We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Barrie Newall, for many years a stalwart member of Blackburn & Ribble Valley Bridge Club.   Barrie had been in declining health in recent years and passed away, peacefully, on Sunday, 15^th February 2026. 

Barrie was a dedicated ambassador for Bridge.  He served as a member of the committee prior to being appointed Secretary in 2005, a post he held for the following six years.   He also acted as TD, ran Beginners Lessons in partnership with his wife, Julia, and together they were great supporters of all club social activities.   Barrie was a fine bridge player and as a club we are proud that he was frequently selected to play for the county, he also played for the club in the Fylde League and had many successes in club competitions.   His loyalty to the club and enthusiasm for bridge were sorely missed when ill health stopped him playing at the club.

We send our heartfelt and sincere condolences to Julia and his family,

His funeral service will be held at Burnley Crematorium on Friday, 6^th March 2026 at 2.30 p.m.

The annual Manchester Green Point Swiss Pairs was held at Altrincham on 28th February 2026.  34 pairs participated. Congratulations to Nick Woodcock and Sue Fjortoft from Southport who won by a fair margin remaining undefeated over their seven matches. Full results at Results

The Lancashire Teams of 8 competition had 8 teams competing at Bolton BC on 15th February 2026. The winners were Southport BC ( S Woodcock & M Fay, N Woodcock & S Fjortoft, B Wattleworth & B Carr, A Butler & N Kenyon) just ahead of Preston BC. Full results at: Team of 8 Results

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of George McConkey, former President of Southport Bridge Club, who died on 9th February 2026.

George was an exceptional bridge player, mentor and ambassador for the game. Always a tough but fair opponent, and a forthright yet supportive partner, he was generous with his time and guidance to others.

Before becoming President, George served as Manager of the Club, where he oversaw a period of significant growth and helped to establish SBC as one of the most successful clubs in England. Over several decades he represented SBC and Lancashire County with great distinction, especially when partnering his wife Maureen.

George’s wisdom about the game, and knowledge of the history of SBC was unsurpassed. He will be greatly missed by all who had the pleasure of playing with him, learning from him and knowing him. Condolences to his family.

George's funeral will be on March 3rd, 12 noon at Southport crematorium. Refreshments will be served at the Richmond after the funeral, all are welcome.

The annual Chester Congress event at Deva Bridge Club took place on 24-25th January.  The pairs was run as a Swiss Event on Saturday.  Well done to Bob Loveridge & Nick Sutcliffe who won the Event ahead of Boris Ewart & Tracy Sherman.  In the Swiss Teams on Sunday John Holland, Jackie Pye, Alan Mould and John Hassett won by a large margin ahead of Rhona Goldenfield, Kath Nelson, David Barton and Jeff Smith.  Results are here.

LCBA THROUGH THE FRENDLY ONLINE BRIDGE CLUB

 ONLINE IMPROVERS' LESSONS

THURSDAYS AT 9AM FROM 8^TH JANUARY

30 MINUTE ZOOM POWERPOINT PRESENTATION THEN PLAY SOME SUPERVISED HANDS ON REALBRIDGE TO PRACTICE WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED!

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CLICK HERE AND TO REGISTER, PLEASE EMAIL OLIVER AT OCbridgecomps@gmail.com

DIMMIE FLEMING AWARD PRESENTED TO LCBA SECRETARY JOHN BREARLEY

The LCBA secretary John Brearley was presented with the EBU’s Dimmie Fleming award during the LCBA Mixed Pairs at St Anne's     BC.  This award was in recognition of John's outstanding contribution to bridge in Lancashire over the last 30+ years, including spells   as Chairman (twice) and most recently LCBA Secretary.  You can find the citation associated with the award by clicking HERE.

Changes to LOP from 5 January 2026

Providing a match-point pairs session each week is an important part of LCBA’s service to its members.  Since 2022 this has been delivered through LOP and anyone who has played regularly will be aware of a significant reduction in table numbers over the past three years.  In July 2022 we averaged 11.3 tables, in July 2025 we only managed 8.5, a near 30% reduction.  In recent sessions we have had as few as 7 tables.  LOP is also an important part of LCBA’s income stream, enabling us to invest in education and development, whilst still keeping the county UMS fee at only 2p.

We have therefore decided from 5^th January 2026, to join our Monday LOP session with Oliver Cowan Bridge Club’s Monday session.  This should ensure a regular double figure attendance and protect the session’s long-term future.

This will have the following impact on players:

1) The session on BBO will have LOP in its name, so you can still search for LOP;

2) The number of boards will increase from 18 to 20;

3) The table money will be the current OCBC level of 4.25BBO$;

4) The start time will be 7:15pm.

Andrew Petrie – Chairman LCBA Competitions’ Working Group (WG3)