| RAC PALL MALL MARCH NEWSLETTER 2025 |
Pall Mall Bridge Circle Newsletter
March 2025 |
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| Hello Everyone, |
| Before I start this newsletter I would like to say something about it: |
| Firstly, I get loads, and I mean loads, of comments about it. Many people say they love it (thank you) and some say it is too long (I understand). Do not worry I am not kidding myself. I am sure there are a few who have other opinions too! |
| When I write this monthly missive I put all information in sections under headings – I do this so you do not have to wade through my sometimes inane musings. |
| It seems as usual, this month there is lots of information – we are very busyand I have tried to put everything into the correct sections. |
So here goes…
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| March or ‘Mars’ has a distinct French tinge and I am spending five heavenly days in my favourite city, Paris. No Club chess matches, no Club bridge matches. Just a visit to the opera, the Louvre Museum, Le Petit Palais and Notre-Dame. All with my favourite person – and you all know who that is! |
| The following week we will be welcoming Le Cerle De L’Union Interalliee, one of our Paris reciprocal clubs, at Pall Mall for a simultaneous bridge and chess match! |
| The Royal Automobile Club Chess Circle have been playing with their friends at Le Cercle for well over 35 years and so I am particularly pleased to foster a new friendship with their delightful bridge team. Plus, for me it is always a wonderful excuse to visit Paris more often. |
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| NEWS |
| If you have been at Pall Mall recently you will have noticed how busy the clubhouse is at present, and managing to book function rooms for events is becoming very hard. With this in mind, I went crazy a few weeks ago and made four bookings for 2026! So, at the bottom of this missive, under Dates for your Diary, please note four of the events have been booked for next year. I might add that one of the dates I originally asked for was already booked, so my madness is vindicated! |
| It has just occurred to me that in one week the Royal Automobile Club, Pall Mall hosted the two most prestigious bridge matches in London – The Lederer Cup and the Devonshire Cup. |
| Although the Lederer is nothing to do with the Club it is administered by our own Bridge Director, Victor Lesk. I see this year the first prize went to Team Ireland and they were also worthy winners last year. They must be putting something extra special in the Guinness. Second place was taken by Team Harris which includes Zia Mahmood no less. |
| AGM |
| Further to our meeting and all the excellent suggestions made by our players, I would now like to report back to you on discussions at our recent committee meeting: |
| Andrew Kisiel asked whether ‘Winners vouchers’ can be used on other Thursday evenings apart from the last of the month. After much discussion with the committee and Victor, it was decided that we have to leave it as is at present. Sadly, the administration for Victor is too much with all his other commitments. The committee felt that getting players in on the last Thursday was preferable. Thank you Andrew for raising this issue and I regret we cannot change the outcome at the moment. |
| Yukiko Sugimoyo suggested we change the format of the AGM and send out all papers prior to the meeting for players to read and digest. I was frankly delighted by this suggestion as you will not have to listen to me talking at the AGM for 15 to 20 minutes! |
| We had a very quick discussion at the committee meeting and agreed that we are all in favour of this change. 2026 will see papers coming to you all prior to the meeting. We will then convene at 6.00pm for questions and any other issues. Many thanks Yuki – what a great idea, why did we not think of this before! |
| Several people asked about food at the Devonshire Cup. This is something that has been discussed at the committee many times. Next year I am happy to raise the price of entry and include food. I just hope the teams entering are also happy about this! |
| The committee agree that we will poll all teams taking part this year and confirm that this is agreeable. One caveat being that we will need to eat before the start of play as eating during play slows everything up and thus the evening ends too late for many. |
| Plus in all honesty, it is not very hygienic eating sandwiches and holding cards that everyone else has held at the same time! |
| Paul Weston asked about finding strong players within the Club. After the meeting, Paul and I had very a very constructive conversation via email. I did point out that he plays chess at Pall Mall with three very good bridge players, one who has played at international level. Sadly none show any interest in joining us! Perhaps he may be able to persuade them to come along. |
| Paul Found contacted me after the meeting to talk about advanced training. We discussed this at the committee meeting and agree we need a comprehensive programme of advanced training. Please bear with us for a few months – hopefully we will have some very exciting announcements in the near future. |
| Again, I would like to add that it does mean we need a bit more dedication and practice which you know always makes perfect! |
I hope you all find this helpful, I want to be as transparent as possible with you all. This is your activity group and I think sharing information is important.
