar as a single page as well as the running month by month calendar which the site provides

Beginnersʼ Classes for 2019-20 : It was agreed the classes would start in October and would follow the EBU course which would allow a number of people to become involved in the teaching. Ann Squires and Jill Hancock would organise this. The Chair would investigate the possibility of using the EBU fast-track teaching course

New Kitchen : As club FMYCC rep. Jill Hancock was asked to sort out our allocation of cupboards in the new kitchen. She was also asked to investigate whether the micro-wave oven that had been installed breached health and safety regulations and whether the water was dangerously hot.

Duplimated Boards: The Chair informed the committee that he would be on holiday and unable to collect boards from Darlington on 11th,18th , 25th, July and 1st August. He would be back in the club on 6th August.            Arrangements would need to be made with those playing at Darlington on those dates

Club Chairs: Concerns had been raised previously that the chairs which the club had bought for use in the Centre were getting stained. The Chair reported that he had unwittingly offended the painting group who had complained to the FMYCC committee

County Directorsʼ Course : The Committee agreed that the Chair should be reimbursed the cost of attending the course

 Next Meeting : August 6th 2019 – if required

Durham Bridge Club

Minutes of Committee Meeting 11th June 2019

Present:           Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, Jill Hancock, Nigel Martin, Christine Farnsworth, John Dobson

Apologies:       Susan Penswick,  Dave Thompson, Irene Hancock, Charles Bucknell

Reported :      Since the last committee meeting Den Kerry had resigned from the committee but still hoped to  play at and for the club once his house move was settled. The Chair had thanked him for all his work for the club. It was also reported that Charles Bucknell would, in all likelihood, not be in Durham after the end of the current academic year.

Minutes :        Minutes for the Committee meeting of  Tuesday 7th May were accepted.

Matters arising:

  a) Intermediate teaching : Ann Squires was thanked for running the session on 20th May. It was agreed that Adrian Darnell would provide the next session on Monday 24th June on negative doubles;

  b) NEBA Club Championships: Agreed that in future the Team Captain should select the team and pairs who would represent the club at these events;

  c) Club Trophies and Awards : Agreed that the Secretary would recirculate her paper on this and it would be considered at the next meeting;

  d) Draft Calendar for 2019-20 : deferred to next meeting;

  e) Room Booking for 2019-20 : deferred to next meeting;

  f) Swiss Pairs event : It was agreed that this should not be pursued.

NEBA Summer Pairs Final at Durham: Agreed that the Caretaker should be asked (and paid) to set out the chairs and tables. The Secretary would check with Anne Bell (the NEBA organiser) and Norman Gray (the director) to ensure that we could supply enough tables, chairs, bidding boxes etc. for the event and    agree the layout of the two rooms. Adrian Darnell would be present at the beginning of the event to ensure the hall was open and to welcome people and Jill Hancock and Christine Farnsworth agreed to try and find members willing to organise the tea and coffee at the interval and see to clearing them up.

Future Plans : Reported that there was no longer competition for the permanent room in the Schoolhouse. Ian Rudd, the Treasurer for FMYCC, was drawing up the necessary rental paperwork for our approval. The Chair reported that the Insurance claim had been fully paid; the EBU had awarded a grant of £1000 towards a duplimate machine; and that he was awaiting final approval on a grant of £5000 from the AAP. It was agreed that he would buy a replacement laptop (c £180), a security cupboard (c £330), and a printer (c £150).

Interclub Team Entries : It was agreed that we should continue to enter three teams for the Interclub tournament. As Den Kerry was no longer available to organise the C team and the Team Captain was not familiar with the Tuesday afternoon players, it was agreed that Clive Nichols and Ian Mordue should be asked if they would be willing to organise the C team next year.

A.O.B. :           The Chair would ask for Tuesday afternoon volunteers to take over the management of the catering (tea, coffee, juice, and biscuits provision) which (among other things) Den and Lynne Kerry had very kindly organised.

Next Meeting: July 2nd 6 p.m.

Committee Minutes 2nd April 2019

Durham Bridge Club

Minutes of Committee Meeting 2nd  April 2019

Present:  Adrian Darnell, Den Kerry, Ann Squires, Jill Hancock,  Dave Thompson, Susan Penswick, Irene Hancock, Christine Farnsworth, Nigel Martin, Charles Bucknell

Apologies:  John Portwood, John Dobson

Minutes : Minutes for the Committee meeting of  Tuesday 5th March were accepted

Matters arising:

            a) Kitchen Development : Use of our usual kitchen would cease from next week and study of the plans indicated that we would lose storage space and probably have very restricted use of the kitchen after the work was completed. It was agreed that committee members would help to box and move our kitchen equipment on Wednesday 3rd April to the Youth Hall kitchen

            b) Intermediate teaching : It was agreed that the first imtermediate teaching session would be on Monday 13th May.  Those prepared to be involved in the teaching would have an informal meeting before this (and before Jill Hancock went on holiday)

            c) Cansino Cup: The Chair reported that George Cansino was happy with what the committee had agreed at the meeting on Tuesday 8th January and he and Libby would be happy to present the cup if they were present at the Christmas party.

Monday Night Hosting: It was agreed that the Monday night session was officially both supervised and hosted and that it should be advertised as such on the website and other publicity. In case “hostingˮ attracted visitors, it was felt that it should be made clear that “supervisedˮ meant there were no master points, no NGS ratings and that normally only 18 duplimated boards a session were played

NEBA Club Championships: It was agreed that, as the results of this yearʼs competitions were already posted on the website, the two pairs coming highest in the pairs competition should first be invited to represent the club and that those playing for the clubʼs A team and those who won the Kempson vases heat should be invited to form a team to represent the club. If this did not result in representation of the club, the committee was free to invite suitable representation

Postponed Swiss pairs event : Consideration of this is postponed until the discussion of next yearʼs calendar.

AGM Tuesday 23rd April 2019 : The proposed agenda was accepted in principle. A final version would be circulated for committee approval before being circulated to the members.

