2024-25 COUNTY LEAGUE

The 2024-25 County League will be played on-line using Realbridge.

The matches are played on Fridays at 7.15 pm with the first match on 13^th September (see calendar on SCBA web site for other dates).

New teams and new players for teams who have played in previous years are very welcome,

so if you are interested in entering a team or wish to join an existing team please contact Bob Warrender (marianandbob86@gmail.com) as soon as possible.

Teams may consist of players from a single club or from any number of clubs.

In February, the club played a heat of the Michael Coda Cup.

This is Somerset Contract Bridge Association's charity event

The total raised across the county was £1598. Frome donated £150 towards this amount.

It is with great sadness that we have to report the passing of Ralph Bell. Ralph had taken to playing Bridge late in life and his enthusiasm and desire to learn was so impressive. He made giant strides in learning to play the game and he clearly enjoyed every aspect of it. It was always a pleasure to meet him at the table, not least because of his gentle humour and conviviality. Our thoughts are with his brother, Ian, and all the family as they strive to come to terms with their sad loss.

A charity event in aid of Fair Frome was held at Frome Bridge club on Friday 1^st Dec.

The event was a great success and enjoyed by all.

The winners were:  N/S Stan Christie & Eve Barnwell and E/W Diane Bishop & David Clayton.

The generous donations of club members raised £1030 and, in addition,

some £200-£300 worth of food/toiletries were donated.

Our thanks go out again to all those who supported the charity and helped with organisation.

This includes Wesley Church who generously supplied the venue free of charge.

After the event the club sent a donation of £200 to CIN

The total raised thus far is a fabulous £59463.25

On Monday 6th of November the club played a heat of the

Children in Need Charity Sim Pairs

From Cambridge to Cardiff and Frome to Folkestone some 120 clubs

played in the event with 1879 pairs in play.

The best placed Frome pair, Eve Barwell & Stan Christie, are in a fabulous 29th place.

Huge congratulations to them.

The next best placed pair are Paul Fine & David Clayton in a superb 146th place.

Congratulations to all our members who took part in this very worthwhile event.

There are two ways to view the results on the Ecats website.

1. View via the "Ecats Bridge" link in the Left Hand menu or

2. Click the results for the 6th November and click the "Ecats Results" tab. 

Frome played in the Monday (24th July) event of the

EBU Summer Sim Pairs.

Twenty nine clubs from Bedford to Broadstairs and Oban to Oundle took part.

In total, 488 pairs were involved. The top pair from Frome, Ian Bell & David Brown finished a magnificent 15th nationally. The next best Frome pair, Sue Dunn & Richard King, came a splendid 68th nationally.  

We are sorry to give you the very sad news of the death of Hazel Wootton.  Our sympathy and best wishes are with her daughter Antonia and all the family.

A celebration of Hazel’s life will be held at Haycombe Crematorium on Monday 5th June at 12.15 p.m. followed by an invitation from the family to join them at

The Riverside Inn, The Shallows, Saltford BS31 3EZ at 1.15 p.m.

This picture was taken when Hazel was happy and healthy - viewing paintings on display at the home of Marianne Marrs as part of Frome Festival.

Hazel was a valued member of Frome Bridge Club and she will be sadly missed by all who knew her.

On Monday 5th July Frome BC took part in a Charity Sim Pairs organised by Ecats.

It was in aid of Kidney Research and the British Heart Foundation. Some 213 pairs from 12 clubs took part.

The best placed Frome pair was Tony Reed and Max Richens. They were in a superb 10th place. They were closely followed by Marianne Lewin and Geoffrey Jerrom-Pugh in an equally superb 11th place. Not far behind in 22nd place were Judy Harte-Lovelace and Alan Gristwood.

Well done to everbody who supported the event, especially the three pairs mentioned above. 

It is with great sorrow that Frome Bridge Club announces the sudden death of Chris Hogan.  Chris was a valued and valuable member of Frome Bridge Club. He was a long standing and hard-working member of the Club Committee and,

until very recently, was the Club's Treasurer, a post he held for over 16 years.

In this role, Chris always made sure that the club's accounts were in excellent order, and all bills were paid on time.   

