| Chairman's Bridge Blog - March 2025 |
I believe that this blog will emerge at roughly the same time as I touch down back in the UK after a much anticipated break in Madeira. Hopefully there will be no great unreported dramas occurring whilst I am away, but these days you never know …
Devonshire Cup 2025
The Roehampton Club Blue Team of Peter Bonnor Morris, Malcolm Bricknell, Ralph Evers, Peter Hardyment and Philip Howard succeeded in winning the Devonshire Cup competition on Tuesday 25th February thereby successfully retaining it for Roehampton Club for another year. Hurrah!
The competition is hosted by the RAC and features a number of West End clubs together with Sports Clubs like Hurlingham and Roehampton Club.
After a close first half, Roehampton Club Blue built on its slender lead and so managed a good win over an RAC team in the final of the Cup. Meanwhile a Portland Club team were victorious in the Plate over a Hurlingham team.
Fixtures
The match programme is now picking up rapidly with away fixtures against AELTC and the MCC coming up soon. Selection is also underway for matches in early May against Hurlingham, Queens and Royal Mid Surrey.
Club competitions
The Club pairs competition – the Founders Trophy took place over two sessions on Monday 10th and 17th February. Winners of the competition are entitled to represent Roehampton club in the Surrey EBU Mary Edwards Competition.
Ron and Ralph emerged as convincing winners with an outstanding average over both sessions of 65 % – very well done.
There were also good performances from Peter Hardyment and Malcolm, Julie Bacon and Rita, Peter and Henryka Bonnor Morris and Marion Tamblyn and Kate Blake.
Club Refurbishment
The club refurbishment seems to be proceeding well with no real disruption to our Bridge programme to date. It appears that Bridge Room refurbishment will start towards early May with plans to move us temporarily to one of the newly refurbished function rooms. So hopefully disruption should be minimal across all of the Bridge programme. Good news also that the Club now has its planning to implement the extension to the Terrace and that this can proceed fairly quickly.
Charity Events
The RAC Ross Cope Teams event will take place at the Royal Automobile Club Pall Mall on Thursday 27th March starting at 6pm. Roehampton Club Members are invited to apply as a team of four to participate. Cost is £25 per person which includes a High Tea. The competition was named in remembrance of a well-known and popular member of the RAC’s Bridge Circle.
Malcolm Bricknell, Bridge Chair
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| We have won the Devonshire Cup again.....2025!!! |
Devonshire Cup 2025
Congratulations to the Roehampton Blue Team of Peter Bonnor Moris, Malcolm Bricknell, Ralph Evers, Peter Hardyment and Philip Howard on winning the Devonshire Cup trophy on Tuesday 25th February thereby successfully retaining it for Roehampton for another year!
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| RAC Annual Ross Cope Swiss Teams Event |
The RAC Ross Cope Teams event will take place at the Royal Automobile Club Pall Mall on Thursday 27th March starting at 6 pm. Roehampton Club members are cordially invited to apply as a team of four to participate. Cost is £25 per person which includes a High Tea.
The competition was named in remembrance of a well known and popular member of the Club's Bridge Circle.
Application forms in the form below can be obtained from emailing
bridge-support@royalautomobileclub.co.uk
Copies are also available from the Bridge noticeboard
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| Chairman's Blog - Feb 2025 |
Bridge Blog – Feb 2025
It was encouraging throughout January to see a good steady resumption of our different bridge activities with minimal disruption from the Club refurbishment programme. As I write, we are all now considering our third chair alternative, (if we include sticking with our present ones), and it will be interesting to see how the selection finally turns out. Personally, I am happy with any of the alternatives on offer and pleased that we have been well consulted and have a number of good options to choose from. Chair support and comfort is an important issue for many of our Members. Hopefully the final selection will work for everyone.
Fixtures
The match programmes are now resuming with away fixtures frontloaded as planned (for obvious reasons). The away fixture against AELTC is always very popular although trips to the MCC and RMS (Ladies’ Golf League) are also attractive options.