Seating at the Tuesday night session: Since no formal proposal had been received on this and since the current arrangements had been agreed by an AGM it was felt that the status quo should remain

Renting a permanent room in FMYCC: The Chair reported that at the FMYCC AGM it had been reported that the Bell group had ceased to rent a room in the schoolhouse building. He wished the committee to consider the possibility of the Bridge Club taking over this rental. Currently we have no permanent base; we will lose storage space with the new kitchen development; we are not only dependent on Darlington for our duplimate boards (and we now have 3 weekly sessions using boards) but are relying on the goodwill of members (usually the Chair) to collect these each week. Renting this room would provide us with a permanent meeting and teaching space (it would take 3/4 bridge tables) and the possibility of acquiring our own duplimating facility.  The committee agreed in principle with the Chairʼs proposal and asked him to explore the financial implications more fully.

Table Money: It was agreed that the Committee should propose a rise in table money from £2.50 to £3.00 for members. In part this related to the proposal above of renting a room and acquiring a duplimating machine. However, table money was first fixed at £2.50 in 2008. We have been able to avoid raising it chiefly because of increasing numbers at the afternoon session. However, numbers are no longer increasing in the afternoon and are usually lower at the evening session than they were ten years ago. Rental costs are rising. It would seem prudent to make a small rise now.

Committee Minutes 5th March 2019

Durham Bridge Club

Minutes of Committee Meeting 5th  March 2019

 

Present:  Adrian Darnell, Den Kerry, Ann Squires, Jill Hancock,  Dave Thompson, Susan Penswick, Irene Hancock, Christine Farnsworth, John Dobson, Nigel Martin, Charles Bucknell

Apologies:  John Portwood

Minutes : Minutes for the Committee meetings of  Tuesday 8th January were accepted

Matters arising:

            a) Kitchen Development : Jill Hancock presented the committee with the schedule for the kitchen development.  Building work is planned from 8th April - 23rd May. The main entrance will be blocked during this period and entrance will be by the side door into the Youth Hall. It was agreed that the Secretary should discuss with Terry Simpson the Building Manager the possibility of moving permanently from the Main Hall to the Youth Hall which will accommodate 16 tables more easily than the Main Hall and for which the kitchen is more convenient

            b) Intermediate teaching : Agreed that the proposal that once a month the Monday night play session would be used to explore a topic which had not been covered in the basic teaching course with an opening instruction session and a play session of prepared hands would be implemented. This would be a 6 month programme and Adrian Darnell would circulate a list of the first 4 topics and invite committee members to offer to host a session/topic.

            c) Cansino Cup: Carried over to next meeting

Directing Tuesday Night Sessions : It was agreed that part of the problem was the need for more people to be proficient in use of the computer program. Adrian Darnell agreed to be the default director if he was present and also agreed that he would provide a training session for other possible directors (see item on Directorsʼ Course below) on use of the computer program

Arrangements for the AGM of Tuesday 23rd April 2019 : It was agreed :

            a) that, as last year, the AGM would be held at 12.45 p.m. immediately before the afternoon bridge session (i.e.the session at which the most club members are usually present)

            b) that all current committee members are prepared to serve for a further year at least. Susan Penswick warned the committee that it would be her last year as Treasurer and Den Kerry warned that his attendance might become irregular

            c) the Secretary would email all current members reminding them of the AGM and inviting nominations for the committee and items for the agenda. She would also post a form for nominations on the notice board and remind   members (who are not all on email) before bridge sessions

“Keep Bridge Aliveˮ : The Secretary drew the Committeeʼs attention to the request from Professor Samantha Punch of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Stirling for financial support for her project of developing a new   academic field - “the Sociology of Bridgeˮ. Although the Committee agreed with her objective of recruiting more (and younger) people to play bridge it was not felt appropriate to devote our charity raising activities to this project

Tournament Directorsʼ Course : Agreed that the Club would reimburse Charles Bucknell for the 3 sessions he was able to attend and would pay for Dave Thompson and Jill Hancock to attend the one session needed to update their qualifications. All three agreed to attend the session on using the computer program mentioned above. The Club had not been able to take advantage of the free place on the course offered by NEBA

Postponed Swiss pairs event : Consideration of the suitability of the proposed event deferred to next meeting

Notice Board for the Monday Group : Agreed that this request needed to be related to the possibility of a permanent move of  the Tuesday bridge sessions to the Youth Hall and would be further considered when the Secretary had discussed the matter with Terry Simpson

Sunday Bridge Sessions : In principle the Committee agreed that a bridge session on a Sunday afternoon was an interesting idea and that the Secretary should circulate it to the membership as an AGM item to gauge response. As a trial it was suggested that the session should be aimed at beginners and that the four geographically closest clubs (St Georgeʼs, Wearside, Bishop Auckland, and  Chester le Street) should be invited to participate. It would give inexperienced players the chance to meet members from other clubs which they did not normally have. Durham would provide “tea and   biscuitsˮ and might provide a small prize. Table money would be charged to cover the cost of the room etc. Charles Bucknell also suggested that other types of bridge (e.g. speedball, express bridge) might be tried at Sunday sessions if participants could be found.

Monday Evenings: the Chairman pointed out that the Monday evening sessions had developed into a hosted as well as a supervised session. This needed discussion at the next committee meeting

