News Update 4th January 2025

1. Happy New Year and a big thank you to all our members for continuing to support Sovereign Harbour Bridge Club.
2. On Thursday, 9 January, a big turnout is expected at our afternoon session (it’s full!) ahead of our New Year Party at SHYC’s Royal Sovereign Suite. On the day:
- space will be available all day to hang coats, etc outside SHYC’s Royal Sovereign Suite rather than overload the racks in the SHYC Bar/Chart Room
- a soft drink alternative will be available to members preferring not to drink wine as a preamble to the festive meal and
- please refrain from ‘amending’ the table/seating plan as it is geared to SHYC’s service schedule.
3. If you have symptoms of a cold, flu, etc., please consider other members/guests who may be at risk - and stay home.

Alan R Middleton
4 January, 2025

News Update 5th December 2024

1. New Year Party on Thursday, 9 January 2025
Reservations must be made by 19 December - but, the sooner the better, please.
For the moment, please note that:
- reservations/menu choices (see SHBC website) should be notified to Christine Till
- payment should be made via BACs (Sort Code 23 05 80/Account 34877173)
- payment may be made in cash when attending SHBC bridge sessions.
Action, please.

2. Bridge session preceding New Year Party on 9 January 2025
Given the demand for places at the New Year Party itself, the bridge session will be extremely busy that day and, accordingly, priority will be given:
- initially, to members (and their guests) with New Year Party reservations
- and then to members without reservations and, in turn, visitors.
Given the numbers already registered for the New Year Party the afternoon bridge session will be limited to 56 players (i.e. The absolute limit of our capacity) – further news update to follow by 17 December.

The format of the session will be decided on the day itself.

3. Commencement of bridge sessions
Members are reminded that it is necessary to arrive at SHYC by 1 pm, thus enabling the director:
- to determine the numbers available to play (and the role of the host, if any)
- to instruct the scorer as to the tables required, movement to be played, etc. and
- to announce the movement and other instructions to the members,
thus allowing play to commence at 1.15. p.m.
Regrettably, there have been occasions recently when latecomers have been accommodated and chaos has ensued (with Bridgemates, seating arrangements and/or movements between tables in varying degrees of disarray). In future, members and visitors who arrive after 1 p.m. will NOT be accommodated unless advance warning of their late check-in has been communicated to the director.

4. Christmas/New Year holidays
The session on Thursday, 12 December will be a festive occasion with mince pies, etc.
The last session of 2024 will be on Thursday, 19 December.
The first session of 2025 will be on Thursday, 2 January.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Alan R Middleton
Chairman, SHBC
 

Sovereign Harbour Bridge Club News update
Friday 25 October 2024

1. Lupus Charity Day

The event was very well attended with 12 tables and a closely fought contest in which Caroline Kemp and Mark Elliott emerged victorious ahead of Susan Sinsbury and David Lampert. Pictures of the presentation of the Yvonne Buss trophy are to be found on the SHBC website.

Happily, members were very generous in their support of Lupus UK, such that we were able to send £400 to the charity. Thank you to all concerned, especially Bill Buss.

2. Dates for your diary

Nothing new to report except that the SHBC New Year Party will be held on Thursday, 9 January 2025 at SHYC’s Royal Sovereign Suite - very much along the lines of previous years with precise information to follow in say late November.

Please remember that the EBU’s Children in Need event scheduled for 12 November will be Simultaneous Pairs - any questions, please contact Norman Stutters.

3. Membership

We welcomed Susan Sinsbury and David Lampert as new members this month and were pleased to have Gill Brown resume her membership after her accident.

There is no shortage of would-be members. Accordingly, your committee is of the view that any member who has not played since April 2024 should reflect on their position and let me know their intentions.

4. Christmas Newsletter

Robin Levett has volunteered to mastermind the production of such a letter - yet again! However, he needs contributions from members - so, thinking caps on please and let Robin know what you have in mind as soon as possible…..something you would wish to share with other members, not necessarily related to bridge. Robin’s deadline is 25 November with a view to ‘publication’ in early December. Need I say more?

Sovereign Harbour Bridge Club - News Update 

Monday 16th September 

1. EBU Festival of Bridge

In recent days, members have given great support to Bridge - it’s a  Big Deal in support of Cancer Research UK. To this end:

- 12 members travelled to East Sussex National on Wednesday, 11 September to play Chicago Bridge in three 2-hour slots starting at 8 o’clock in the morning (somewhat beyond the call of duty!) and

- raffles held on 5 and 10 September yielded £350 withupwards of 50 prizes donated by members (primarily bottles ranging from Prosecco to Fairy Liquid, as well as an array of cakes).

Consequently, the committee has approved the immediate payment of £200 to Cancer Research UK via the EBU and will put the remaining £150 towards our contribution to Lupus UK next month.

A very big thank you is due to Caroline Kemp who organised both our representation at East Sussex National (together with 4 other bridge clubs) and our two raffles. Well done, Caroline and her team. Photos of our members supporting the event are to be seen on the front page of the club web site. I 👀

2. SHBC Website

Members might recall that a huge effort was made in the last twelve months to revamp our dedicated website. Accordingly, it was very gratifying to have a member of another bridge club express her appreciation of our efforts in this respect!

3. Dates for your diary

26 September - Peter Wraight Trophy

24 October - Yvonne Buss Trophy

12 November - Children in Need

Further details of these bridge tournaments are to be found on the website.

Arrangements for our Christmas/New Year party at SHYC in early January 2025 are under discussion.

In closing, let me express my appreciation of your support of SHBC which continues to prosper with membership full (and 19 applications to join),  a record number of tables per session, sound finances and an active social life.

Alan R Middleton, Chairman

A. The AGM held on Thursday, 30 May 2024 was attended by 38 members - an excellent turnout. The minutes of the meeting have been placed on the SHBC website - Members Only section.