Club Competitions
The Club pairs competition – the Founders Trophy is taking place over two sessions on Monday 10th and 17th February instead of the usual Duplicate Bridge sessions. To be eligible to win, pairs need to be both Club Members and play in both sessions. Winners of the competition will be entitled to represent Roehampton Club in the Surrey EBU Mary Edwards Competition which is due to be held on 11th May at Wimbledon Bridge Club.
Club Refurbishment
The Club Refurbishment seems to be proceeding well with no disruption to our bridge programme, apart from the occasional banging noises during the daytime sessions. We expect to play in the Bridge Room through to mid or late March, after which bridge will switch to the Fountain Room (or similar) while the Bridge Room is refurbished.
Charity Events
On Tuesday 21st January the Bridge Room hosted the Lady Golf Captain’s Charity event. Congratulations to the organisers and supporters for raising an excellent £1,298 for FiSH and for introducing some new people to supporting their work. It was also nice to invite guests to our Bridge Room in support of a worthy cause. Well done Claire!
Outside Competitions
We were slightly unlucky in our first round of the Devonshire Cup with only one team going through to the next round. One of our losing teams appears to have been on the wrong end of some dubious TD decisions. It does however give us good chances in both the Cup and the Plate events.
On a personal note, it was nice to be in the winning team for the Wimbledon Bridge Club team’s competition – the Boschler Cup. Diane did a great job in holding her end up, as well as modelling her designer knitwear. Jim Boschler was a character who many of us will have enjoyed playing against.
Malcolm Bricknell, Bridge Chair
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| Bridge Guest and Member Pricing |
General points from the AGM in regards to guests / pricing.
The attached file for the pricing has been (roughly) agreed with Louis / the bridge committee.
Please raise any genuine concerns with Louis / Malcolm.
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| Chairman's Blog - Nov 2024 |
Bridge Blog
It’s hard to believe that we are now well into autumn and starting to think about our plans for the Christmas party season. As usual we have had a busy autumn programme with a number of very interesting fixtures and results.
Swiss Teams
Many thanks to Belinda for organising the Roehampton Club Swiss Teams event on 20th October with her usual flair and efficiency. It was good to have 26 teams playing and the larger playing area overlooking the garden worked well and was appreciated by the players.
It was also very encouraging to have two Roehampton Club teams finishing in the top positions. The winning Roehampton Club Woodentops team of Ron Wood, Nigel Aspinall, Diana Wilson and Sue Dodson conquered all with a very impressive winning margin of 13 imps, presumably with the help of a few splinters. Has to be a blossoming team for the future …
Congratulations also to the runners up Peter Hardyment, Malcolm Bricknell, Peter Bonnor-Morris and Ralph Evers on a solid effort.
Centenary Cup
On Sunday 27th October we played in the Queens Centenary Cup competition at the Cumberland Club with our team competing to retain this trophy against strong competition from the four other clubs involved (AELTC, Cumberland, Queens and Hurlingham).
With all our team playing well we managed to win by the large margin of + 116 imps compared to + 7 for the second placed Cumberland Club team, with the other teams all slipping into negative territory.
Well done to Peter Hardyment, Malcolm Bricknell, Peter Bonnor-Morris, Ron Wood, Danny Gesua, Sally Gesua, Viv Harris and Marion Tamblyn.
Handicap Pairs
Congratulations to John Maskell and Marianne Atterbury for winning the Handicap Pairs competition on 11th November.
Well done also to Sue Gabriel and Ron Wood for claiming second place and to Claire Martin and Daniel Cohen for finishing third.
No Fears Trophy
Congratulations to Corinna Evers and Stephanie Woods for a very impressive performance in winning the No Fears Trophy on 10th October by a comfortable margin. Good performances were also registered from Sally Harper and Mikaela Parker and Caroline and Alan Jenkins in claiming the next two places.
Important Calendar Dates
We are looking forward to having our Bridge Christmas Dinner on Saturday 7th December. The poster has gone up for this and bookings are open. This is of course our biggest social event of the year and should be a fun occasion with some very relaxed Bridge to follow.
