 Next Real Bridge Session |
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ Wednesday Afternoon ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Wednesday 23rd June at 1:30 pm ON REAL BRIDGE
Please be in the RB lobby by 1:20 pm
Click on the cards to join the session
If you need a partner, please contact Dave Tilley and we'll do our best to help!
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| REOPENING THE CLUB |
The members of the Committee have started to think about when it will be safe for the Club to reopen. This week, the Government postponed the next lifting of restrictions due for next Monday, for a further four weeks until mid-July.
The Club places the safety of its members as our paramount importance and we will need to consider what we need to do to ensure that. We will be circulating a survey during this week amongst our members to canvas opinions. Please complete this to help us make our decisions.
Full details of our next steps will be on here as soon as we announce them.
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| Some Sad News |
We are sad to hear that Peter Shepherd, one of our stalwart members, passed away at the weekend after a long and brave fight against cancer. Our thoughts and prayers are with Margaret and their family at this sad time.
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| Our Next Random Teams' Night |
On Tuesday 6 July, we will be holding our next Random teams night on RealBridge, starting at 7:15 pm.
You play with your partner, but random teams are drawn.
Please complete the form and click send to let us know you would like to play! We'll do the rest. Come and join us!
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| The Stretford Salver |
We finished our successful Festival of Bridge with a really exciting evening featuring our first Trophy event, the Stretford Shield.
The tournament was won literally on the last card with Brenda Begley and Nick Aves being pipped by Brian Irlam and Pam Cox.
Congratulations to Pam and Brian, commiserations to Brenda and Nick but also to everyone else who took part. A fantastic evening!
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| REALBRIDGE SESSIONS - LINK TO THE NEXT ONE! |
Our next RealBridge Session will be our Wednesday Afternoon session, starting at 1:30pm. (Please try and log in at least 15 minutes before the start).
And ### FUTURE WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY and FRIDAY SESSIONS WILL NOW ALSO BE ON REALBRIDGE ###
Before you play, we recommend you test your system to see if it is compatible HERE
To play in the session, click the playing cards in the post above.
If for any reason the above link doesn't work, please check our partner club sites at Warrington and Brierfield.
REAL BRIDGE HAS NOW MANAGED TO SOLVE ITS ISSUES WITH APPLE DEVICES AND YOU CAN NOW USE SAFARI OR CHROME AS YOUR BROWSER TO PLAY!
When you log on, it asks for your name (please enter in the normal format, e.g. Joe Bloggs - not your BBO login) and your number, if you have an EBU number type it in the box below your name; but if you can’t remember it, just type 888888 in the box. if you don't know your EBU number, again contact us, we'll help.
Sit at a table - if your partner is already here, sit opposite them. It doesn't matter whether you play N/S or E/W.
Remember that you can still play if you haven't got a camera or microphone, you can use chat to talk to opponents.
Away you go - it's that simple!
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| Important! |
From Monday 1st March, all evening sessions will start at 7:15 pm. We need you to be logged in 15 mins beforehand, please.
We will always try to find you partners, but please give us as much notice as possible. Recently one or two players have arrived in the last few minutes and expected us to find a partner. It's not always easy.
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| Keeping Your Eyes Safe Playing Online |
Following feedback from players, we have decided to defer the option to have breaks in our sessions.
Whilst our games are not governed by the Display Screen Equipment (DSE) Regulations it's worth thinking about the effects of playing in front of a computer screen for long periods.
- Try to have good ambient light in the room when you are playing, either daylight or artificial light, but avoid strong reflections off your screen.
- Whenever you can try to take your eyes off the screen and if possible focus on something further away such as out of a window. This could be when you’ve finished your round with a little time still on the clock or whilst you are dummy.
- Try not to use such time to do other things on your screen such as checking emails.
- Consider getting a pair of glasses set for computer or screen distance especially if it is different from your normal reading distance.
- Stand up and move around whenever you can. Short stretches are good for preventing cramps, etc.
If you need advice or support about this then feel free to contact us. Email stretfordbridge@gmail.com if you have any comments or queries. We can put you in touch with Norman Cope who is the IT Manager at one of our Clubs and is a retired optometrist.
