| In Memoriam Alan Smith |
 We are very sad to report that long standing member Alan Smith died suddenly last Thursday 8th May. Alan was a regular at the Ploughmans, and his partner John Brierley has written this tribute.
Alan was a strong, kind and witty man. He believed bridge was a game to be enjoyed, both by himself and those around him. Competitive at the table, and rarely reticent in 'discussing' his partner's play, he did so with humour, kindness and genuine friendship. He enjoyed the banter as well as playing the cards
Alan was a pleasure to play with and will be much missed. We offer our condolences to his partner Linda.
Alan's funeral will be held on Thursday 29 May at 2pm, at South London Crematorium Rowan Road SW16 5JG (please note this is the one in Streatham Vale not Motspur Park), followed by a reception at Toby Carvery, Park Place, 54 Commonside, West Mitcham, CR4 4HB.
There are no flowers and if anyone wishes to make a donation CAFOD is the charity.
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| SPECIAL EVENTS - COMING SOON |
Save the Dates!
May 2025
Thu 29 18:30 Play with a Club Expert (Extra event, not in original calendar - by invitation)
June 2025
Tue 3 19:00 Cheese and Wine Tuesday
Sun 8 13:00 Blue Pointed Swiss Pairs Click to enter
The Summer buffet has been rescheduled - new date 2nd August
Wed 18 19:00 AGM
July 2025
Tue 1 19:00 Cheese and Wine Tuesday
Thu 10 18:30 Graduation Cheese and Wine Click to book
Tue 22 19:30 EBU British Summer Sims
Thu 24 13:30 EBU British Summer Sims
August 2025
Sat 2 18:30 Summer Buffet (new date) Click to book
Tue 5 19:00 Cheese and Wine Tuesday
Sun 31 Summer Ladders Finish
The Calendar of Special Events for September 2025 to August 2026 will be published soon
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| BLUE POINTED SWISS PAIRS 8 JUNE 2025 |
 We are delighted to be holding the next WBC Blue Pointed Swiss Pairs on Sunday 8 June at 13:00.
These events are popular and generally attract 21+ full tables. Book early!
First Prize £200 per pair, smaller prizes for the second and third placed pairs and for the highest achieving pair, NGS 9 or below. 6x6 board matches. £12 per player. 20 minute break for coffee and cake (included in the entry fee)
Please click HERE to enter
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| GRADUATION CHEESE AND WINE 10 JULY 2025 |
 We would like to invite everyone who have been learning with us this year to join us on Thursday 10th July for cheese and wine from 6:30pm. This will be followed by presentation of course completion certificates to all those who have completed a year's course and then there will be a supervised duplicate bridge session.
All students, novice players, teachers and mentors are welcome. This is the perfect event if you would like to to try a duplicate bridge session for the first time.
Please book here to give us an idea of numbers for catering. There is no charge for this event.
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| SUMMER LEARNING JUNE-AUGUST 2025 |
 Our full learning programme for all levels from Beginner to Advanced will be available again in the Autumn. If you would like to receive information about the Open Morning and Programme for September, please click here to register interest
Courses running June-August:
Revision Tutorials
with Hilary |
Thursdays from 17 July to 11 September
6:30-7:30pm
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Revision of topics covered in year 1. All welcome. Recap of the topic; examples; followed by Q&A.
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No need to book, FREE |
Advanced
with Tim and Naomi
NEW COURSE |
Mondays 13:30
starts 2nd June
6-weeks
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A new 6-week course covering Lebensohl, the Law of Total Tricks and Advanced Declarer Play Techniques (safety plays, eliminations, end plays, and simple squeezes)
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Click HERE to book |
All supervised play sessions continue as normal over the summer. (see Learn and Play box below)
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| LEARN AND PLAY SESSIONS |
 FACE TO FACE LEARNING SESSIONS:
WBC offer a range of face to face play sessions suitable for all levels. We encourage beginners and improvers to attend at least one play session a week to practice and consolidate what has been covered in lessons.