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| INTER CLUB MATCHES |
| Forthcoming applications for inter-club matches: |
| In the next few weeks I will be loading the second half of the years’ matches for the Pall Mall Bridge Group onto BridgeWebs. I will send out a message announcing when you can apply to be part of our team for these matches. |
| We are very excited as we have a new match taking place in July with the Phyllis Court Club. So if you fancy spending some time in Henley on what I hope will be a sunny July day, do look out for it. I hear it is a lovely club and there are rooms available if you want to stay longer or find it impossible to stagger home! |
| UPCOMING MATCHES IN MARCH: |
Wednesday 26 March
Queens Club – Home
Club team: Lester and Steve, Paul and Sally, Fiona and Ina and John and Martin. |
Saturday 29 March
Le Cercle de L’Union – Home
Club team: Henry and Fiona, Howard and David, John and Trevor, Pralab and Robin, Andrew and Brigitte and Andrea and Pearse. |
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| CLUB MATCH REPORTS |
All England Tennis Club
Wednesday 12 February |
| We played a very enjoyable match at the All England Club on Wednesday 12 February. It was a joy to be guests at their wonderful club and once again they were very welcoming and generous hosts. |
| At half-time we were ahead by 48 imps, but the All England Club made a strong recovery in the second half and reduced our margin of victory to 36 imps. |
| We were represented by Paul and Sally, Michael and Robin, Marina and Howard and Mark and Faye. |
| Report submitted by Paul Found, Match Captain. |
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Marylebone Cricket Club
Wednesday 19 February |
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Our annual team of eight bridge matches against the MCC is always a challenge as they are formidable bridge players. Personally I have never been in a winning side against them in over a decade of matches until 2025.
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| We ran out nervous winners by five imps which is a tiny margin, having been nine imps down at the halfway point. Looking at my own scorecard there were swings of 10 or more on five of the 24 boards, two in our favour and three against. |
| Congratulations to the team – Michael and David, John and Pascale, Lester and Paul and Andrew and Brigitte. |
| Our guests were delightful opponents, earnest and learned aficionados of bridge and courteous at the same time. |
| Report submitted by Michael Bailey, Team Captain |
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Athenaeum Club
Wednesday 26 February |
| On Wednesday 26 February we hosted a match against our friends at the Athenaeum Club. We played 12 boards before dinner and 12 boards after. The Athenaeum won the first half by 42 IMPs and the Royal Automobile Club won the second half by 19 IMPs. An overall win of 23 IMPs by the Athenaeum. Congratulations to them. |
| The match was played in very good spirits, our guests were delightful but not enough to let us win! Everyone enjoyed an excellent dinner and were somewhat reluctant to leave the dining table for the bridge table! Overall a very good evening. |
| We were represented by Howard and Oliver, Andrea and Pauli, Martin and Mark and John and Faye. |
Report submitted by Andrea Geser, Team Captain
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CLUB TOURNAMENTS
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| Throughout February the truly historic Devonshire Cup (and Plate) has been taking place every Tuesday evening in Pall Mall. |
| I was delighted to hear that on the first evening there was a palpable buzz in the air of excitement both in play and seeing old friends once more. As the weeks have gone by, teams fell by the way side and others stayed on to play for the Devonshire Plate. I loved Victor's welcome at the start of the evening "To the winners of the winners and the winners of the losers!" |
| So, after a fairly tense evening the final result: |
2025 winners of the Cup – Roehampton Blue
2025 winners of the Plate – Portland II |
| The Club Rolls Royce fought very hard right up to the end and, although they all looked disappointed, I was extremely proud of their valiant efforts. |
A huge thank you to Pearse Elder who has done so much hard work in coaxing the teams to come and play, and helping to make the whole event such a success this year. We will continue to evolve this tournament, thus making it appealing to players as the years go by. Not forgetting that it started in 1946 and keeping the original flavour alive.