Click here for the poster and menu
Bookings are now open for the Social Duplicate Christmas special on 12th December. Click here for the poster and more details
Bridge Room Closure
We were grateful to Marc Newey and Michael Hill for joining us after the duplicate session on 28th October to explain the plans for the Club refurbishment scheduled for first half 2025. The Bridge Room itself is likely to be closed for some time around the period of March and April with alternative arrangements being planned. We are all hoping that the arrangements we had during the construction of the new bar can be repeated, although apparently this cannot be guaranteed at this stage.
Completed Matches
We had an enjoyable and relaxed match against the All England Club on 16th October. The Roehampton Club team were unusually trailing by 5 imps at the half way stage. However, a really strong second half performance ensured that in the end we managed a solid victory of 82 imps thereby retaining the Hough Cup for another year.
Our ‘friendlies’ against RAC Woodcote and Hurlingham Ladies in October went well with a modest win in the Woodcote match and a narrow defeat in the Hurlingham game.
Playing Schedules
The Friday Teams sessions has now reverted to the first and third Fridays of the month. Thanks to Nigel for stepping back in again to run these.
Following the discussions in the AGM, we have arranged for 27 boards to be played at the Monday afternoon sessions and 20 or 21 on Thursday evenings.
Charity Events
On Friday 13th December Roehampton Club will host the Annual Bridge Drive on behalf of the Friends of Queen Mary Hospital. This will take place from 2pm to 5 pm and includes afternoon tea and a raffle. Further details of this worthy event which Roehampton Club regularly supports are available on the noticeboard.
Malcolm Bricknell, Bridge Chair
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| Chairman's Blog - Oct 2024 |
We are now well and truly into our new bridge season as we go into October and the weather starts to turn more autumnal and the days get shorter. As our new bridge season kicks off, there are plenty of activities for Members to look forward to.
Teaching and Supervised Play
Niall started his new term of Monday evening classes on 11th September (7pm to 9pm). His Wednesday morning sessions are at the usual time of 10am to 12pm and he is also running a regular Friday morning session from 10am to 12pm covering guidance on special hands and play. So, plenty of opportunities to attend his classes.
Loulou and Arnold’s supervised play sessions restarted on Tuesday 10th September and takes place from 2pm onwards in the Bridge Room.
James Thrower has also recently started a new course for beginners which takes place from 10am to 12pm on Monday mornings. Opportunities to join this course are still available.
Maria is again running her Jackpot Chicago sessions on Thursday afternoons which all are welcome to join.
The Friday Teams continues the afternoon of the 3rd Friday of the month until November when it will revert to the first and third Fridays of the month. Thanks to Nigel for stepping back in again and to Maria and Ron for keeping it going over the summer.
John Maskell has just started a new supervised play session mainly aimed at supporting the beginners’ classes and less experienced players who work and are therefore unable to attend Club daytime sessions. These sessions will take place on Tuesday evenings from 7pm to 9pm and interested parties can get in contact with him for further information.
Important Calendar Dates
On Monday 14th October we will be holding the Bridge AGM which as usual will take place immediately after the afternoon Duplicate session and will then be followed by a reception.
We will be holding the Roehampton Club Swiss Teams event on Sunday 20th October. I gather from Belinda that we have received strong interest, so I am sure this will be a great showcase event for the Club as usual.
On Sunday 27th October we will play in the Centenary Cup at the Cumberland Club where our team will compete to retain this trophy, as we managed to win it last time.
We also have a number of interesting upcoming matches including All England, RAC Woodcote and Hurlingham Ladies.
Completed Matches
We had an eventful golf and bridge match against Royal Mid Surrey on Friday 27th September. The weather was shockingly bad with heavy rain forcing us to abandon our golf after only five holes being played. We did however have an enjoyable game of bridge, which Roehampton Club won fairly convincingly, and a pleasant lunch afterwards.
Charity Events
On Friday 13th December Roehampton Club will host the Annual Bridge Drive on behalf of the Friends of Queen Mary Hospital. This will take place from 2pm to 5pm and includes afternoon tea and a raffle. Further details of this worthy event which Roehampton Club regularly supports are available on the noticeboard.