Committee Minutes 8th January 2019

Durham Bridge Club

Minutes of Committee Meeting 8th  January 2019
 

Present:  Adrian Darnell, Den Kerry, Ann Squires, Jill Hancock,  Dave Thompson, Susan Penswick, Irene Hancock, Christine Farnsworth, John Dobson, Nigel Martin, John Portwood
Apologies:  Charles Bucknell
Minutes : Minutes for the Committee meetings of  Tuesday 6th November were accepted
Matters arising:
a) Charity Day on Tuesday 13th November.
     This had been highly successful and the combination of table money, raffle and money from the sale of old scoring devices had raised £648 for the Durham Food Bank. The Chairman had publicised this in the bridge report to the local paper as well as on the club website. The Committee heartily thanked Christine Farnsworth for her work on the raffle and for organising the arrangements with the Food Bank.
b) Christmas Parties :
     All three parties had gone very well and the Monday group in particular were appreciative. Again the Committee were very grateful to Christine for undertaking the organisation of the food and the prizes. A considerable amount of wine was unused and it was agreed that the white would be better sold off to committee or club members. The red would keep for next year if necessary.
c) Timing of Committee Meetings :
     Although it had been agreed at the last committee meeting that this monthʼs committee should meet before the afternoon bridge session, this had proved impossible to organise and it was agreed that the committee time would remain at 6 p.m.
d) Kitchen Development :
     There was no further news on this at present from the FMYCC  committee
Organisation of Tuesday Afternoon Sessions:
     John Dobson withdrew his suggestion in view of the email replies he had received 
Use of Email for Committee Matters :
     The Committee agreed with the Chairmanʼs suggestion that, rather than starting an informal email discussion, in future members who wished to have a matter considered by the committee should send a proposal to the Secretary for inclusion on next monthʼs agenda. The Secretary would include a brief summary of what was involved in the item when circulating the agenda to give committee members time to consider the implications etc. before the meeting
Promotion of Tuesday Night Sessions :
     The Committeeʼs attention was drawn to the fact that tables numbers seemed to be down fairly regularly on Tuesday nights. It was felt that currently this might simply be related to the time of year. However, the committee would like to see more of the afternoon players encouraged to come in the evening. Taking the number of tables at the three club sessions together, the club was in a comparatively healthy state.
Future Teaching:
     It was agreed that we would explore the possibility of offering some Intermediate/Improvement teaching in the coming year. The suggestion is that, possibly once a month, the Monday night play session could be used to explore a topic which had not been covered in the basic teaching course (e.g. weak 2 openers and jump overcalls, bidding 2 suited hands) with an opening instruction session and a play session (possibly with prepared hands). If discussion with the Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon groups showed sufficient interest in this proposal, we would publish a list of topics to be covered and the material for each session would be available on the website. The sessions would also be advertised in the local paper bridge column
Cansino Cup:
     It was felt that George Cansino should be consulted on the matter but the Committee was agreed that the original intention for the cup was that the 6 best scores out of a possible 12 for any given pair should determine the winners whether achieved in the afternoon or the evening. When this was agreed there had been no pairs playing both afternoon and evening. In the course of the year there had been a few pairs who played both Cansino sessions and this had caused comment. The Committeeʼs suggestion is that if a pair choose to play both in the afternoon and in the evening on the first Tuesday of the month then it was the evening score for that month which would count towards the Cansino cup. This would require manual intervention in the computer calculation of the winners but this is possible. It was also agreed that George and Libby Cansino should be asked to present the Cup at the Christmas party next year.
Local Paper:
     The chairman reported that the Durham Advertiser was agreeable to publishing a bridge problem once a month
Chairmanʼs Absence:
     Adrian reminded the committee that he was going to be away for 3 weeks in January/February and arrangements would be needed for the collection of boards from Darlington.

Committee Minutes 6th November 2018

Durham Bridge Club

Minutes of Committee Meeting 6 th  November 2018

Present:  Adrian Darnell, Den Kerry, Ann Squires, Jill Hancock, Charles Bucknell, Dave Thompson, 
                Susan Penswick, Irene Hancock, Christine Farnsworh

 

Apologies:  John Dobson, Nigel Martin, John Portwood

 

The Committee agreed :  to co-opt  Irene Hancock to the committee for the current year to represent the Monday evening group.  Both she and Christine Farnsworth were welcomed to their first committee meeting.

 

Minutes : Minutes for the Committee meetings of  Tuesday 16th October were accepted

 

Matters arising: The Treasurer suggested that the money raised (£160) from the sale of the superfluous electrical scoring devices should be added to whatever sum is raised by the Charity day. This was agreed.

           

Charity Day on Tuesday November 13th 2018:  Christine Farnsworth reported that a speaker from the Durham Food Bank had been arranged to give a brief introduction to its work before the afternoon and evening sessions on   Tuesday. About 6/7 prizes had been provided for the raffle and tickets would be sold next week on Monday and Tuesday (afternoon and evening). The raffle would be drawn the following Tuesday afternoon (Nov.27th). Arrangements would be made after the event for a representative number of the Club committee to present the cheque to the Food Bank and take pictures for the website.

Christmas Parties : Ann Squires reported that the usual caterers had been booked for both Tuesday parties and for Monday night. The Chair would be responsible for buying the drinks (alcoholic and soft) for all three

For Monday night it was agreed that: Jill Hancock and Irene Hancock would deal with acquiring the prizes and organising the evening and that regular players would be asked whether they were going to attend so that catering numbers could be reasonably accurate.

For the Tuesday parties Christine Farnsworth would get the prizes (winners and spot); the director of each event would deal with the organisation of the spot prizes. On current attendance numbers catering for 13 tables in the afternoon and 9 in the evening seemed reasonable. If numbers started increasing these figures could be adjusted.

The presentation of the Cansino Cup would be discussed at the next committee meeting

Timing of Committee Meetings : The Secretary suggested that in view of the current composition of the Committee a meeting preceeding the afternoon bridge session would be more convenient for the majority of the committee. It was agreed that the next committee meeting would be held at 12 oʼclock before the Tuesday afternoon session.

Teams : The Club calendar listed Tuesday 27th November as “Teamsˮ for both afternoon and evening sessions (Tuesday immediately before the second Interclub match). It was felt that little benefit but considerable confusion was derived from teams in the afternoon session so it was agreed to have a teams session only in the evening and leave the afternoon session as a normal pairs event.

Monday Evenings : The Chairman suggested that the Monday evening session should be treated like the other two sessions and that

            a) the Secretary should try and arrange with the FMYCC manager to have the room set out and put away by the caretaker.

            b) duplimated hands with handouts should be used. This would obviate the need for players to arrive early to set up the room and deal boards, and would give the players a chance to discuss interesting or difficult hands from one week to the next.

 

Kitchen Development : Jill Hancock was asked to discover from the next FMYCC committee meeting in what ways the club would be affected by the development plans. In particular were we likely to experience a period in which we had ready access to neither of the kitchens.

 

Committee Meeting 16th October 2018

Durham Bridge Club

Minutes of Committee Meeting 16th October 2018

Present:  Adrian Darnell, Den Kerry, Ann Squires, Jill Hancock, Charles Bucknell, Dave Thompson, John Dobson

 

Apologies:  Susan Penswick, Nigel Martin, John Portwood

 

The Committee agreed :  to coopt Christine Farnsworth to the committee for the current year. She will take on part of the work done by the current secretary and will be responsible for the running of social events such as the Charity day and the Christmas parties. If the arrangement works successfully the committee will propose that this becomes an official division of the Secretaryʼs post at the next AGM.