Those of you who have been attending the club long enough will remember Chris playing with Ernie Cashen but, in more recent years, on a Monday evening, with John Brown. Members attending Thursday morning teaching sessions will have

seen Chris ‘sitting in’ at tables, giving advice and collecting payment.

He will be sadly missed as Treasurer but even more so as a fellow bridge player and a friend.

With three clubs still to declare their results Frome Bridge Club has three pairs in the top 50 of the 226 pairs in the event.

Best placed are Christine & Richard Moore in a superb 6th place.

David Thackaberry & Mike Peacock are in an excellent 24th place and Judy Harte-Lovelace & Alan Gristwood are in a fine 37th place.

Well done to all who took part and especially our best placed three pairs.

The final results of the Michael Coda Cup are now available. There were 216 pairs in the event. The best placed Frome pair was Gina & Frank Coltman who were placed 9th with 62.96%

Dave Latchem with Bob Warrender came 11th with 62.62%

Congratulations to these two pairs and huge thanks to all the other club members who supported this event. 

On Monday 23rd July the club took part in a heat of the

EBU Summer Sim Pairs 

We were delighted to entertain nine full tables.

At the moment Don Burgess and Mike Porteous are in a magnificent 2nd place in a field of 1112 pairs!

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Wow! What a splendid afternoon.

From Yvonne Kirby.

Dear All.

The total raised was a magnificent £1251

Thank you to everyone who supported this event.

 I think we can all agree, it was a most enjoyable afternoon.

Special thanks to Ray Nicholson who organised the Bridge,

ably supported by Margaret Donkin.

 Thank you both for the huge effort you put into this fund raising event.

Thanks also to Val and Edith who sold raffle tickets.

Grateful thanks to Averil and Rosalie from Wesley

who organised and served tea and cakes so efficiently.

 With much support from Lesley (wife of Frank Thomas).

Lesley also selected the winning raffle tickets.

 It was a great team effort.  Thank you ladies, you did a superb job.

Finally, thank you to all who supported this event.

The generosity of many was overwhelming.

The event was won by Carol & Ray Kenzie.

Very many thanks to you all.

Yvonne

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  Christmas 2023 Time to eat
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  Christmas toast 2023
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  A winning pair of 2023

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ 

CHRISTMAS PARTY MONDAY 18 DECEMBER 2023.

This was a superb event with 10.5 tables in play. Members brought plates of finger food which were enjoyed between 6-7pm. There was a fabulous selection of food on offer with enough to feed twice the number that attended.

All this was accompanied by non alcoholic mulled wine.

At 7p.m. battle commenced over the bridge tables.

At the end of a splendid evening the winning pairs were:

N/S  John Staite & Paul Fine

E/W  Gayle & Colin Webb

Happy Christmas to all at Frome Bridge Club and, for that matter, everywhere else as well.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ 

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The final matches of the Somerset County League season saw both our teams score resounding victories.
The matches were held on Friday 29th of March.

In Division 3, Ray Nicholson's team recorded an impressive 17-3 victory to win their division.

Their record for the season was five great wins and three defeats.

Promotion to Division 2 lies ahead next season.

Meanwhile, John Perry's team in Division 2 saved the best until last while recording a 20-0 victory over a team from Kingston Seymour. They finished 4th in their division with six wins and two defeats.

Congratulations to all the team members who represented the club throughout the season.
We hope that next year the club could be represented by three teams in the Somerset league.

After winning the Michael Coda Cup (MCC) heat at Frome

Helen Millar and Keith Haines were invited to take part

in the MCC Final. Fourteen pairs from clubs around Somerset

qualified for the final and Helen and Keith finished a very creditable 5th.

As of now, the event has raised £1525 for the High Sheriff's Trust.

Its work focuses on helping children and young people as well as the elderly.

Congratulations to Helen and Keith. 

On Monday 14th February the club took part in a heat of the

Michael Coda Cup.

The best placed Frome pairs are:

In 22nd place: Mary Giles & Roger Andrews and

In 25th place: Margaret Donkin & Ray Nicholson.

This year's chosen charity is the

Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance

The club will make a donation of £250 to the charity.

