Back row: Steve Parker, Toby Mace, Bill Bethell, Steve Ashworth, Dave Walker.

Front: Gill Newton, Sylvia Scott-Laws, Sue Smith

Winning Woodbridge enjoy the moment

At times, we could all be forgiven for thinking bridge is a deadly serious business with little scope for smiles, laughter or, heaven forfend, celebration.

Don't you believe it.

When the Club Teams of 8 drew to a close on Saturday and the outcome was flashed up on an overhead screen ..WOODBRIDGE 1^st ...the joy on the faces of the winning players spoke volumes. A team photo was followed by players capturing the moment by taking photos of each other with the winning trophy.

Happiness ruled. What a wonderful contrast to images of some winning teams who look as though they have been condemned to appearing on I'm a Celebrity.  Long may it continue.

As online and Face to Face continue their tug of war for our affections, it was significant that the event attracted entries from nine teams , resulting in 18 tables. And the names of some of the teams - Framlingham Foreign Legion, Stansfield Stymies and Stratford St Mary Blue - gave an indication of the relaxed atmosphere and chatter which marked the occasion.

The annual event is renowned for the excellent tea provided by the local Sea Scouts group and, once again, they did not disappoint. In the opinion of some players, their best ever.

A huge thank you to Tony Shearman for stepping in at the last minute to direct and to Chris & Paul Rickard, the event managers. To see all the results click on To8

♥ 9-HIGH pairs event at Nayland village hall CO6 4JH) on Sunday 4 December,(11am) open to any player with an NGS grade of 2 to 9. Unsure about your NGS grade? Click on NGS to check. Free glass of wine. Bring your own lunch. Entry just £5 per person. Click on 9HIGH to enter.

♥ BAH HUMBUG PAIRS on Friday 30 December (10.30 for 11am start) at Blackbourne community centre, Elmswell (IP30 9GY) A festive duplicate kicking off with a mince pie and glass of something special. Bring your own lunch. Please click on BAH HUMBUG to enter

♥ BURY SWISS PAIRS on Sunday 29 January (10.30am start) at Blackbourne community centre, Elmswell (IP30 9GY). £10 per person entry fee. Bring your own lunch. Click on SWISS to enter.

200+ sign up for lessons in libraries

Stowmarket latest to offer courses

The Deben Project, involving teaching bridge to beginners in libraries across Suffolk, is surpassing all expectations with more than 190 people having signed up - and applications stlll coming in.

The first lessons have started at Woodbridge library. Courses will begin over the coming weeks in Framlingham, Aldeburgh and Southwold. In total 90 will be attending.

The response in the Bury St Edmunds area has been equally remarkable with 100 applicants. As a result, two sessions a week are planned for September in Bury library, with a third starting in the New Year, and another class at Thurston. There will also be courses at Haverhill, Ipswich and, possibly, Sudbury.

Richard Evans, the Suffolk chairman, said: "The response has exceeded the most optimistic expectations. Despite the woes confronting bridge at the moment, there is no shortage of people wishing to learn the game."

If you know of anyone wishing to take up bridge please ask them to email learnbridge@suffolkbridge.co.uk

COURSE START DATES + DAYS & TIMES

WOODBRIDGE  6 June. Mon 2-4pm

FRAMLINGHAM 6 July. Wed 6.30-8.30pm

ALDEBURGH 3 Sept. Sat 3-5pm

THURSTON 7 Sept. Wed 1.30-3..30pm

BURY ST EDMUNDS 19 Sept. Mon 10am-12noon & 2-4pm

IPSWICH 26 Sept. Mon 3pm

Online course: 29 Sept. Thurs 7pm

HAVERHILL 9 Oct. Sun 1.30-3.30pm

STOWMARKET 9 Sept. Fri 10.30am-12.30pm

Bridge lunch is county's first F2F event

After a very long absence, players from around Suffolk met face2face for the frist time at a bridge lunch held in Elmswell on Wednesday

In many cases, players had not seen other competitors since before the pandemic.

With a free glass of champagne to kick off proceedings, there was plenty of chatter and laughter over lunch before everyone sat down for 24 - yes 24! - boards.

In the circumstances, the result was secondary to the occasion. But top marks to (pictured left to right above) Dorothy & Alaric Cundy from Stowmarket who won overall and to Patsi Barnes & Joan Watson who topped the Handicap.

And a big thank you to Jill Tattersfield for making the day happen.

Online bridge has fundamentally changed the game's landscape at club, county and national level, Malcolm Pryor, said in his valedictory speech as chairman of the Suffolk Contract Bridge Association on Sunday.

