This Friday 17th July there will a Relaxed Virtual Club taster. This is aimed at players who previously played at ABC and Improvers and/or now play in ABCOL sessions. A Zoom meeting will be arranged to help new players to register their partnerships. If you would like to play but do not have a partner please contact Richard Bungey. 

Following the success of the taster evening there will now be regular Tuesday online ‘club’ sessions using Bridgebase Online (BBO). They are exclusively for Newbury Bridge Club members. The EBU has said that the cost of these sessions has to be 3BB$ so we will now sometimes use EBU directors. We will play 18 boards and it will be a two winner Mitchell. Following requests we have also changed the start time to 7.15. pm. You can register from 5.15. If you would like to play but do not have a partner please contact djbbridge@gmail.com

The new Teams League started on Thursday 11th June! There are 9 teams and the matches will be played over the next 9 Thursdays (each team will have  1 bye) finishing on 8th August.

latest table

fixtures

Again this week there are online playing sessions aimed at ABC,Improvers and possibly Rubber players plus anyone else who would like to join in. They are being run by John Harland plus various helpers at 14.30 on Tuesday and  Thursday and at 10.30 on Saturday. The take-up has been good but there are more of you out there who should try to get involved. These times are now on the calendar. They are likely to be repeated weekly for the forseeable future. We do have ambitions of organising competitive sessions with players moving from table to table. See also the article below this one.

There are also numerous training sessions going on which are also now on the calendar. We are opening up the Monday repeat lesson at 4.30 p.m.  to Improvers/ABC players who would like to brush up the finer points of their bridge. To join please contact johnharland@ntlworld ,or richard.bungey@gmail.com

We are finding Bridgebase Online (BBO) a very good site  for getting you all back playing. We have been using it successfully with our trainees and there's no good reason for anyone who has an internet connection to feel they can't be involved. None of this "Oh I haven't got the IT skills" stuff. Those who have been brave enough to get involved so far can't believe how good it is. It's not only the bridge playing. It's the social interaction.

This is because when we play we use Zoom a video-conferencing facility much in the news so that we can see and speak to each other. We play the bridge itself on Bridgebase and when you first start there will  be one of us helping out at every table. It means that you're on Zoom for the chat and on Bridgebase for the bridge. You can have one open on your PC and the other on your phone or tablet but many people have them both on the same device. You might only have one.

This communication is specifically aimed at those who usually play at ABC or Improvers or more experienced players who have not been involved so far. You can contact John Harland johnharland@ntlworld.com for more advice. Richard Bungey and John Harland have been the pioneers in all this and we thank them for their time and commitment. For your part we expect you to bite the bullet. You could be playing bridge again this week.

All meetings of Newbury Bridge Club are cancelled until further notice (except those online!)

And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.

And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.

And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Thanks to Mary Murphy who sent us this poem of hope written by an American Kitty O’Meara.

The date of our move is almost certain to be delayed for some time with the coronavirus situation but we will no longer meet at the Conservative Club.

Following considerable research from The Committee it has been been decided that we have only one alternative venue to relocate to on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursday evenings. Deanwood Park Golf Club. We have looked at many venues but no others could provide what we required. Many suitable venues were not available on the evenings we needed them. Others did not have enough parking spaces and others were too expensive. Deanwood Park Golf Club and John Bowness the General Manager have been very accommodating and are looking forward to hosting us. The Committee are aware that Deanwood is further from the centre of Newbury and are trying to coordinate lifts for members that require them.

This year's Southern Salver is postponed until further notice.

Visitors are very welcome to all club events 

Start Time Duplicate Evenings
For evening duplicate events it is essential that at least one of the partnership is seated at table
by 7pm at the latest to allow for the movement to be set and a punctual start at 7.15pm.

Please see 'Club Calendar' for more details, also dates of hosted evenings

members £2, visitors £4 every evening

You can now see the results for this competition with and without Handicaps. To switch from one to the other use the tabs  Handicap and Ranking. Thanks to John Foster.

There are two or three hosted evenings per month for which for which we require volunteer hosts. There is a little group who volunteer on a regular basis but we could still do with more to spread the load. If you are able to help, (you can be of any level of ability so that should not put you off) please let the chairman David Barratt know (or any other member of the committee.) You can find the dates of hosted events on the calendar.

The Tuesday Ladder is changing. Click for details 

This competition which takes place on the 4th Tuesday in the month is open to all pairs whether or not they are taking part in the Individual Championship. So if you wish you can play with the same partner(s)
( in the latter case all your results will count in the Master Points table but only the first result with the same partner will count in the Individual.)

The Relaxed Hosted Duplicate gives more time than usual to play each hand than on an average Duplicate evening and is generally less strict. It is run with the explicit intention of encouraging newer players to make that step up from Training, Improvers, etc. Over the last year we have seen quite a few people take up that opportunity. We hope those who have played once or twice will continue to come and that others who have yet to try it out will give it a go.

If you'd like to play Bridge in the afternoon why not try Afternoon Bridge @ Chieveley. There are duplimated boards, printouts, bridgemates and a director as per normal evening duplicate sessions. You can turn up without a partner. £2 members. £4 visitors.Thursdays 1.15 p.m. for 1.30 p.m. start.  Finish 4.30 p.m. There is unlimited car parking at the hall. Location: Chieveley village hall, High street, Chieveley RG20 8 TE (No subject)

Friday 7 p.m. This is ideal for those who have completed one year of Training or are of an equivalent standard. You can turn up without a partner. £2 members. £4 visitors.
This is now at Chieveley.
 

Monday evenings  7:00 – 10:00 pm

Bridge doesn't have to be so serious! Come with a partner and play Rubber Bridge. It's fun and you can experiment without serious consequences. What's more there are prizes! If you've only played Duplicate it's easy to pick up.
Cost: £2 per session for members. £4 for visitors.

Spaces numbered 1-20 + Flat should not be used as they are rented out 24/7. Visitors to the club hoping to use the carpark will need to contact the Club Chairman David Barratt so that someone can operate the barrier for them. You must not use the car park if you are not playing bridge!