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| Want to Learn Bridge or Refresh the Basics? |
 We have been saying for some time we need to offer a course for people who want to take up bridge as a beginner, or who have already learned a little, but feel they need to review the basics.
Stretford Bridge Club is delighted to be able to recommend a new online course which starts on 20th January. The course tutor is the well-respected Jack Stocken, who has many years of experience of teaching bridge. You can find the details here Online Bridge Lessons with Jack Stocken - Yorkshire Bridge
The first two lessons are FREE and you do not need to submit any payment details. Although it starts very soon, don’t worry if you miss a class or can’t make a live class. The lesson will always be available in replay to view at any time to suit you.
Why not give it a try? If you like what you see, you can sign up for a batch of 4 lessons at £8 each, and you can cancel at any time.
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| Thursday Zoom Lessons & Gentle Duplicate Session |
We recently began running short refresher lessons before some of our gentle duplicate sessions. These lessons are held using Zoom, and are well-attended and appreciated by all. We then play our normal duplicate session afterwards on the RealBridge platform (link above). The slides from each session will be found under the Teaching tab on the left.
We run the Zoom lessons every two weeks with the next one being on Thursday, February 4th at 09:45am and will be on the subject of Transfers, very useful in competitive bridge. The session after the Zoom talk comprises hands designed to consolidate your understanding of what we are teaching. Many of our members have joined those others from our partner clubs and are enjoying these short lessons. Feedback has been extremely positive and we must thank Jim from Warrington for writing and delivering these. To join the Zoom lesson, contact the Club for the room access code.
You can join in the lesson without any obligation to play in the Gentle Duplicate, or you can play in the Gentle Duplicate on the RealBridge platform without attending the lesson - it is completely flexible, to suit whatever you prefer. If you do intend joining the lesson, please let us know beforehand, which helps with numbers etc, and please join the meeting at least five minutes before the 09:45 start. Please don't come along late, as new people joining once we've started can be quite disruptive for everyone else, and you may not be admitted. There is a small charge of £1 per week to cover bridge system charges.
If you haven’t played in our Club before please send your username to stretfordbridge@gmail.com so he can add you to the database. If you wish to join us, contact Dave who will send you a Zoom link to the room.
You can use Zoom either direct from your browser, or by installing the Zoom app on your device. If you have never used Zoom before, there is plenty of help on line to get you started -just Google "Zoom" on your browser. It is completely free to use - no subscription necessary. If you need help with Zoom, feel free to contact Dave Tilley or Jim Steele and they will help you.
We look forward to seeing you!
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| ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (DUE 2020) |
All our Members were balloted recently on this subject (by email or post, on 20th and 21st November 2020, with the close of voting being midnight on 12th December 2020).
Asked whether to hold our Annual General Meeting as soon as practicable (using an online platform such as Zoom), or to wait until a normal face-to-face A.G.M. could be held (timescale then unknown, with Officers and other Committee Members remaining in post until then).
The result, after counting and recounting, is a majority decision to wait until a face-to-face A.G.M. can be held.
With Covid-19 vaccines now coming online, this could be fairly soon, the date to be decided by the incumbent Committee.
Thank you for your replies.
The 22 votes were:
3 Abstain
3 Either
11 Face-to-face
5 Online
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| Don Monks |
It is with the deepest sadness that we have to announce that Don Monks, one of our most popular members and our Treasurer at Stretford, passed away recently.
Don played most sessions at the Club and was one of the most friendly and keenest players at Stretford. He was also a keen supporter of our MCBA and EBU bridge league matches.
Everyone at the Club is deeply saddened at his passing and we all send our thoughts and love to his family at this sad time.
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| Virtual Bridge Club News |
Our Virtual Bridge Club between Stretford and our friends at Brierfield and Warrington Clubs is now almost 6 months old!. The results from the latest session and details of our future sessions can be found on the right.
We have the following regular sessions:
Sundays 11:00 16 boards - 8 mins per board.
Mondays ** 13:30 16 boards - 8 mins per board.
Mondays 19:30 21 boards - 7 mins per board.
Wednesdays 13:30 21 boards - 7 mins per board.
Thursdays *** 10:30 12 boards - 10 mins per board.