The final total raised is £2000.

The results of the Michael Coda Cup are now finalised and can be viewed on the Somerset CBA website

Frome did very well with two pairs in the top 10 of a field of 250 pairs.

Christine & Richard Moore were place 6th while

Tony Reed & Max Richens were 8th.

Grateful thanks to all who took part.
The club sent a donation of £200 to Clic Sargent the chosen charity.

We are delighted to congratulate

Margaret Carr on her recent 90th birthday.

There is good news and bad news.

Good:Once you reach 90 you are entitled to free annual club membership

Bad: This year we have suspended annual club membership.

Happy belated birthday Margaret. 

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  Collecting the strawberries 3
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  Strawberries under way
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  The team

Club members enjoyed a splendid

Mid-Summer Strawberries & Cream evening on

Monday 15th July

Huge thanks to Yvonne Kirby and her team.

Members of the club enjoying

Strawberries & Cream before doing battle at the bridge tables.

Don Burgess & Mike Porteous, one of the winning pairs,

are shown collecting their prizes.

Our thanks go to Yvonne Kirby for organising the strawberries. 

On Monday 22nd of July Frome Bridge Club played

a heat of the EBU Summer Sim Pairs.

Close to 500 pairs took part nationally representing 28 clubs.

Gayle & Colin Webb are the best placed Frome Pair.

They are in a superb 18th place with one club to submit their results.

In all, 6 Frome pairs are in the top 100 places.

Congratulations to all who played in this event.

Frome Bridge Club took part in a heat of Somerset's Michael Coda Cup charity event on Monday 12th February.

Other clubs involved on Monday were Langport, CrewKerne and Coxley with a total of 64 pairs in play.

Frome players did very well with 3 pairs in the top 10. The top Frome pair was made up of Di Bishop & David Clayton who were placed 5th. Well done to all of our pairs who supported this event.

Seven full tables took part in a Charity Sim. Pairs

at the club on Monday 17th April.

The charity was in aid of Earthquake Relief for Turkey and Syria.

Thirty one clubs took part with some 420 pairs in play.

The top three placed pairs from Frome are:

Ian Bell & Mike Porteous in 8th place.

Marianne Lewin & Christine Arnold in 37th place and

Eve Barwell and Stan Christie in 53rd place.

Congratulations and thanks to all who took part in the event.

Wilts CBA held its annual Green Point event at Bath University

over the weekend of 4th and 5th of March.

Frank Thomas and Ray Nicholson were in excellent form in the Saturday event

and, after winning 5 of their 7 matches, were placed an

excellent 9th of the 58 pairs in the competition.

Congratulations to both of them. 

On Friday, 25^th November, Frome Bridge Club players gathered for a social bridge event to support “Fair Frome”.

£725 was donated together with sixteen bags of food and toiletries.

We all enjoyed on afternoon of competitive bridge.

Marianne Lewin and David Stephenson (N\S) & Ray and Carol Kenzie ( E\W) were the winners.

Thank you all again for your support for this worthwhile cause..

Congratulations to Colin Webb on his recent

promotion to Grand Master

It was with sadness that we learned of the death of a former club member, Reg Dockerty.

Reg had played at the club for many years.

He died peacefully, at home on Saturday 14^th December.

Reg was a benefactor of the club. He provided the funds for us to buy the duplimator and Bridgemate tablets which gave a great boost to the revitalising of the club which has taken place over recent years.

The cremation will be at the West Wilts Crematorium at 1pm on Thursday 9^th of January.

On Monday 22nd of July the club took part in a heat of the

EBU Summer Sim. Pairs

Club members supported the event superbly with 14 full tables

The final result nationally is now available.

A total of 71 clubs took part involving 1159 pairs. Two of our pairs are in the top 100.

Mary Giles & Roger Andrews, who scored an impressive 70.83% at the club, are in 8th position.

Our North/South winners, Christine & Richard Moore, are 56th nationally.

Congratulations to both pairs for an excellent performance.

Results, Commentary and Booklets can be viewed on the EBU website.

The full results of the Michael Coda Cup have now been published on the Somerset County Website.