 

Minutes : Minutes for the Committee meetings of  Tuesday 21st August were accepted

 

Matters arising:-

To report :   
a)  most of the electronic devices have now been sold to members                          
b)  the Secretary has supplied Charles Bucknell with a set of cupboard keys

c)  the Club plaque has been installed                                                                                                                  
d)  commemorative pens have been distributed to the A&B teams but some still need to be given to members who played for the C team 
e)  FMYCC has received a grant for £45,000 for the kitchen refurbishment which involves plans to provide a cafe for community use. Work is not due to start until next summer but Jill Hancock as our representative on FMYCC committee will keep a watching brief on how this may affect our use of the kitchen in the future  
f)  new bidding boxes have been bought             
g)  the Swiss Pairs event ran successfully with 14 tables and thanks are due to Roger Hancock and Barbara Taylor who kindly stood by as the reserve pair, to the “Marquis of  Granbyˮ for supplying parking and Ann Squires for organising the event
h) The Chair's invitation teams event  provided a very pleasant afternoon for all involved

Local Newspaper: The Chair reported that with the amalgamation of “The Durham Advertiserˮ and “The Durham Timesˮ there was the possibility of the introduction of a “puzzle sectionˮ. He suggested that we try to introduce an interesting bridge puzzle, perhaps once a month (Charles Bucknell has an ample supply!) Also possibly list the third place in the results if that does not make reports too long.

Charity Day on Tuesday November 13th 2018:  6 local charities had been suggested by club members all of which the committee felt merited consideration. It was agreed that the fairest method was to draw for a winner and the Durham Food Bank won. Christine Farnsworth will contact the Charity to ask them to provide a speaker for the two Tuesday sessions who can give a brief run down on the work done.  Last year the raffle and the Christmas Fayre tombola were run in conjunction. As the latter is not operating this year we need a limited number of major prizes for the raffle. It was agreed that the Club should buy a first prize as it has done previously.

Monday Evenings :
The following arrangements were agreed:-

a)  to co-opt a regular Monday night player to the committee.

b)  that the room will be open from 6.30p.m. when the booking time starts.

c)  that, changing the decision of a previous committee meeting, the session will be computer scored and that the committee member allotted for the evening will be responsible for the computer which should use code 22 for a novice session.

d)  Charles Bucknell should be recompensed for any expenses incurred in teaching the beginners, including travelling expenses (c.£3 a night).

e)  that, as club members, the Monday group should also have a Christmas party provided by the Club. The Secretary will contact the caterer to see if this can still be arranged for this year.


Cansino Cup:
A query had been raised with the Secretary that some pairs were playing both afternoon and evening  sessions of the Cansino cup which was considered to give an unfair advantage since the number of  results from which the 6 best could be selected could become greater than the 12 (11 this year) originally specified. The committee felt that in the current year no pair was likely to have played many more than 12 Cansino sessions but that after seeing the result of this yearʼs Cansino Cup it might reconsider the matter for next year. Monday sessions could not qualify for the Cansino Cup.

Committee Meeting 21st August 2018

Durham Bridge Club

Minutes of Committee Meeting Tuesday 21st August 2018

Present:  Adrian Darnell, Den Kerry, Nigel Martin, Ann Squires, Jill Hancock, John Portwood,

 

Apologies: Dave Thompson, Susan Penswick, Charles Bucknell

 

Minutes : Minutes for the Committee meetings of  5th June were accepted

 

Matters arising:

      1. Previous electronic devices: the Chair would clear the devices of previous material and they would be offered to club members at the nominal price of £10
      2. Scorebridge: The club was now using EBUScore and it was assumed that the licence for Scorebridge had not been renewed
      3. Keys : As Charles Bucknell was going to run the teaching class in the coming year, he needed a set of keys to the cupboard. The Secretary would get these cut.
      4. Second Store Room: matter still pending
      5. Club Plaque: It was agreed that the plaque should read “Durham Bridge Club / bridgewebs.com/durhamˮ. The size appeared to be A4 landscape and the Chair would get a quote from Timpsons for a metallic plaque.
      6. Commemorative pens: It was agreed that the Team Captain should buy 100 pens from the site he had suggested. These would be inscribed “NEBA Inter Club Teams / Durham Bridge Clubˮ but would not include a date year.
         
        Contract with EBU: A letter from the EBU had been circulated to the committee. As certain clubs had refused to sign the EBU document previously circulated, the EBU was offering to those clubs who had signed the possibility of withdrawing from the agreement. It was agreed that the Durham Club was happy to let the agreement stand.
         
        Plans for the kitchen refurbishment at FMYCC: The plan from the Chair of FMYCC had been circulated to the committee. Its status was unclear but Jill Hancock as our representative on the FMYCC committee was asked to indicate that our priorities were: that the storage space should not be lessened; that the small tables indicated on the diagram should not be fixed to the floor; that, if possible, we would like a cooker and hob to  be installed. Since the plan indicated that one of the doors to the kitchen would eventually be blocked off,  queries were raised about ventilation and fire regulations
         
        NEBA Swiss Pairs on Wednesday 5th September 2018: The Secretary reported that the Main hall was booked from 9.30 a.m. until 6 p.m. and the Youth Hall from 12 noon. “Seventeenˮ were booked for the catering. Currentl  we had 12 tables. The Chair agreed to discuss with “the Marquis of Granbyˮ the possibility of opening their car park for us as they did last year.
         
        NEBA Inter Club teams: The Secretary reported that for the three home matches on 7th October 2018, 20th January 2019, and 3rd March 2019 the Main Hall had been booked from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. and the Youth Hall from 2.30 to 7 p.m. She would contact Lisa to arrange for her to organise the tea.
         
        Monday Evenings and next yearʼs teaching : Agreed that the Chair would email Charles Bucknell to confirm that he is happy to take on the Beginnersʼ Classes and that a start date of Monday 1st October would suit him. When he confirms this the classes would be publicized. It was also agreed that the current Monday evening session for novices would continue. Jill Hancock would organize a rota which, with 8 committee members,  should only entail a commitment of about one evening in two months
         
        New Bidding Sets : The Secretary had received complaints that the current bidding cards were dirty and unhygienic It had also been noticed that some of the plastic boxes were showing damage. It was agreed that the Chair should order 6 new full sets at the current EBU price of £22 a set.
         