Monday afternoons 12:30pm - Supervised Play Bid and play at your own pace with guidance if wanted. All levels
Thursday mornings 10:30am - Supervised Duplicate 12 to 15 boards are played in a competitive format with guidance if wanted. Improvers/Intermediate
Thursday evenings 7:30pm - Mini Duplicate Introduction to duplicate. 10 to 12 boards in a competitive format with guidance and review of selected hands. Beginners/Improvers
Saturday afternoons 2pm - Supervised Play Bid and play at your own pace with guidance if wanted. All levels
Hosts are available at all sessions so you do not need to come with a partner. No booking required.
When you are ready, our shorter 18-Board Duplicate sessions on Tuesday and Friday mornings are suitable for novice pairs.
ONLINE LEARNING SESSIONS (with Richmond Bridge Club) Click here for the RBC website
Supervised Play sessions run weekly on Wednesday mornings, 10:30am-12:30pm on RealBridge. There is no need to book, just click on the link on the RBC website about 10 minutes before the start of play and you’ll be taken to the RealBridge login page. Enter your full name and EBU number to log in to the session. Cost is £6 per session which will be charged to your WBC member’s account.
Three board reviews with Tim Chanter, Thursdays, 10:30-11:30am. Suitable for improvers. If you wish to attend, simply click this Zoom link from 10.20 for a 10.30 kick off (no pre booking is required). https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86037429431 If you cannot make it, but wish to be copied in on the recording and the commentaries then please let Tim know to add you to the distribution list. The session will take about 1 hour and costs £5. There will be a follow up of answers to the quiz.
 Here are our Monday afternoon players enjoying their game!
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| Members' Account Balances |
 To receive an Email of your balance and statement of activity, please enter your EBU number and click.
Payments into your account do not appear immediately, so recent payments may not show for a week or so.
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| PIANOLA |
Login to Pianola
Get more information about your game: Personal results history; Your average score with different partners; Your score as declarer, defender - even dummy(!).
Find partners and play more bridge using our innovative partner-finder.
Share your contact details with other people in the club.
Update your contact information and email preferences.
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| ONLINE BRIDGE SCHEDULE |
 Online Schedule:
Monday 14:00
Friday 14:00
The games are listed as MBC & WBC. All games are 18-board duplicates with Master Points. NGS calculated if sufficient players are EBU members.
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| Going to be LATE? |
 If you are going to arrive later than 10 mins before the start of the session, it is essential that you call the club on 0208 947 0147 at least 15 minutes beforehand so that you can be included in the movement. If you don't do this you may not be able to play.
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| Hosting and Arriving without a Partner |
 If you do not have a partner for an occasional session, a host is normally available to make up numbers. If you do come on your own, please arrive at the Club at least 15 minutes before the start of play so that you can be partnered in good time with another single player or the host without causing delay to the start of play.
Members with an NGS of at least 4 are asked to volunteer to host a minimum of once a year and preferably twice. To host at any session other than supervised sessions, and Tuesday or Friday mornings, you should have an NGS ranking of at least 6. Please be kind and courteous to your partner and remember that it is important to find yourself a regular partner and not rely on the host system entirely.
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| Best Behaviour at Bridge |
 Regular sessions at WBC are intended to provide a friendly and enjoyable environment to play the game of Bridge, and members should conduct themselves in the spirit of this aim. If you feel you have been affected by anything at the table that is not in the spirit of the Best Behaviour at Bridge code then the director should be called immediately. The other players should not retaliate or enter into an argument or discussion. Please click here to see the BB@B code.
It is hoped that most incidents can be resolved at the time. If any player wishes to make a formal complaint, they should do so at the time so that the director can complete the appropriate report, which must be signed by all parties. Where the incident occurs outside a play session or, if occurring at a play session is, for a valid reason not reported to the director, it must be reported in writing (or via e-mail) to the Chair or Secretary of the Club within two weeks of the incident.
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| Surrey County Bridge Association |
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