Many players now looked to play a mix of online and face to face bridge and that posed challenges and opportunities for Suffolk and its clubs, he told the association's AGM. (Click on MALCOLM to read his summary or PRYOR to read the full report)

His warning came as the Swiss Pairs at the East Anglian bridge weekend was restructured due to lack of support - only a fortnight after the Clare Swiss Pairs was scrapped for the same reason. The AGM Pairs, which followed the annual meeting, attracted only 13 pairs online. The winners were Con & Pauline Hanson.

Richard Evans, the new SCBA chairman, said: 'The pre-Covid bridge 'model' of everyone going to their local club and sufficient numbers being prepared to travel around Suffolk to play in county organised events is broken, possibly irrevocably. We are acutely aware of the changing landscape which is happening all over the country."

Four new members were elected to the SCBA committee: (l-r) Kate Chapman, Tim Evans, David Unwin (who takes over from Roger Tattersfield as Treasurer), and Paul MacLachlan.

All bridge players who are members of an affiliated club have their own EBU page - which may come as a surprise to some.

'My EBU' is a place where, if you are so minded, you can check your masterpoints and NGS records, book events, modify your account details and carry out other bits of bridgey administration.

"It is important that members can access the My EBU area," says the EBU, "and we are aware that some cannot, either because we do not have the right email address, or it is blank. We would like to encourage you to contact your members to make sure they can access My EBU"

So that's what we are doing. To access your EBU page click on MY EBU.

Eric & Diane win Suffolk Pairs final

Eric Newman & Diane Whitley (left) won the final of the Suffolk Pairs Championship on Sunday from Bill Tweddell & John Wilmott (centre) and Tony Philpott & Andrew Moore.

When the dust had setteled after a 42 board all-play-all event, the top five pairs had pulled clear of their nearest rivals. The first three pairs will now represent the county in the final of the national Corwen trophy.

For the first time in many years - perhaps ever - the pairs final failed to attract a full field. A sign of the times?

To see all the scores click on FINAL

Deben's generous parting gift

Sadly, Deben bridge club is no more due to a dwindling attendance exacerbated by the pandemic. However, their name will very much live on thanks to a generous parting gift to Suffolk bridge.

The club has handed over the money it held in the bank plus the proceeds from the sale of equipment - a total of £2,964 - to the SCBA with the intention it should be used constructively to encourage more people to play the game.

Bim Wilson, Michael Bizzey, the club treasurer, and Sam Wilson (pictured above) presented the cheque recently to Richard Evans, the association vice chairman,

"Obviously it is sad when a club has to close but the generosity of Deben means something very positive can emerge," Richard said. "The Suffolk committee will be discussing the 'Deben Project' next month to see the best way to generate more bridge players in the county and thereby support smaller clubs who are struggling."

First Suffolk player to be honoured by the English Bridge Union

Malcolm Carey, a founding father of the Suffolk Contract Bridge Association, has been honoured by the English Bridge Union for his outstanding contribution to the game in the county and beyond.

The Dimmie Fleming Award is reserved for a select band of players and administrators, and is a public recognition of all they have done for bridge over a number of decades. The award was announced at the EBU's online annual general meeting.

Malcolm suggested the creation of a Suffolk association in 1978 and following its formation a few months later he has been a key member for more than 40 years, most notably as the county's chief tournament director, a position he held for 32 years.

As well as directing in Suffolk, his talents were regularly in demand in other counties, Jersey and Guernsey, and abroad - including Kenya, Tobago, Spain, Malta, Israel and Egypt.

Malcolm Pryor, the chairman of the SCBA, said: "Malcolm is the first person on the SCBA committee to have received this award and it is thoroughly deserved. Malcolm has been a driving force behind the development of Suffolk bridge from the county's foundation in 1979 through to the present day and the county owes him a huge debt of gratitude for his many years of dedicated service."

Click on MALCOLM to read a tribute by Phillip Edwards, and a report in the Ipswich Evening Star.

Never played bridge on-line - and intimidated by what's involved? Don't be!

An A-B-C guide to playing bridge at BridgeBaseOnline (BBO) which covers the most basic points - how to get started, how to join a game - has been created for Suffolk Bridge by Peter Bushby, and even includes some very fancy film clips.

The big advantage of playing on BBO is that you can partner a real person (for example, your regular partner) - rather than a robot - and it can be free.

Don't feel left out...just click on HOW TO PLAY BRIDGE ON LINE.

In addition to the basics, the comprehensive guide also shows how you can enter Suffolk's regular Sunday evening duplicate, how to play a match between two teams of four, and much more besides.

The EBU has also produced a guide on how to play on BBO. Click on EBU to see.

To see older items please click on

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