You can access the county website by clicking the link in the bottom left box of this page.

Frome has done very well with 3 pairs in the top twenty.

Best were Chris Butland & David Alsford placed 14th then

Don Burgess & Mike Porteous in 16th spot.

Marianne Lewin & Norman Bishop were 20th and

Chris Hogan & John Brown were just outside in 22nd place.

Well done to all pairs.

The club sent £150 for the supported charities.

The overall  results for the Michael Coda Cup have been published on the SCBA website.

Frome pairs featured in the top 11 places.

Our best position was obtained by Marianne Lewin and David Alsford who were placed a superb 4th.

Don Burgess and Mike Porteous came an excellent 10th and Colin & Gayle Webb were placed an equally excellent 11th.

The full results plus the hands and the commentary have now been published on the SCBA website.

This can be accessed via www.bridgewebs.com/somerset

The charity this year is: Somerset Cancer Care

At the club AGM on Monday 18th May,

members voted overwhelmingly in favour

of the decision to buy a duplimator.

Andrew visited the club on Monday 24th November

He provided an excellent Q&A session which gave much food for thought for club members.

He remained with us for bridge and carried the Club Secretary to top spot.

We are indebted to him for sharing his

 expertise with us.

The winners of the Club % Pairs for 2013/2014 are Veronica Kilroy and John Perry. They beat Diane Price and Sue Buckels by 0.05%!!

Veronica Kilroy also won the Individual Club Championship.

Well done.

Results have been published for this charity event. This year it was in aid of Arthritis Research and raised at least £1200. The event was well supported with 205 pairs from all over Somerset taking part.

The best placed Frome pair was Marianne Lewin & Norman Bishop who came 15th with 61.44%. Next were Sue Buckels & Diane Price (48th) and then Veronica Kilroy & John Perry (59th)  

A huge thanks to club members for their support of our heat of the CIN Charity Sim Pairs.

We were delighted that 20 pairs took part.

Overall there were 85 clubs involved with 1391 pairs in total.

The best placed Frome pair was Andrew Humberstone & Stuart Ennals who were placed 92nd

Next best were Jan & Jack Smith who came 155th.

Thank you all for such excellent support.

Marianne Lewin & Norman Bishop

Winners of our % Pairs Competition 2018

Receiving their trophy from Club Chairman Don Burgess 

at our recent AGM.

Notes on the 

full range of Benji ACOL 2 Level Opening Bids

have been added to the library

Click "Library" on the left hand menu to view.

Congratulations to Max Harris who was promoted

to the rank of Local Master in Feb. 2016

Frome played their 4th match in the County League programme on Friday 11th December.

We made our usual start and went 14 imps down at half time. Heads in hands, we sat with thoughts that the match was slipping away.

However, revived by coffee and biscuits, we stormed back to win by 24imps which gave a match result of 15-5 VPs in our favour.

Congratulations to all the team.

An 8 table movement played as a Mitchell

An excellent performance by Marianne Lewin & Norman Bishop who scored 72% to win for North/South.

Congratulations to Jean & Gordon Kershaw

who were the East/West winners.

On Friday 14th November Frome played its second match in the County League.

Our opponents were a Langport team captained by Alan Atkinson.

It is a strong team containing players who have represented Somerset.

It was a roller coaster of a match with large imp swings going in both directions.

In the end, Langport ran out winners by 13VPs to 7VPs

Langport now replace us at the top of the division.

The Wilts AGM Chairman's Cup took place on Sunday 6th April. Some 37 pairs were involved in the competition. Jenny Hazelgrove playing with Veronica Kilroy did very well and were placed 9th in the event. Well done.

The club result for the Michael Coda Cup

is now on the website.

The commentary can be viewed on the

SCBA website. Go to "Latest Updates" then

"Michael Coda Cup Commentary"

Lessons for Begginners and Improvers restarted in January. Attendance is very encouraging with 28 students involved on Thursday 23rd January.

Frome played their first Somerset League match of the season on Friday 11th October. This is our second year in the "B" Division.

An excellent start with a 13 - 7 win over Minehead.

Well done to all the team.

Club members enjoyed a superb finger buffet on Monday 16 December accompanied by a warm spiced drink.