        Chairʼs Invitation to last yearʼs Inter Club Team players: The Secretary reported that Main Hall had been booked from 1.30 p.m to 6 p.m.on Sunday 30th September. The Chair would organize the invitations etc.

Durham Bridge Club

Minutes of the Committee Meeting

on Tuesday 28th September 2021 at 12.30 p.m.

Present:          Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, Irene Hancock, Susan Penswick, Jill Hancock, John Dobson, David Thompson, John Portwood

Apologies:      Christine Farnsworth, Nigel Martin

Minutes for the Zoom meeting 16th February 2021

and for the garden meeting 17th July 2021:             accepted without discussion

Date and Agenda of the AGM: agreed that a short AGM should be held at 12.30p.m. on November 2nd before the afternoon bridge session. This would replace the AGMs of 2020 and 2021 which should have been held in late April of those years but were prevented by Covid restrictions. The Chairman's report and Treasurer's Statement of Accounts would be circulated before the meeting together with nominations for election of the Constitution-specified Club Officials (i.e. Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Club Captain). The question of moving to the norm of a monthly standing order to pay for table money and membership fee would be raised at the AGM. As has been the custom for the AGM sessions, table money for that day would be donated to the charity for Alzheimer's disease and the Durham Cities Trophy would be awarded to the winners of the evening bridge session

Calendar matters: agreed :

            a) the Chronicle Cup qualifier played as the evening session, Tuesday 9th November (F2F)

            b) the Sykes Cup played as the evening session on 16th November (F2F)

            c) there would not be a charity event this November but the practice of members nominating a specific charity for the year and donating a week's table money and the proceeds of a raffle to the chosen charity should be revived next year

            d) the usual Christmas parties were not appropriate currently but prizes would be awarded at the three sessions on 13th and 14th December instead

            e) Since Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th December would both be bank holidays the club would not be open on those days but would reopen for bridge on Monday 3rd January

Teaching Provision : it was agreed that Ann Squires would provide beginners' teaching on a Tuesday afternoon using the EBU Red Book and that she would request the help of other members when and if necessary. 2 hour sessions would begin at 1.30p.m. with the first one on 26th October.

BBO Sessions : a number of members had indicated when previously circulated that they would like a continuation of a BBO session (and table numbers indicate that many members are not yet ready to return to f2f bridge). It was agreed that the Secretary should circulate members to inquire who would be interested in playing regularly an 18 board session on a Friday afternoon starting at 2.15p.m.

Continuation of the Club League : Dave Thompson reported that currently 15 pairs were still happy to continue the Club league on BBO, giving 3 divisions with 5 pairs in each.

There being no other business the meeting closed at 1p.m.

Durham Bridge Club

Minutes of Committee Meeting (Zoom) on 16th February 2021 at 1.30 p.m.

Present:          Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, Irene Hancock, Susan Penswick, Jill Hancock, Christine Farnsworth, Nigel Martin, John Dobson, John Portwood

Apologies:      David Thompson (with technical problems)

Post Covid Planning : The Chair had circulated a document discussing future plans for the club once face to face bridge was again possible. It was agreed to set up a subcommittee consisting of the Chair, Jill Hancock (the Club representative and a trustee on the FMYCC                                     committee), and Irene Hancock (Club Treasurer) to consider future planning and financial implications and to present recommendations to a future committee meeting.

The Chair congratulated the FMYCC committee and trustees on the transformation the centre had undergone during the lockdown periods: ventilation was now excellent; windows in the halls opened electronically, rooms had been redecorated, toilets refurbished and electronic equipment for teaching/lecturing had been installed in the main hall.

Finances:       The Treasurer reported that the financial situation was satisfactory. The Current account stood at £5391 and the Savings account £4532. The payment to FMYCC (for the rooms we were not currently using) had been reduced in January to £250 per month. 70  members had paid subscriptions (including some who were not currently using the on-line facilities). Payment coming in for the Tuesday sessions and the Club league was keeping the finances stable. The Treasurer was happy to continue the current system of payment at least until the Treasurer's position with HSBC had been regularised. The Club's finances are healthy enough to allow for expenditure on necessary equipment to promote safety when face to face bridge resumes.

EBU Simultaneous Pairs: It was agreed that the Secretary should register the club to play the British Spring Sim Pairs (April 13th); the EBED Spring Sim Pairs (May 11th); the British Summer Sim Pairs (July 27th); the EBED Autumn Sim Pairs (Sept. 7th), and the British Autumn Sim Pairs (Oct. 12th)

AGM 2021: The Club constitution required that an AGM should take place within 6 weeks of the end of the financial year which was not going to be possible in the normal manner. It was agreed that the Secretary should circulate the club members requesting their views on  whether the AGM should be adjourned until face to face bridge resumed or whether we should attempt an AGM by zoom and, if the latter,  whether enough members could or would participate to make it valid.

On-line Cheating: The Chair reported that EBU was investigating increasing numbers of allegations of on-line cheating. It was agreed that the Chair would circulate a note to members on the subject.

There being no other business the meeting closed at 2.10p.m.

_______________________

Durham Bridge Club
Minutes of the Committee Meeting (Zoom) 21st July 2020 at 1.30 p.m.

Present:           Adrian Darnell (Chair), Ann Squires (Secretary), Susan Penswick (Treasurer), Nigel Martin, Jill Hancock, Irene Hancock, David Thompson, Christine Farnswort
Apologies :     John Dobson, John Portwood

Resignation of the Treasurer: The committee accepted the resignation of the Treasurer, Susan Penswick and expressed its gratitude for her eight years of service to the club. Thanks would be more fully expressed when it is possible to hold an AGM
Appointment of an acting Treasurer: the Committee unanimously agreed to appoint Irene Hancock as acting Treasurer—the appointment to be confirmed at an AGM.

To report: the current signatories of the club bank account with HSBC are Susan Penswick and Ann Squires

Agreed: that Irene Hancock be added to the list of bank signatories from July 2020 onwards

Agreed:  that the acting Treasurer shall consider whether the current banking arrangements meet the  club’s requirements and report to the committee

Agreed: that for the current year the acting Treasurer and not the Secretary shall be responsible for collecting subscriptions. To this end both the Secretary and the acting Treasurer shall have a full  membership list

Agreed: that members should be invited to pay this year’s membership subscription (£5) by the end of  September either by bank transfer or by cheque sent to the club’s headquarters at FMYCC. The Secretary will circulate members with the relevant information.

