All of the club’s teachers share the following qualities:

• They have a passion and enthusiasm for the game, and wish to share and inspire others similarly
• They are excellent communicators
• They have commendable track records as players themselves

Pandora believes that bridge is not only a fascinating game of skill and logic but also a wonderful way to build friendships and keep the mind sharp. Her lessons focus on creating a welcoming and supportive environment where questions are encouraged, and every student feels valued.

Before turning her attention to bridge, Pandora had a wide-ranging career delivering systems training across Europe in sectors including hospitality, construction, law, government, and change management.

Her teaching style combines clear explanations, patience, and a genuine enthusiasm for the game, helping students of all levels to feel confident and enjoy their bridge journey.

As well as being our Club Manager, Richard is an EBU director and regularly directs and runs tournaments for the club.  

Richard has many years experience as a teacher and is passionate about introducing people to the game, and improving their bridge knowledge and skill.  As well as teaching courses, Richard regularly leads learning sessions at the club such as the popular Wednesday morning Bidding & Play Workshop.

Tim first learned the game as a child and has been an active and successful tournament player since 2007, becoming a Grand Master in 2019.  We are delighted that Tim also received an outstanding assessment in his EBUTA appraisal.  

Tim has personally updated our teaching methods, and has been very active in developing the club's online services.  As well as teaching courses, Tim also leads regular learning sessions such as the online 'Well, I do Declare' and 'Counsel for the Defence' which run on alternate Thursdays. 

Julia Davies is a well prepared, excellent teacher with a particular interest in Beginners. She is blessed with incredible patience and kindness and has worked tirelessly promoting her number one passion, which is getting children into bridge.

Julia is also a fine director and former manager of the club.

Cerith was born and raised in South Wales where he grew up dreaming of playing rugby for the Scarlets or cricket for Glamorgan.  He was introduced to Bridge only when injury prevented him from playing sports and he was ‘looking for something to do that made staying indoors more interesting’!

After a near 30-year administrative career in the NHS, Cerith’s interest in Bridge was rekindled when he read ‘The Cardturner’ by Louis Sachar.  This prompted him to enrol in the classes at Richmond Bridge Club and he has been a regular player here ever since.

Cerith regularly introduces people to playing Bridge and thoroughly enjoys helping others with the game. 

Margaret Page is another teacher who we have trained ourselves. Margaret has proved to be extremely popular, with almost all of her students staying with her for the entire course. Her classes are always fun and her students are often heard roaring with laughter.  

In addition to teaching, Margaret leads the Supervised Play session on Wednesday evenings which receives great feedback from both beginners and improvers.

Margaret has 3 children and is also an excellent bridge player who enjoys much success at the club.

Lyn has been a member of Richmond Bridge club for about 12 years, taking up bridge again after playing what she now realises was just an approximation of the game at university. She is now one of our most frequent players and a fully qualified EBU director. Lyn has previously taught English Literature modules at the university where she was studying for a PhD. She is a reassuring, patient and clear teacher who can think of nothing better than passing on her love of the game to others, whether it be to absolute beginners or in supervised or assisted play sessions. 

Having come to Bridge late in life, Glen makes no claim to be an expert player. However, as part of a working life spent in sport, he has conducted a large number of courses throughout the world teaching football administration. Many of the skills developed throughout these years are transferable to the teaching of Bridge (which, after all, is now well on its way to being declared a sport!). It is his quiet, thoughtful style, added to his ability to pass on information to others, that makes Glen a well-liked and respected teacher. In his spare time, Glen enjoys amateur dramatics and trying to keep fit and relishes a good pub quiz.

Lyn and Glen are Richmond’s husband and wife teaching team (pictured together) their styles hugely complement each other and together they form a formidable line-up (2 for the price of 1)!

We are delighted to announce that James Thrower has re-joined our teaching team post covid. James brings a wealth of experience in both playing top class bridge and teaching at all levels. He has represented England at both the Mixed and Junior levels, and before lockdown won the England Trials for the Olympiad.

James is known for his approachable manner, and being able to explain many of the tougher parts of the game in layman's terms people can actually understand! He is now 33 and is a full time bridge professional based very near our club.

Marianne learned the basics of bridge from her parents but only took the game up seriously when her father was widowed, so becoming his principal partner. She quickly became addicted and soon persuaded a group of friends to learn, organising weekly lessons for them in a drafty church hall in Strawberry Hill. Many of these friends now regularly play with her at Richmond Bridge Club.

When not playing bridge, Marianne works as a teacher-trainer and education materials writer for the British Council. She specialises in training teachers from developing countries and fragile states, which she loves. As a teacher, she plans her lessons well and is often told that she is enthusiastic, patient and easy to follow. 

It's clear why teaching bridge at RBC combines two of Marianne’s greatest passions!