Royal Mid Surrey are inviting clubs it is involved with to join them for Sunday Lunch (optional) and Duplicate Bridge on 20th October and / or 17th November. Further details are available on the Board or through BridgeWebs.
Purley Downs Golf Club is running a Charity Bridge Drive on Monday 11th November with afternoon tea and prizes. Start time is 1.30pm and the beneficiary is Maggie’s at the Royal Marsden.
Malcolm Bricknell, Bridge Chair
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| Bridge Section Annual Meeting - Monday 14th Oct, 5:30 pm |
The Bridge Section Annual Meeting will be held on Monday 14th October at around 5.30 pm. As usual it will take place immediately after the afternoon Duplicate session.
The Annual Meeting will be followed by a drinks reception and all members are cordially invited to attend both events.
The attached link should take you to the "Minutes of the 2023 Annual Meeting" - just click anywhere....
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| New Supervised Bridge Session for Beginners and Developing Players |
New Supervised Bridge Session for Beginners and Developing Players
When: Tuesday Evenings from 7 pm to 9 pm during Winter and Easter Terms
Starts: Tuesday 1st October 2024 and every Tuesday Evening in Winter and Spring, but maybe not summer
Where: Bridge Room
Price: Free
Following on from the enormous success of Lou Lou and Arnold’s Supervised Tuesday afternoon sessions we are going to launch an evening session which is perhaps more focused on beginners and those with gainful employment who cannot make the afternoon session.
There will be some experienced players on hand to answer questions.
The advice given will generally follow the Paul Mendelson way of playing Acol Bidding and Play.
Or if you would like a similar Acol crib sheet version then use the one from Nofearbridge.co.uk
Please turn up individually or as a pair or as a table of 4. It will be fun.
Please spread the word around and if you are experienced and would like to help, please get in touch with John Maskell on 07557 965 952.
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| Bridge Restart Dates |
As we go into September there are a number of restart dates for Bridge Members to be aware of.
Niall Igoe will continue running his intermediate classes each Wednesday morning from 10 -12 am in the Bridge Room. His Monday evening classes have now restarted and take place from 7 to 9 pm. Niall has drawn up a schedule of subjects he intends to cover in each session which is available from him on request or at his lessons.
Niall has also now started a new regular Bidding and Play session on Friday mornings from 10 am to 12 am.
Loulou and Arnold have now restarted their Supervised play sessions which will run each Tuesday afternoon from 2 pm in the Bridge Room.
James Thrower has just started his new beginners’ course which will run on Monday mornings between 10 and 12 am.
The Friday Teams Practice will continue to be once a month on the 3rd Friday until November from when it is planned to be run twice a month on the first and Third Fridays. Start time is 1.30 pm.
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| Charman's Blog - Sept 2024 |
Beginners’ Bridge Course
There is going to be a new beginners' Bridge Course with James Throwner - Monday mornings 10am to 12pm, from 16th September to 4th November. This will cost £96 per Member – which is a lot cheaper than at other bridge clubs. Sign up for the term at Reception or give the team a call on 020 8480 4200
More information
Teaching and Supervised Play
Niall is planning to start his new term of Monday evening classes on 9th September (7pm to 9pm). His Wednesday morning sessions will continue at the usual time of 10am to 12am.
The supervised play sessions run by Loulou and Arnold will restart on Tuesday 10th September from 2pm onwards in the Bridge Room.
Important Calendar Dates
There are a number of upcoming matches for Members to look forward to including AELTC, Woodcote, RMS and Hurlingham Ladies. The no fears trophy competition is scheduled for Thursday 10th October.
On Monday 14th October we will be holding the Bridge AGM which as usual will take place immediately after the afternoon Duplicate session and will then be followed by a reception.
We will be holding the Roehampton Club Swiss Teams event on Sunday 20th October. I gather from Belinda that we are already seeing strong interest, so I am sure this will be a great showcase event as usual. Click here for the poster
On Sunday 27th October we will play in the Centenary Cup at the Cumberland Club where our team will compete to retain this trophy, as we managed to win it last time round.