_________________________________

 

Durham Bridge Club

Minutes of Committee Meeting 3rd March 2020

Present:  Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, Nigel Martin, Dave Thompson, Irene Hancock, Susan Penswick,  John Portwood, Christine Farnsworth, Jill Hancock

Apologies:  John Dobson

Minutes : Minutes of the Committee meeting of  Tuesday 4th Febraury 2020 were accepted.

Matters arising:

             a) Intermediate teaching: Agreed that the next session should be on play planning and that we should make use of the DVDs which the club owns. Finding equipment for using these (e.g. a projector) meant that the next session would be scheduled for April rather than late March. The DVDs would also be brought to the attention of the Monday and Tuesday afternoon groups.

            b) Rotas: the Chairman presented the committee with a partially completed rota for all the jobs and asked for volunteers for the tasks not so far assigned

New Auditor: The Committee were very pleased to accept Norman McConnell, who is a management accountant and club member, as the new auditor for the club and thanked Irene Hancock and Susan Penswick for sorting this out.

Club's Complaints Procedure: The Chairman proposed to the committee that the club's complaints/ disciplinary procedure as set out in the constitution should be emended to bring it into line with the new NEBA regulations. These aimed to settle a complaint at the simplest, most informal level possible. It was agreed that to qualify as a complaint a matter must be put to the committee in writing. This proposal would need to come to the AGM as it involved a change in the constitution

Tuesday Afternoon Sessions: it was agreed that for a Tuesday afternoon session there should be a policy, when there was a half table, of alternating whether N/S or E/W became the sit-out pair

Nominations for the Committee and Offices : the Chair reported that nominees had been found for the offices of Treasurer, Secretary, and Team Captain as those currently holding those positions wished to retire at the AGM. Susan Penswick, Ann Squires and Nigel Martin were thanked for their work in these posts. The Chair and other members of the committee were happy to stand for reelection at the AGM. It was agreed that the Secretary would circulate a list to encourage members of the club to stand for election to the committee

Parking: the Chair reported that the landlord of the Marquis of Granby had been most obliging in agreeing to allow club members to use his car park as an overflow park on a Tuesday afternoon and had refused an offer of payment. It was agreed that a) the club would produce some form of identification so that cars of club members were identifiable if they used the car park and b) the Club would make contributions to any charitable events etc. which the pub might undertake

Club Awards and Trophies: It was agreed that the last paragraph on this topic from the minutes of July 2nd 2019 should be revised. It was now agreed that the Club Championship Salver should remain as an award for the Club Champion. This position would be defined as the best performance on Tuesday evening sessions over the winter months (October - March). Similarly there would be a Tuesday afternoon Champion (best performance October - March). For the Monday night Sessions it was agreed that the first Monday of the month should be designated a session in which assistance could not be requested and that an average of  these 12 possible scores over the year would determine that Monday evening Champion. A minimum of 6 scores would be necessary for entry.

 Date of Next Meeting: Tuesday 7th April 2020

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Durham Bridge Club

Minutes of Committee Meeting 4th February 2020

Present:  Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, Nigel Martin, Dave Thompson, Irene Hancock, Susan Penswick,  John Portwood, Christine Farnsworth, Jill Hancock

Apologies:  John Dobson

Minutes : Minutes of the Committee meeting of  Tuesday 22nd October 2019 were accepted.

Matters arising:

    To Report: a) Beginnersʼ teaching: Jill Hancock and Ann Squires were alternating teaching sessions. Five people were currently in the class. Agreed to consider further the possibility of moving the sessions to Tuesday afternoon. Intermediate teaching: Agreed to continue with monthly sessions. Adrian Darnell to give a session on slam bidding (as requested) on Monday February 17th

                        b) The change of venue is now complete. All three sessions are in the Youth Hall. The caretaker sets up tables on Monday afternoon and removes them on Wednesday morning. Cloths and bidding boxes do not need to be put away between sessions. The FMYCC committee had also received a grant from the Councilʼs AAP committee so no longer needs a contribution towards refurbishment. FMYCC had also undertaken to move the light switch in the kitchen and improve the ventilation of the Youth Hall – probably by introducing windows that opened

                        c) Duplimating: Reported to be going smoothly and a number of committee members have been shown how to operate the machine– see below under “Rotasˮ

                        d) Charity days: The committee warmly thanked Christine Farnsworth for all her work in organising the raffle and liaising with the Waddington Street Centre. The Club was able to present the Centre with a cheque for £650 thanks to the generosity of its members

                        e) Presentation of the AAP Cheque:This was finally presented to the Club on 28th January 2020, the presentation having been delayed because of the General Election.The visiting AAP Committee members were shown the new duplimating machine and tables and photographs were taken for publicity on the website and in the local paper.

                        f) Current Interclub position: The Team Captain reported that, with one match to play, the A teamʼs division was very evenly positioned and all would depend on the last match; the B team was leading its division with 54 points and needed only 6 points from the last match for promotion; the C team remained bottom of its division but members had very much enjoyed playing the matches (and C team had still 2 matches to play)

                        g) Sale of Old Tables: Reported that NEBA had transferred £75 to the Club bank account for 15 tables. Agreed that the remaining 5 tables should be kept as spares 

Christmas parties: Christine Farnsworth was thanked for her organisation of the events which were much enjoyed. It was agreed that a later meeting would consider whether it would be better in future to reduce the number of parties or spread them over a longer period and it was agreed that the Tuesday evening party no longer needed as much food.

Rotas: A Rota of necessary jobs was circulated by the Chairman and discussed. It was agreed that the best solution was for each job to have a volunteer who was responsible for seeing that the job was done either   by themselves, by a named deputy, or by an ad hoc deputy arranged by them for particular weeks.  Duplimating would be done by Adrian Darnell or Dave Thompson as his deputy; Hosting on a Monday night would be done by John Portwood or by ad hoc arrangement, hosting on a Tuesday afternoon would be done by Dave Thompson or by John Portwood as his deputy.The Chairmas would circulate the rota to     the committee for volunteers to sign up for the other jobs.

