Like many people I am really looking forward to having face to face bridge again but it is so important that we are vigilant and do this as Covid-safe as possible.

Please read the Covid risk assessment on the left which has been done for your safety and the safety of all your friends and relatives who you are in contact with. Here is a summary –

1. Only people who have has two vaccines- the second one being given more that 3 weeks ago should come for face to face bridge.
2. If you are feeling unwell with ANY viral symptoms or symptoms of Covid DO NOT come to the club even if you have had a negative lateral flow test – false negatives do sometimes occur.
3. Please do a lateral flow test – they are freely available from pharmacists, some supermarkets and many outside stalls on the Wirral- within 48 hours of coming to the club even if you feel perfectly well – there are still many people with asymptomatic Covid.
4. Please sanitise your hands when you come in to the club and before every round.
5. Please maintain social distancing when at all possible.
6. Sitting at a bridge table is the time when we are most likely to get infected with Covid so, although optional, we advise wearing a mask throughout the evening if you can.
7. We need to maintain good ventilation during the evening to minimise the risk so bring warm coats if it is cold outside!
8. East/West will be asked to only use one bidding box so they will take their bidding box round with them.
9. We will have a limit of 10 tables so you will need to book online. Our secretary Linda will explain more about this (see below)

For the moment-

1. There will be no drinks provided but feel free to bring your own.
2. There will be free bridge to reflect the fact that many people have paid their subscription for no benefit.
3. We will not be having any visitors.

Janet Almond

Please find below the instructions on how to book to play in the F2F sessions at the club which are starting on Tue afternoon 7 September.  We are starting with the Tuesdays to trial all the organisational and safety measures we have to have in place.  We hope members will feel safe to return to the club and we also hope the measures will not put too many people off!  If all goes well we will then start back in the evening/s.

Jill or myself will help anyone who has difficulty booking and Jill Woolfgang our TD has also offered to help find a partner for anyone who does not have one.

How to make a booking

• Go into the website and click on the green 'Calendar Month' button on the left hand side of the page
• This will open the calendar for the present month (August 2021)
• Click on the right hand facing arrow on the top right hand corner of the calendar page.  This will take you to September
• Click on the box for 7 Sept which shows the session
• Click on the 'Booking Required' icon that appears
• Follow the on line instructions ie enter your name and press 'check' at the bottom of the page
• Enter your partners name
• Press 'add Booking' at the bottom of the page
• You will then see you have been added to the list of players

To cancel a booking

• Go to the calendar page for 7 Sept as above
• Click on the box and the 'Booking Required' icon
• It should tell you you are the current user.  If not enter your name
• Press the 'check' button at the bottom of the page
• Add your partners name
• Press the remove button at the bottom of the page
• Your booking should then disappear

I hope you will find it is quite straightforward after having done it once but ANY problems or you need help please email or call Jill or me.

Linda

MBC members can still gather a table of four playing companions and have a fun night playing up to 20 boards at your own pace.   You can play regularly or occasionally.

Mike Reid sets up a session on a Tuesday evening and Janet Almond on a Thursday.  So if you have a table of four contact:

dandmreid@gmail.com for a Tuesday

janetreamalmond@yahoo.co.uk for a Thursday 

They will send you the link for that night.

NB you must have your own group of four to play and the sessions are free to subscribed MBC members

If you would like to play in our online duplicates on BBO on Monday and Wednesday evenings then please fill in this form and submit it.

If you are missing playing bridge in the club atmosphere we encourage members, friends and partners to sign up for the two virtual club nights we are running on Monday and Wednesday evenings on BBO.  BBO has practice areas to get used to playing on line and there are helpful videos available on getting started.  There is a WhatsApp group for support and finding a partner if you don't have one organised by Chris Griffin and also a partnership desk when signing into the virtual club night.  If you are familiar with BBO but just need to know how to join a club night session, Colin or Linda can help.

A few requests for those already playing in the virtual club that will help to ensure the sessions run smoothly and any problems can be resolved by 7.15:

• Please have registered and be on line by 7.00.  If you and your partner are not on line ready to play at 7.10 you may not get a game
• Please add your name to your profile so that friends can recognise who's who
• Please have your basic system on your profile
• Please ensure you SELF alert appropriately ie Benji, weak 2s, stayman, transfers etc etc
• Please keep an eye on the clock and try to ensure there is enough time to bid and play the hands

Our Wirral based club, established in 1983, is conveniently located in Prenton, Mid Wirral, just 5 minutes drive from the M53.  We play in the church hall of the Prenton Methodist Church, CH43 0RE (see the directions in Information on the left), which is situated in a very pleasant safe part of Prenton, with car parking on the church premises.

We play duplicate pairs bridge  on Monday, Wednesday  and Friday evenings, plus Tuesday afternoon (see the Information link for more details and timings), with 12 or more tables for most sessions. We also have a Chicago session on Thursday afternoon. 

Our aim is to play a good standard of bridge in a friendly atmosphere, and the club is affiliated to the English Bridge Union (EBU), with sessions directed according to the EBU rules.  The club welcomes visitors whether you are an experienced player or would just like to improve, but is not suitable for a complete novice.

• We operate a standby system for the evening sessions, so that there is no need to arrange a partner in advance as you will always be guaranteed a game.
• Keen players will also be pleased that the club uses pre-dealt computer generated hands.  The results are recorded on our website, so that you can see details of the hands , and how you did compared to the other pairs.

If you are interested in joining or want further information e-mail us on < admin@merseybridge.org.uk >