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| BRIDGE SCHOOL |
| Our bridge classes continue to be popular with both beginners and intermediates. |
| Many thanks once again to Mike Eden who is standing in for Anne whilst she recuperates. He is teaching both beginners and intermediates! |
| We continue to see our mentees meeting with their mentors on the first Thursday of the month and I always look forward to seeing them. I do know it can be daunting joining the main Duplicate but we are all so happy to have you with us. |
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| GENERAL INFORMATION |
| Our WhatsApp group continues to expand and has 65 members. If you do not recognise someone looking for a partner, please do not discount them. We have some new additions as Club members continue to start playing bridge with us. |
| If you are looking for a partner to play bridge with at Pall Mall on Thursday evenings this is the place to find someone. |
| Please can I stress it is only for Thursday evenings or other Club matches which I advertise from time to time. |
| If you could use another form of connection for private matches or any other information, all participants would be very grateful. |
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| ST JAMES’S CLUB MEMBERS |
| We warmly welcome our St. James’s Club friends to join us on the last Thursday of every month for our regular Duplicate. We do encourage you to find a partner before coming along to the Club. |
| We hold a Team's Event four times a year on the last Thursday of the month which is open to both Royal Automobile and St. James’s Club teams. It has been very popular this past year and I am pleased to give you all the dates for the rest of the year: |
Thursday 29 May
Thursday 28 August
Thursday 27 November |
| Non-St James's Club guests are welcome to come and play at the Royal Automobile Club 12 times in any one year with a Club member. |
| I advise all players to visit the Club’s BridgeWebs page often as any news will be posted there throughout the month. |
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| IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY |
2025
Monday 17 March: Afternoon Bridge at Pall Mall, 2.15pm
Thursday 27 March: Ross Cope Swiss Team’s Event
Monday 14 April: Afternoon Bridge at Pall Mall, 2.15pm
Monday 19 May: Centenary Cup
Tuesday 8 July: Summer Party at Pall Mall
Sunday 26 October: Bowman Pairs Tournament
Thursday 11 December: Christmas Party |
2026
Thursday 19 March: Ross Cope Swiss Team's Event
Monday 18 May: Centenary Cup
Sunday 25 October: Bowman Pairs Tournament
Thursday 10 December: Christmas Party |
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| If you have any questions about the Pall Mall Bridge Circle, please do get in touch with me. |
| Best Wishes |
| Fiona McWatters |
| Chair, Pall Mall Bridge Committee |
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| This email was sent by the Royal Automobile Club. |
| To change your mailing preferences please go to the My Account section of the Club website. |
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| If you require assistance please email communications@royalautomobileclub.co.uk. |
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| Last updated : 6th Mar 2025 13:11 GMT |
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| RAC Teams for matches |
Captains shown in bold
IF ANY ONE IN THE RAC TEAMS BELOW FIND THEY CANNOT PLAY, PLEASE LET US KNOW ASAP AS WE WILL NEED TO ASK OUR RESERVES TO STEP IN.