Club Awards and Trophies: The Committee took note of John Dobsonʼs doubts about changing long-standing Club Trophies. It was agreed that the matter required more time and consideration than was currently available and the matter was held over to another meeting

Management of Interclub matches: The view was put forward that each team needed its own scorer. As there was only one match remaining in this season, it was agreed that the matter would be raised before the start of next yearʼs Interclub season

“Psychˮ Book: Agreed that the Chairman would remind the Club that if members wished to report a psych the facility existed

Composition of the Committee : It was agreed that it might be advantageous to increase the size of the committee by one member – possibly with the specific duty of ensuring that the rota scheme was working

 Date of Next Meeting: Tuesday 3rd March 2020

______________________________________


Durham Bridge Club

Minutes of Committee Meeting 22nd October 2019


Present:
 Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, Nigel Martin, Dave Thompson, Irene Hancock, Susan Penswick,  John Portwood, Christine Farnsworth, John Dobson

Apologies:  Jill Hancock

Minutes : Minutes of the Committee meeting of  Tuesday 6th August were accepted.

Matters arising:

    To Report: a) NEBA Swiss Pairs Event: This ran successfully with 11 tables. The reserve pair did not play because of a late withdrawal and the committee thanks them for volunteering to do this.

                        b) Chairʼs Invitation Sunday 29th September : this had been a great success with 7 tables/teams. A desire to repeat it on free Sundays had been expressed. The committee felt that this might be more practical and appropriate to arrange after the Interclub season had finished

                        c) Token of Appreciation: Agreed that this should be presented at the appropriate Christmas party

                        d) Calendar on webpage: The Webmaster was thanked for ensuring that a full list of events was available

Beginnersʼ Teaching: It was reported that we now had 14 enrolled beginners and, so far, no dropouts. All had bought the EBU teaching book. It was agreed that Jill Hancock and Ann Squires would be in charge of organising the beginnersʼ teaching. Irene Hancock reported that Pat Robinson had expressed an interest in teaching beginners but would not wish to be part of a teaching team

Intermediate Teaching: there was request for a session on “Bidding strong handsˮ. A volunteer was needed for a session in November (with notes published on the website)

Bridge Movements : While it was agreed that Howell movements and playing 2 boards a table increased the time wasted between rounds, the advantage of playing a greater number of pairs with a Howell and the advantage, if there was a sit-out table, of 2 boards over 3 was also agreed. The general opinion was that the option of playing a Howell movement should be retained.

Locking up/Opening up : The Chair felt that a rota was needed for the responsibility of Opening up/and Locking up before and after all three sessions and that this should include the responsibility for hosting on Mondays and Tuesday afternoons. It was agreed that the Chair would look for volunteers for this.

Change of Venue: The Chair had agreed with the FMYCC Manager that from the first Tuesday in November all sessions of the Bridge Club would be in the Youth Hall and all our equipment would be moved from    the newly refurbished kitchen (which is to become a cafe) to the kitchen adjoining the Youth Hall. If there proved to be any problems with this arrangement, the FMYCC Manager and Treasurer had agreed to sort them out and to ensure that the Caretaker continued to set out and put away the tables and chairs   for all three sessions. The Club had agreed to contribute to the upgrading of the sofas in the kitchen we were using once we were established in the Youth Hall

Duplimating: The Chair would organise a class for those wishing to learn how to use the duplimating machine at 6.15 on a suitable Tuesday. A rota for dealing could then be organised

Charity Days 11th/12th November : Christine Farnsworth reported that Waddington St. Centre had been agreed on as this yearʼs charity, that she had bought a bottle of whisky as a 1st prize  for the raffle and that the club was showing its usual generosity in donating other prizes. She would organise an occasion for a Waddington St. representative to come to the club, receive the cheque and talk briefly about the Centreʼs work. This would provide a photograph which could be included in the press report

Presentation of AAP Grant Cheque : this was scheduled for 12.40 p.m. on 12th November. The cheque would be presented to the Chair by the representatives of the Council and the AAP committee: Amanda Hopgood, the Rev. Joanne Thornes and Craig Morgan, AAP coordinator. Again a report and photoraph would be included in the weekʼs press report

Interclub: The Team Captain reported that the 1st Interclub match had produced a loss for the A and C teams and a win for the B team. It was agreed that the Chair would try to get a full list of those available and willing to play for the club if chosen. The next Interclub would be November 10th and the Team Captain would investigate the arrangements for the B teamʼs “homeˮ game which would be played at Wearside.

Current Financial Position : The Treasurer reported that the current financial position looked very healthy:

                        Current account. 15/10/19. £4610.01 15/10/18. £4525.74

                        Deposit account. 15/10/19. £4001.00 15/10/18. £4516.13

            The above position includes the two grants we have received, the purchase of the duplimator (and its accompanying costs for paper, ink, etc.), new tables, new cupboard and the now regular monthly payment for the office. It does not include the expected costs for further new tables.

Old Tables: The Chair reported that NEBA wished to buy 12 of the old tables @ £5 per table and they would collect them. It was agreed that the rest of the old tables would be offered to members @ £4 each

Monday Evening Trophy: there seemed to be confusion over what had previously been agreed about the Clubʼs awards and trophies. The matter was deferred to the next meeting and the Secretary would circulate what had previously been agreed in the minutes.

 

Committee Meeting 5th June 2018

 

Durham Bridge Club

Minutes of Committee Meeting Tuesday 5th June 2018

Present:  Ann Squires, Susan Penswick, Jill Hancock,  David Thompson, John Portwood, John Dobson

 

Apologies: Adrian Darnell, Den Kerry, Nigel Martin, Charles Bucknell

 

In the absence of Adrian Darnell the meeting was chaired by Jill Hancok as Vice-chair

 

Minutes : Minutes for the Committee meetings of 10th April and 1st May , and for AGM of 24th April were accepted

 

Matters arising:

