Qualifiers for the Ellis Cup Finals on Mon 18th November are the teams of Babs Matthews, Mike Rothwell, Chris Wilkinson and Janice Mitchell.

The draw for the semi-finals is Matthews v Mitchell, Rothwell v Wilkinson.

First reserves should any of the above be unable to field a team without breaching the 6 player limit are Lynn Percival's team.

There will be a separate teams event on finals night for any other teams interested in playing then.

A healthy crop of promotions this month, so:

Congratulations to David Airey and Bob Churchward who are on the ladder as Local Masters.

Well done to Audry Cunningham who has progresses from Club Master to Area Master.

Joined at the hip are Steve Douglas and Ken Orford, who have synchronised their progression from County Master to Master.

Congratulations Rose Parker who has moved from 1 Star to 2 Star Master.

And finally, many congratulatioms for Sally-Ann Rothwell who has moved to Premier Life Master.

The Christmas Party will again be held at Castle Green Hotel. The date for your diary is  Monday 16th December.

Further details will follow but we anticipate the format and costs will be similar to last year. Watch this space.

Sunday 6th October saw the first club trophy of the year awarded. It was competed for in a friendly atmosphere (helped by an excellent spread) by a field of 36 players of all standards. It was won by Martyn Harris (so he now has a Limb to go with his 200 hands), with Tim Harrison and John Ellwood close on his heels. Well done to Martyn for both his organisational  and his playing skills. And thank you to all who attended.

Following the disclosure that David will be using Tuesday evenings rather than Thursday mornings for his teaching, Sue Van Eijkern has kindly agreed to lead a group of people who, initially supported by the 'tutors', will organise Thursday morning bridge. The session will run from 10am until approximately 12.30, though those intending to play will need to be present by 9.50.

This is not intended as an extension of the supervised play - there will be no pre-play talk, no commentary to take away, and no asking tutors for help. Instead it will be a new daytime session which we intend in due course will be open to the whole club, and that hopefully will be played with the same friendly atmosphere that has been a feature of the supervised sessions.Please note we do not intend this to be an alternative to going along on a Tuesday evening.