ITS VERY UNFAIR NOT TO GIVE THESE PLAYERS ADEQUATE NOTICE
Queen’s - home March 26, Wednesday. 1630 for 1700
Lester P/Steve B
Paul F/Sally F
Fiona McW/Ina W
John K/ Martin L
Reserves: Pauli L/Fay L
Le Cercle de l'Union - home March 29, Saturday. 1600 for 1630
Andrew K/Brigitte K
Howard S/David M
Pralab B/Robin K
John C/Trevor S
Henry McW/Fiona McW
Andrea G/Pearse E
Reserves: John K/Fay L/Pauli L
Château Sainte-Anne - home April 5, Saturday. 1430 for 1500
Marina CP/ Lester P
Andrew K/David G
Pralab B/David M
John C/Pascale H
Reserves: Paul W/Paul F/Sally F
Woodcote - away April 9, Wednesday. 12.00 for 1230 lunch
Henry McW/Fiona McW
Fay L/Pralab B
Trevor S/David W
Paulo dR/Yuki S
Reserves: Pauli L/Ina W
Upstairs/downstairs April 29, Tuesday. 1800
Details later
Cumberland - away May 14, Wednesday. 1800
David W/Brigitte K
Howard W/Oliver W
Jeremy W/Isobel PH
Sandy J/Mike H
Reserves: Pralab B/Paul F/Sally F
Centenary Cup May 19, Monday. 1500 for 1530
Red team
Paul W//Marina CP
Andrew K/David G
Michael B/David M
Robin K/Brigitte K
Reserves: Promote from the Blue team
Blue team
John C/Pascale H
Paul F/Sally F
Henry McW/Fiona McW
Pearse E/John K
Reserves: Pauli L/Ina W
Roehampton - away Tuesday June 24, Tuesday. 1600
Michael B/Lester P
Paul F/Sally F
Mark A/Pralab B
Pearse E/David W
Reserves: Pascale H/Trevor S/Pauli L
Hurlingham - home June 30, Monday 1600 for 1630
Paul W/Marina CP
Lester P/Robin K
Andrew K/David G
Pralab B/Brigitte K
Michael B/David M
John C/Pascale H
Reserves: Paul F/Sally F/Martin L
New Club, Edinburgh - away July 12, Saturday
David W/David O
Oliver W/Lissa G
Sandy J/Mike H
Paul M/Yvonne R
Harvey R/Anne R
Reserves: Ina W/Pauli L
New Club were hoping for a team of at least 12.
The following have expressed interest in the University Club, New York, match on October 17, Friday - away
Lester P/Michael B
Andrew K/Brigitte K
Howard S/Pralab B
Nigel C/Andrea G
John C/Pascale H
Oliver W/Lissa G
Trevor S/ Mark A
Ivaylo V/Xiaoyu V
The University club are expecting a team of 16 – which we now have.
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| Last updated : 28th Feb 2025 10:01 GMT |
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| RAC v Athenaeum club |
On Wednesday 26 February we hosted a match against our friends at the Athenaeum. We played 12 boards before dinner and 12 boards after. The Athenaeum won the first half by 42 IMPs, and the RAC won the second half by 19 IMPs. An overall win of 23 IMPs by the Athenaeum. Congratulations to them.
The match was played in very good spirits, our guests were delightful, but not enough to let us win! Everyone enjoyed an excellent dinner and were somewhat reluctant to leave the dining table for the bridge table ! Overall a very good evening. The RAC team:- Howard W/Oliver W, Andrea G/Pauli L, Martin L/Mark A, John K/Faye L
Report submitted by Team Captain Andrea Geser
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| Last updated : 27th Feb 2025 15:24 GMT |
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| RAC v MCC MATCH REPORT |
Our annual team of 8 bridge match against the MCC is always a challenge as they are formidable bridge players. Personally I have never been in a winning side against them in over a decade of matches until 2025. We ran out nervous winners by 5 imps which is a tiny margin, having been 9 imps down at the halfway point. Looking at my own score card there were swings of 10 or more on 5 of the 24 boards, 2 in our favour 3 against. Congratulations to the team: Michael Bailey and David Mannooch, John Craggs and Pascale Hakim, Lester Pereira and Paul Weston, Andrew and Brigitte Kisiel. Our guests were delightful opponents, earnest and learned aficionados of bridge and courteous at the same time.
Report submitted by Team Captain Michael Bailey
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| Last updated : 20th Feb 2025 16:35 GMT |
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| RAC v All England Lawn Tennis Club |
I am delighted to publish a report of the first inter club match played this year and a victory for the RAC - I'm hoping this is a good omen for the rest of the year.
Very well done RAC team!
We played a very enjoyable match at the All England Club on February 12th. It was a joy to be guests at their wonderful club and once again they were very welcoming and generous hosts.
At half time we were ahead by 48 imps, but the All England Club made a strong recovery in the second half and reduced our margin of victory to 36 imps.
We were represented by Paul and Sally, Michael and Robin, Marina and Howard and Mark and Fay.
Report submitted by team Captain Paul Found
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| Last updated : 13th Feb 2025 12:33 GMT |
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