Completed Matches
We had a great bridge and tennis match against Hurlingham on Friday 30th August. The weather was wonderful and the grass courts in really good condition, especially considering the time of year.
Our team consisted of Danny Gesua (Captain), Nick Baybutt, Malcolm Bricknell, Lorna Bhasin, Nicola Dearman, Sally Harper, Simon Lucas, Mikaela Parker, and Nikki Walker. We managed an excellent all-round performance with the final score being 23.5 to 8.5 in favour of Roehampton Club. Thanks are particularly due to Danny for some great organisation and stepping in to play tennis at the last minute. Also, to Nikki for similarly stepping in to play Bridge at very short notice and to her and Nicola for then winning all their matches!
Our golf and bridge match against the MCC at Beaconsfield was also eventful, after one of the Roehampton Club players had to be taken to hospital from the golf course. Fortunately, after being retained for a period of observation, he has emerged looking fitter than ever. It was good to hear that the match was actually completed after two of the local lady Members kindly stepped in to make up our numbers. In spite of everything a Roehampton Club win was reported, although I think in the circumstances a draw might be considered a fairer outcome!
Malcolm Bricknell, Bridge Chair
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| Chairman's Blog - Aug 2024 |
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| Chairman's Blog - June 2024 |
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Bridge Blog – 13th June 2024
Many thanks to Libby for organising the Bridge Summer Party which took place Thursday 6th June. The weather favoured us, so we were able to enjoy our Pimm’s in the Garden before moving on to a super buffet followed by some Chicago Bridge. It was a very pleasant social event for the Bridge Section. Congratulations to Ellie and Myles for the top score and to Arnold and Loulou for bidding (and making) their slam.
Club Matches
I am happy to report that our teams are continuing to do well in different matches and competitions. The Bridge Room trophy cabinet is now officially full up! We had a convincing win by 81 imps in our home match against Queens Club on 7th May. Congratulations to the team captained by Ron on such a formidable result. Our match on 14th May against the Oxford and Cambridge Club was a much closer affair with Roehampton Club eventually winning by the slender margin of 7 imps. With a large number of relatively flat boards the result was largely decided in the end by Marion Kreiling making a difficult Six Diamonds doubled resulting in a big swing to the good guys.
Competitions
Congratulations to the Lady Golfers team captained by Sandra Fox in retaining the Windmill trophy again this year ahead of Burhill, St Georges Hill, Royal Mid Surrey and Royal Wimbledon. The winning team seems to have involved quite a wide group of players including Viv, Sally, Marion, Loulou, Gunilla. Claire, Wendy, Ellie, Diane, Henryka, Sue Gabriel and Joan. Congratulations also to Belinda Stone and her team for doing really well in the Surrey Tennis League and collecting a trophy, although not quite as the winning team this year. The regulars included Belinda, Val, Sue Norgate and Caroline Jenkins with Henryka, Ron and Kate Blake standing in when others were away. Seemingly very enjoyable and relaxed Bridge for everyone involved. Peter Hardyment and I had a good session at Wimbledon Bridge Club on Sunday 12th May in winning the Mary Edwards Cup. This is the Surrey Pairs competition for winners of the individual club competitions.
Peter and I represented Roehampton Club in place of Peter and Henryka Bonnor-Morris (winners of the 2024 Roehampton Pairs competition) who were abroad at the time. Peter and I were joined by Danny and Sally Gesua last Sunday in representing Roehampton Club in the Surrey Teams competition playing for the Wanborough Cup. Leading after five rounds by a slender margin we dropped heavily after two bad boards but finished a creditable 3rd out of 12 teams against some strong opposition.
Paul Mendelson will be visiting soonish and hopefully joining our duplicate session on 1st July and I am sure quite a few people would like to catch up with him then.
Malcolm Bricknell, Bridge Chair
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| NEW Intermediate' teaching sessions: every Friday. Sign up on bridge board....10 am - Midday. Where: Bridge Room. Members Only Please |
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