| Message from the club senior tournament director |
Respect for the director:
During the past few months several incidences that have required the attention of the TD have been drawn to my attention. I appreciate that it is always a more difficult role for a playing director to come to your table BUT it is NEVER correct for any player to make a ruling at the table. The ONLY option is to call the director. The TD should be able to give a ruling at the table for any infringement of the rules. There will be however other incidences when a judgement (or a second opinion) is necessary and then the TD may defer his/her final ruling. All players must be prepared to accept the director’s ruling (although you can appeal the ruling).
Call the director: It is not being disrespectful to those at your table to call the director, what is not correct is to initiate discussions regarding your opinion in an attempt to resolve the infringement. That is the role of the TD.
EBU: Just to remind you that it is your club and at present the club remains affiliated to the EBU which does necessitate players conforming to all the guidelines of Best Behaviour at Bridge and adhering to the rules and regulations as issued by the EBU together with full respect for the TD in charge of the session. If before the next AGM (2027) you feel that the club should remain affiliated or alternatively withdraw its affiliation to the EBU please make your views known to our club chair, Sean, any member of the committee or to me.
Finally, if you have any club matters relating to the above that you wish to discuss please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you,
David Drinkwater June 2026
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Respect for the director:
During the past few months several incidences that have required the attention of the TD have been drawn to my attention. I appreciate that it is always a more difficult role for a playing director to come to your table BUT it is NEVER correct for any player to make a ruling at the table. ..........
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| Dave's Hand of the month |
New committee member, Dave, has answered request for a ‘hint of the month' submitted on a recent questionnaire for improving the website. Click to see. Please send any brief constructive feedback to Dave via his address on the committee page. As of 19th May the page now has a video link to Dave's description of the hand. Have you any hands played in a Stafford event that you would like to recommend to Dave for a commentary? (Send the result date and board number to Dave). 
Additional section added on 11th June 2026 for lesson hands. Dave has been standing in on a Friday morning in the absence of Robin and Terry and has turned a lesson into a YouTube tutorial. The 11th June example is a good demo of what you should do as declarer on trick one, take your time to think when dummy goes down before you play a card! Please send your feedback to Dave via his address on the committee page, your suggestions are so important.
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| Morning Lessons, 9:45 for 10 a.m. Friday mornings |
 
From June 1st 2026 Lessons held at 9:45 for 10 am only on Fridays Robin and Terry will cover these lessons between them with Dave Nelson covering in their absence. If you wish to attend these lessons - please contact Robin or Terry. For a trial period, the Thursday slot will become a duplicate session every week.
Robin has produced plenty of material for the website, including one on Splinter bids, Gambling 3NT, CRO, Redoubles, Trial Bids, Jacoby and his all time most read page on McKenny signals and Discards. Summary of his lessons can be seen here with links to the individual lessons. See also Dave's lesson hands.
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From June 1st 2026 Lessons held at 9:45 for 10 am only on Fridays Robin and Terry will cover these lessons between them with Dave Nelson covering in their absence. ..........
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| Special Friday evening sessions - Bring & Share Food now fixed on 1st Friday in the month |
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Have your say for a June special Friday. Following the suggestion made at the AGM to have to "bring and share" finger food before the normal session the idea was given a successful trials on 24th April 2026 and May 22nd. Plenty of socialising at the start and some great food. Many thanks to all who made these sessions such a success story. On May 22nd the suggestion was made to make "bring and share" a fixed Friday in the month and a show of hands was for the 1st Friday (3rd July) was agreed.
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| Stafford Online BCL Thursday evening Bridge Club |
Please support the STAFRD club Thursday evening club session - turn up in the club room around 6:45 with your partner. Did you see new website feature Hand of the Month in May 2026 used a STAFRD hand?
If you would like to give Bridge Club Live a try click here for the basic instructions, around 27 SBC members are active on BCL. A Stafford BCL virtual SBC club runs on Thursday evenings and a friendly BCL club runs on Tuesday mornings. The SSCBA set up a County wide Bridge Base Online virtual club that meets on Wednesday evenings, see here for advice on how to get started with BBO. A new third option is RealBridge where Newcastle Under Lyme, EBU and Midlands regional events take place. Please don't see these as either/or options but rather as different ways of enjoying online bridge which add variety to your game.
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Please support the STAFRD club Thursday evening club session - turn up in the club room around 6:45 with your partner. ..........
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