Reminder following a false alarm going off during the Monday Afternoon session on 18th May 2026.

Players are required to sign In on arrival

All are required to sign in as they enter the club room, the signing in sheet will be on the left hand side of the door. (Include your car registration of not already on the club system or use QR system for a one off car park entry). In the event of the alarm sounding the director will be responsible for taking the sheet to the muster point and ensuring that all are safely out of the bridge club.

Escape Route

There is an escape route plan on the inside of the Bridge Room door. Please study it!  Not only note the fire exit but also the muster point where all players can be checked safely out of the building.

Thank to the bridge players who went to the coffee morning on April 18th at Drakeford Court where  £413 was raised for KHH.

Congratulations to those  who scored 55+% at Stafford events between 1^st and 14^th February and qualified to play in the regional final, being Robin Adey, Pat Andrews, Alan Codling, Geoff Davies, Kenneth Davies, David Drinkwater ,Nick Dunn, John Hartley, Rose Jessop, Beryl Metcalf, Michael Metcalf, Dave Nelson, Clive Russell, Anne Seymour, Stephen Walton. The Regional Final took place on on Sunday 22nd March but sadly no Stafford players went on to play in the National Final. on 11th/12th April 2026

As shared at lesson on Maundy Thursday 2nd April

Make sure you and your partner get your bridge fix this week at Robin's lesson on Thursday 2nd April, 9:45 for 10 am on  'Leads, Signals, Discards' and the 'Rule of 11'.  One of Robin's past examples showed how a game contract could be defeated with the right lead and signals to get a double ruff in, the results system showing optimum game contract making, did not spot this clever defence!!!  Please contact Robin if you would like to attend his classes.

EBU Master Point Promotions

Congratulations to Deirdre, Dave and Brian starring in the in November 2025 promotion list

3 Star Premier Master (20,000 MP)

• Deirdre N

Premier Master (5,000 MP)

• Dave Nelson

Area Master

• Brian B (500 MP)

The club’s nominated charity for this year is Katharine House Hospice and throughout the week 1st - 5th December normal duplicate sessions were run. Players made generous donations. 38 club members took part over the week, 3 of whom played in all 4 sessions  A total of  £553 pounds was raised over the week. Prizes were presented at the club Christmas party on Thursday 11th December,  The winners indicated in the order to show their choice of prize in the various categories being  Robin & Geoff D joint 1^st  with highest %, 72.5%, 3^rd choice Pat M aggregate 189 over 4 sessions, 4^th Adrienne  aggregate 157 over 3 sessions, 5^th Gordon  aggregate 153 over 3 sessions,  6^th Terry aggregate 134 over 3 sessions with Nick D getting 7^th choice and Michael M 8^th choice.  Complicated spreadsheet of results, produced by Terry will be on the club notice board, number of attendances plays a role in the calculations as well as the score at the table, .

Thank you for all the generous donations and to Terry and Robin for all the organisation.  Some pictures should follow soon!

Many congratulations to Stafford members coming top in local Children in Need events

• Anne & Kath winning the Stone heat on Monday 10th coming 19th overall and to
• Michael & Alan on winning the Eccleshall heat Tuesday 11th of the Children in Need sim pairs coming 29th overall

over 1100 pairs took part on each day as at 6 pm 13/11/25 - things may yet change.

Congratulations to Pat on her promotion to advanced master following her recent successes at the table, see Aug 2025 EBU Master Point Promotions

Advanced Master (7,500 MPs)

• Pat Martin

Four rounds played so that Stone members sat on tables 1-4 and Stafford 5-8. East West from each table moved across and over the four rounds all pairs played at each table. Stafford lost the first round of five boards but won the second round of five boards to give a small lead to Stafford. Players then broke for some excellent refreshments provided by several members from Stafford, well organised and coordinated by Janet & Pat Martin. Thanks also to Rose who came to assist with clearing up and doing the washing up. After the interval the next round of five boards proved to be a complete walkover for Stone. The Stone players had then achieved an insurmountable lead with the final round (restricted to three boards) being a small gain for Stone. I

t was a most enjoyable evening and our new venue has certainly come up to expectations.  Many, many thanks to David for both directing and acting as photographer in chief.

All events will now take place at the Beaconside Conference Centre ST18 0BF . Click for centre diagram. 

If you have not already notified the club secretary of your car registration number please do so now for easy club access to the car park, if possible a few days in advance of your first visit.

The working party over 30th May until 1st June achieved wonders getting the club room set up at the new venue - many thanks to them.  Wide angled lens did not attend so only four tables shown!  Click here to see some of the action as recorded by David!

Keen readers of the EBU’s monthly magazine English Bridge may already have spotted the article in the latest (February) edition, page 22, “Love for the Director”. We heartily commend this very pertinent article to every member. It contains some simple tips for showing appreciation towards those who direct our duplicate sessions. Let’s see if we can put these tips into practice!

Please remember that, regrettably, the club now only has six TDs who currently cover three venues and also set up the computer laptop and submit the results to the website and EBU. Any discourteousness exhibited both during play and to the TD will not only discourage the TD to continue but also not encourage others to take on this role. Without TDs the bridge club would cease to remain affiliated to the EBU.

This is a useful moment to remind everyone of their responsibilities at the table during a session. At the start of each new round, ensure that the right player is identified as North for that round. North is then responsible for ensuring that the correct opponents and the correct boards are in place. North enters the declarer and contract into the tablet. At the end of a board, the result must first be agreed by all at the table. North then enters the result, which the opponents check and agree. North ensures that the cards are returned correctly into the right pockets in the empty board.

The EBU is introducing a new service for members, by which members will receive an email after each game submitted to the EBU within 3 days of play provided the EBU has a current email address for them. This email will include both their results and information on master points awarded, NGS impact, and other statistics such as how many times they have played and how their performance compares with others at the same club. It is a fun and friendly email and the EBU congratulate all players regardless of how well they score. Stafford Bridge Club has opted in to this new system; members can individually opt out via "Account" button on myEBU page.