Sad to report the passing of Arthur Winchester.

Here he is celebrating the Club's 50th anniversary with us in 2022.

At the Stowmarket Bridge Club AGM held on Friday, April 10, Tony Aldous was elected Chairman, Amanda Roberts Secretary and Alaric Cundy Treasurer. Other Committee members remain in place.

Minutes of the meeting to follow in due course.

The Suffolk Bridge AGM will be held at the Blackbourne Centre, Elmswell IP30 9UH at 2pm on Sunday May 17 and will be followed by a session of Bridge (around 24 boards) with a catered tea in the interval for just £5/head.

Click HERE to see the entry form.

The Suffolk Championship Pairs Final was held on Sunday the 19^th of April and the winners were Nancy Williams and Dave Allen with Simon Riley and Jaroslaw Grochowski close behind  and Helen Mason and Dennis Valtisiaris in third place. It was a very enjoyable event and huge thanks are due to Mike O'Reilly who stepped in at the last minute to set up, direct and score it.

Unfortunately a software issue created problems with the scoring which meant that some of the hand files were lost. Despite best efforts, Mike, Rob Sassoon and the EBU all tried to retrieve these files but they were irrecoverable.

So the results displayed are not accurate but are indicative of the final standings.

The small field of just twelve pairs competing, out of the forty-four pairs who qualified, was disappointing and it is hoped that this will improve in future. The top three pairs will be invited to represent Suffolk in the Corwen Trophy event at the end of May. 

The Corwen Trophy is an EBU event for the top three pairs in each County's Championship Pairs event.

The 9-High Corwen is a similar national competition, but for players with NGS ranking of 9 and below, to be played by the top three pairs in each County's 9-High Corwen Qualifying event.

The Suffolk qualifier for the Corwen 9-High took place on RealBridge on Sunday the 29th of March. 13 Pairs entered playing 24 boards.

The top three positions were:

• 1st Sam Pickering and Caroline Harris with 65%
• 2nd Marcus and Sarah Hopkins with 57%
• 3rd Isobel Read and Dawn Knutton with 56%

They will be invited to represent the County in the national final which takes place on Saturday the 30th of May.

Sam and Caroline also won this event in 2025.

Full results can be seen HERE. 

We aim not only to provide members and guests with a friendly and welcoming time playing bridge but also to foster friendships away from the cards. With this in mind, the first social event of the year took place with an enjoyable lunch for members and friends at Stowmarket Golf Club.

A reminder that our Wednesday sessions now take place at Old Newton Village Hall (IP14 4ED) 6.45 for 7, and Fridays remain at St Mary’s Hall, Stowmarket (IP14 1PD) 2.00 for 2.15.

We are always looking to welcome new members of all abilities and those wishing to learn. For further information, please see our website or contact Andy Billinge, who is running the teaching programme, 07815101513 /a.billinge@btinternet.com

The Christmas Party was enjoyed by all and included a new competition played with random, mostly mixed, partnerships playing for the Christmas Trophy - won by Dorothy & Sekhar.

And Amanda presented Andy with something tasty in thanks for the work he has put in this year.

We all make mistakes.

It is not unusual to accidentally give the wrong explanation of a bid or make a bid which isn't in line with your partnership agreement.

If you're not sure what partner's bid means NEVER say "I'm taking it as ..." That's giving partner Unauthorised Information (UI).

Click HERE to see a full explanation of what you should and shouldn't do in these situations.

Trophies were presented at the annual Presentation Party, including the Susan Aldous Memorial Trophy won this year by Jim & Shirley. 

A donation of £60 was made to EACH, the East Anglia Children's Hospice, who responded with the following message:

Let me say just how incredibly grateful we are that you have chosen to support East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH), having donated £60 from Bridge Club event . Your generosity will enable us to continue to support families across East Anglia to access vital care and support when they need us the most. Our short break care gives families like Pat’s some much needed respite, allowing them the chance to rest and recharge for a few hours, knowing their child is being well cared for.

“Callum enjoys going to the hospice for an overnight stay. We think of them as a fun sleepover – something he doesn’t get the chance to do with family and friends.’’ Pat – Callum’s mum

We honestly cannot thank you enough for your kindness.