      1. Previous elecronic devices: the Chair was still exploring possible uses for the tablets
      2. NEBA Club championships: there had been no volunteers to form a team to represent the club. Adrian Darnell and Nigel Martin and Jill Hancock and Ann Squires had played in the Pairs.
      3. The following formulation from the Chair was accepted as an appeals process:
         “A Directorʼs Ruling may be appealed.
        Appeals as to a matter of Lawshall be remittted to any one other TD of the Club for judgement. The original TDʼs decision may not be overruled on a point of Law (though on Appeal it may be suggested that the TD reconsiders); the original TD may be overruled in their decision as to the facts, though this is rare.
        Appeals on other matters (e.g. a judgement ruling concerning Unauthorised Information) shall be remitted to a Committee established for the purpose. The Club shall establish a panel of 6 members to form such an Appeals Committee and, in any given instance, a Committee of 3 shall be drawn from the panel to consider the Appeal. At least one of the 3 shall be a qualified TD.
        In both cases the Appeal shall be heard and determined within as speedy a timetable as is possible.ˮ
        It was also agreed that names of possible panel members should be suggested at the next meeting
      4. Scorebridge/Pianola: this item was deferred to the next meeting as the relevant members were not present
      5. Website: The Committee thanked John Dobson for the speedy and continued improvement of the site
      6. Keys:

Front Door

Side Door

Cupboard

Den Kerry

Den Kerry

Den Kerry

Adrian Darnell

 

Adrian Darnell

Ann Squires

Ann Squires

Ann Squires

John Portwood

 

John Portwood

Dave Thompson

 

Dave Thompson

 

Jill  Hancock

Jill Hancock

 

Charles Bucknell

 

 

                           The table in the previous minutes was brought up to date and it was agreed that the Secretary
                           would have a front door key cut for Jill Hancock. The list of keyholders should appear on the website

                       vii) Second Store Room: matter pending

                      viii) Club Plaque: FYMCC were happy for the Club to install a plaque provided that it fitted with
                           the style and size of those currently on the building. Those already there are metallic.

                        ix) Commemorative pens: As the Chair was not present the matter was deferred to the next
                            meeting but the question was raised as to whether the pens should be of slightly better quality

 

Contract with EBU: The Chair had signed the legal contract presented by the EBU to comply with the General
                           Data Protection Regulation.

 

Calendar for 2018-19: The committee accepted the calendar drafted by the Secretary and it is now on the
                           website.

 

Drawing cards for seating allocation: David Thompson had received a complaint from a club member that
                           some members frequently drew a second (or even third) card if they did not like the seat the
                           first card allotted them. Since the Club had adopted this method  of seating as one to produce
                           fairness, this was defeating the purpose of the draw. It was agreed that, in the first instance,
                           the Chair would bring the matter to the membersʼ attention and ask them to respect the clubʼs
                           decision. Whether this had proved effective could be considered at the next meeting. It was
                           agreed that any member who was experiencing physical difficulties could request a suitable seat.

 

Calling the Director: It was agreed that the Chair would reinforce previous statements (particularly for the
                           afternoon sessions) that calling for the Director in a pleasant manner was the best and normal
                           way of dealing with any infringement of the rules or cause of disagreement at the table. It
                           should not be seen as unusual or agressive.

______________________________________________________________________

Committee Meeting 1st May 2018

 

Durham Bridge Club

Minutes of Committee Meeting Tuesday 1st May 2018

Present: Adrian Darnell, Ann Squires, Susan Penswick, Den Kerry, Jill Hancock,  David Thompson, Nigel Martin,
               John Portwood, John Dobson, Charles Bucknell

 

Minutes for Committee meeting of 10th April and for AGM 24th April were deferred until the next meeting

 

Vice Chair: It was agreed that it would be useful to have an appointed Vice-chair for occasions when the Chair
could not be present. Jill Hancock and David Thompson volunteered to share the role

 

Appeals Process : The committee agreed with the Chairʼs suggestion that the Club should have a written process
for  appeals against both a directorʼs book ruling and a judgmental ruling. It was further agreed that an alternative
director should be appointed to suggest reconsideration by the original director of a book ruling if they deemed it
appropriate and that there should be a nominated pool of suitable members from whom a committee could be
drawn to consider an appeal against a judgmental ruling. The Chair would formulate this for the next meeting

 

Scorebridge :  The Club was experiencing intermittent scoring problems which seemed to be related to the currently
licensed program on the old computer. It was agreed that the Chair would consult John McCourt (in whose name the
current license was registered) about the exact term remaining for the current license, and should explore the cost
/possibilityof transferring the Scorebridge license to the computer that came with the bridgemates.  Charles Bucknell
agreed to investigate the possibilty of using the Pianola system

 

Website : The Committee welcomed with enthusiasm the fact that John Dobson had agreed to take over the website.
It was agreed that John should be the sole editor and that all items should be passed to him for inclusion on the site.
He would consult with Peter Sykes about additions to the bridge notes for beginners which Peter had been posting.
John considered that his revamp of the site would take about 3 weeks

 

Clearing up rota : It was agreed that a rota had not proved very practical and that John Portwood was usually the
last to leave after he had completed the computer scoring. However, the TD of the evening should stress to members
the need for ALL those playing to clear their table and return boards, cloths, bridgemates and bidding boxes to their 
 appropriate places before starting to discuss hands etc.


Keys :  

Front Door

Side Door

Cupboard

Den Kerry

Den Kerry

Den Kerry

Adrian Darnell

 

Adrian Darnell

Ann Squires

 

Ann Squires

John Portwood

 

John Portwood

Dave Thompson

 

Dave Thompson

 

Jill Hancock

Jill Hancock


 It was noted that the new, second store room was locked with a keypad. Jill Hancock was asked to find
out from FMYCC whether room in this was available to the Club.

 

Beginnersʼ teaching : Charles Bucknell has very kindly volunteered to take on Monday evening teaching sessions
provided he achieves the Postgraduate placement he is applying for. It was agreed that advertisment of teaching
sessions should be postponed until his position is certain.

 

Surplus : The Chair pointed out that last year we showed an operating surplus of about £1000. The committee
members were asked to consider possible expenditure which would be to the benefit of the Club. Refurbishment
of bidding boxes may be necessary. The idea of providing permanent plaques (as well as vouchers) for club winners
of non-trophy events did not find favour. Jill Hancock was asked to enquire of the FMYCC committee whether it
would be possible to have a permanent sign on the building indicating it was the home of Durham Bridge Club

 

Commemorative Pens : The Chair agreed to find out where the pens given to interclub team members had been
bought and/or order the necessary number for this year. Nigel Martin would check how many club members had
played for the teams and let the Chair know the number of pens needed.

 

_____________________________________________________________________________