It was followed by duplicate bridge with 12 tables competing for prizes.

The event was organised by Yvonne Kirby with great help for Carol & Ray Kenzie and Margaret Donkin.

Our grateful thanks go to Yvonne and her team. This was the last Monday evening of 2019. The next Monday session will be on Monday 6th January 2020.

As from 7th October

Bridge will start at 7pm

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  Time for food 5

On Friday, 24^th June, Ray Nicholson and Margaret Donkin organised and hosted a Bridge Event at Frome Bridge Club, in order to raise money in support of the Ukraine.   Of course, everyone played bridge, but they also had lots of fun and laughs, as well as a wonderful tea, provided by all who came, but co-ordinated in some style by Yvonne Kirby, Chairman of Frome Bridge Club. There was also a raffle, with prizes too numerous to mention, so few people left without something by which to remember the event.

Whilst the primary aim was to support the Ukraine, it would be unfair to report on this without mentioning the winners – joint first, North/South, were Vince Parker and Tim Burnham, and Diane Price and Yvonne Kirby, whilst the winners East/West were Angela Hill and Margaret Carr, with Jack and Jan Smith a close second.

Wesley Church kindly allowed us to use the venue free of charge.

The event raised £1000 for the Ukraine.   Frome Bridge Club would like to offer its thanks and gratitude to Ray Nicholson and Margaret Donkin for all their thought and hard work in planning and organising this event.

The Frome team played their latest match in the Somerset County League on Friday 23rd January. Our opponents were a strong team representing Wilton Bridge Club. They are currently in second place in the division.

As in previous matches, we went behind in the first half and the interval saw us 14 imps down. However, we fought back in the second half and ran out winners by 13 VPs to 7 VPs.

Onward and upward!!!

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  Also prize winners
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  Surveying the table
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  The winning pair

Members of Frome Bridge Club enjoyed a delightful Christmas Party on Monday 10th December.

An American Supper with superb food was followed by a full evening of bridge for the 40 people who attended.

The winning pair was Marianne Lewin with Norman Bishop.

Other prize winners were Christine Arnold with Brian Tanner.

Our thanks go to Yvonne Kirby and her team for organizing such a splendid evening.

The problem with uploading last Monday's (May 7th) results has been resolved

The results can now be viewed as usual. In addition, the results have been uploaded to the EBU.

The problem was as a result of the corruption of a piece of data which links Scorebridge to Bridgewebs.

Thank you for your patience with this matter.

At the half way stage of the tournament the standings are as follows:

Way out in front with 185 MP is Ray Nicholson followed by Frank Thomas with 138 MP.Next we find Marianne Lewin & Norman Bishop with 124 MP each and closely behind Don Burgess & Mike Porteous with 120 MP. 

It was with shock and sadness that we learned today of

the sudden death of one of our members, Mary Frost.

Four years ago, Mary was one of the first people to come to the Thursday Bridge lessons. From there, together with her partner Judith Mathews, she became a regular on Monday nights as well.

Mary was a kind and caring person, always one of the first to help with clearing away or washing up. Always friendly and always cheerful.

Neither Thursdays nor Mondays will be quite the same without her. She will of course be most missed by her family, but she will be missed as well by all of us at Frome Bridge Club who were accustomed to seeing her at the bridge table.

Details of Mary's funeral have been confirmed as:

Friday 6th October at 1pm in Rodden Church

The final results for the Michael Coda Cup can now be viewed on the SCBA Somerset website.

It can be accessed by www.bridgewebs.com/somerset and clicking Results for Michael Coda Cup

The hand records together with a commentary can also be viewed on the Somerset SCBA website

by clicking "Michael Coda Commentary".

The club sent a donation of £150 for this year's charity the

RNLI.

The club results are now available on the website and

the national results can be found on the ECats website.

One hundred and forty teams took part from Dover to Derby and Frome to Folkestone.

Congratulations to Don Burgess and Mike Porteous,the best placed Frome pair.

They currently lie 206th out of a field of 2472 pairs.

The club is going to send £150 to the Children in Need Charity.

Thanks go to all club members who supported the event.