Fridays 19:30 21 boards - 7 mins per board.
** Ten High Non-Expert Session *** Gentle Duplicate and Zoom Lesson
Sessions will be charged at £2.50 per session per player and we will bill you for your sessions played at the end of each month.
Existing Members of Stretford Bridge Club are entitled to claim an allocation of free games for each member.
Members of other local bridge clubs are more than welcome to become members of our club for the duration of the Virtual Club at a reduced membership rate and pay the standard session charge for each game, billed monthly. You can play in our charity sessions at the same price as our members without joining.
Alternatively, visitors who are not members can pay the Guest Fee of £5 per session before any match, either by Bank Transfer or PayPal. You have to register beforehand to play in any sessions.
When you join, you'll be sent a full guide on how to do this. As part of this, we will need your BBO log-in and EBU number. If you are not an EBU member, you will be registered with the EBU for the duration of the Club.
Important point: If you have not yet played in the Club, you MUST let us know the BBO logins of yourself and your partner in advance, otherwise, you won't be able to register to take part.
Email the Club stretfordbridge@gmail.com or Dave Tilley with your details.
So far we've had good table numbers for each session. Come and play!
The Club has experienced mentors Richard Aubery, Chris Collison and Frank Eade who will guide you through your first steps online and show you how to get yourself set up. It isn't hard (really, it isn't!) and you will be up and running quickly and back playing with your chums, as well as making new friends.
Richard Aubery may be able to help you find a partner if you need one.
We look forward to seeing you!
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
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Our Virtual Bridge Club between Stretford and our friends at Brierfield and Warrington Clubs is now almost 6 months old!. The results from the latest session and details of our future sessions can be found on the right. ..........
..... see more |
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| Re-opening the Club |
A number of members have been asking about whether our club is likely to reopen in the near future.
A while back, the EBU issued some guidelines that you can read here. Members of the Club Committee have had time to look at the information and the risk assessment that is contained in the post. We have concluded that at this point in time it is not safe and practicable to reopen the club.
Some examples of things we would need to do:
- Distancing across a table at the moment would only be 60cm rather than even the 1m+ currently recommended;
- Plastic screens would need to be placed across the table diagonally so each player would have their own section.
- A full set of boards and cards for each table. We would only be able to do that if we had a dealing machine to produce the same boards for each set. There would need to be strict controls and regimes about carrying that out. Similarly, actions like movements, scoring etc would need to be strictly operated and planned.
- Bidding boxes and tablecloths would need to be replaced and cleaned/disinfected after each session and everything not reused for 72 hours after use.
- Members would need to socially distance at all times and there would be no cash handling;
- Arriving and departing would need to be controlled and organised.
Stretford is quite a small club, and even carrying out the minimum safety requirements is challenging and the Committee feels that at this point in time, it would not be able to guarantee the safety of its members, many of whom have already had to self- and socially-isolate for the last 12 weeks. Accordingly, we cannot countenance the opening of the Club at this point in time; the safety of our members is paramount.
We know that some of you will be disappointed with this, but we must protect all our members, most of whom are at risk from COVID-19.
We will monitor the situation and see how other organisations and businesses are able to perform coming out of lockdown. We will reopen the club as soon as we consider it safe to do so. We are actively talking to other clubs through MCBA and our virtual club partners to monitor the situation.
In the meantime, we are happy to provide training for members to play in the virtual club. Over 1/2 of our members are now doing so. If you haven’t tried it, we invite you to join us. Members may also borrow a card table and equipment from the club if they wish to play rubber bridge at home. Please contact Chris Collison, Richard Aubery or me if you would like to do this, and we will make the arrangements.
Dave Tilley
Secretary
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A number of members have been asking about whether our club is likely to reopen in the near future.
A while back, the EBU issued some guidelines that you can read here. Members of the Club Committee have had time to look at the information and the risk assessment that is contained in the post. We have concluded that at this point in time it is not safe and practicable to reopen the club.
Some examples of things we would need to do:
- Distancing across a table at the moment would only be 60cm rather than even the 1m+ currently recommended;
- Plastic screens would need to be placed across the table diagonally so each player would have their own section. ..........
..... see more |
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