B. Discussions held subsequent to the AGM have focused on the need to vary sessions from time to time, such that the following programme has been agreed/confirmed through end-2024:
- 26 September: Peter Wraight Trophy event for players with an ngs of 8 or less. (everybody is welcome to play in the session)
- 24 October: Yvonne Buss Trophy/Lupus UK event - handicap format
- 21 November: Children in Need event - sims pairs requiring the designated dealers and scorers to liaise with the EBU well ahead of time
- 19 December: Teams event
as well as special ‘off-site’ team events organised by Hilary and Mark.

Where appropriate, events will be enhanced with festive fare, raffles, etc.

In addition, each month the sit-out direction will alternate - where possible, which is not always the case.

C. Members were invited at the AGM to give their ideas as to how SHBC funds should best be used given that, to date, a modest surplus has been accumulated despite the ravages of the pandemic and the significant outlay of late on dealing machines, Bridgemates, etc. Should the need to relocate SHBC arise, the establishment of a contingency or rainy day fund was raised, whereas others were keen to see:
- charitable donations extended beyond Lupus UK (agreed in principle some time ago)
- social functions further subsided by SHBC (another barbecue) and/or
- playing equipment upgraded.
These suggestions and other ideas will be discussed by the committee this month.

Alan R Middleton, Chairman
4 June 2024

News Update 6th May 2024 - Sovereign Harbour Bridge Club

1.  Membership
 New members welcomed to SHBC - Bruce Armstrong, Russell Calderwood, Mary Davidson, Paul Williams, Shizuko Bell, Chimi Notenboom, George Jaklinski and Jeanne Boydell.

 2.  EBU  Summer Meeting in Glorious Eastbourne in August 2024
 Fame at last! Members will be delighted to read that the May 2024 edition of the EBU’s English Bridge magazine gives national recognition to SHBC! It tells all EBU members attending the meeting that ‘Eastbourne has two thriving bridge clubs - Eastbourne and Sovereign Harbour - should they want to extend their holiday but not forego the pleasures of a simple card game’.

 3. Session set-up and direction

 Members are required to arrive by 1 p.m. for a 1.15 p.m. start, but there are occasions when circumstances prevent arrival on time - breakdown, traffic delays, etc. If so, every effort should be made to  inform Viv Morris (Mobile 07984 957 649) or Sarah Sanders, SHYC Office Administrator (Tel 01323 470888) that you will be late or just can’t make it.

 Every effort is made to accommodate would-be bridge players and, accordingly, shortly after 1 p.m. decisions have to be made by the session director as to:
 - the number of tables required (taking account of those present and ‘latecomers’ who are known to be en route) and
 - the movement to be played.
 Then, the director will instruct the designated scorer to proceed following which the session movement is announced and the Bridgemates, boards, etc. are distributed for action.

 If a session has started, but latecomers can be accommodated, the session director will consider whether:
 - to suspend play pending a decision to resume the session ‘as is’ or exceptionally
 - to abandon the session and issue fresh instructions.
 In these matters, it is the session director who decides how to proceed and to instruct latecomers, scorers, etc. accordingly.

 4.  Committee meeting on 2 May, 2024
 At its meeting, the committee:
 - approved the financial statements as of 31 March, 2024 for presentation to the members at the AGM on 28 May, 2024
 - approved the extension of our agreement with SHYC as from 1 July, 2024
 - approved the guidelines governing dealing, set-up and scoring processes
 - noted the progress of the teams events launched recently by Hilary and Mark
 - noted that membership is at full capacity with a waiting list.
 As always, the committee appreciates the ongoing support of the members. Thank you.

 Alan R. Middleton, Chairman SHBC

News Update 12 March 2024


1. SHBC Website
The long-promised revamp of our website has been completed thanks to the sterling efforts of Mark Elliott and Robin Levett. Members are invited to have a look-see and advise Robin of any further changes or improvements which might be made.

Further, it would be helpful if members could check their personal data (included in Members Only) and effect any changes which might be required (then, inform Christine Till, Membership Secretary, as appropriate viz email, telephone data).

2. Automation
It is now more than six months since Bridge Sorter (dealing machine) and Bridgemates were introduced. These innovations have proved very popular although, inevitably, there have been glitches from time to time. Documentation of the dealing and scoring processes (undertaken by Emma Whybrow and Mark Elliott) now needs to be refined in order to clarify the precise roles of the key persons involved in the management of each and every session viz. the dealer, the scorer and, most importantly, the director. The committee will oversee the refinement process now underway.

3. Host
At present, the schedule is full through end-April except for 18 April. Members should be alert as to when their turn to host is due and to advise Viv Morris accordingly - see Duty Officer Rota.

4. Dates for your Diary
28 Mar  Easter Teams
30 May  Annual General Meeting
26 Sep  Peter Wraight Trophy
24 Oct   Lupus Charity Day
28 Nov   EBU Children in Need Simultaneous Pairs
In addition, please remember that the due date for membership subscriptions of £20 is 1 April 2024. The receipt to date of some 50 subscriptions is much appreciated.

Alan R Middleton, Chairman SHBC
 

News Update 15 February 2024
Sovereign Harbour Bridge Club
IMPORTANT NOTICE TO MEMBERS

1. Membership

As members are aware, we have been at virtually full capacity in recent months in terms of numbers and tables per session. However, come 1 April 2024, there will be an opportunity to enrol new members as age, relocation and other priorities take their toll on our current numbers. Accordingly, if you intend to resign your membership of SHBC, please let Membership Secretary Christine Till or me know as soon as possible.

Effective 1 April 2024, the annual subscription will remain at £20 (and Table Money at £3.50 per session). Please make arrangements to pay your subscription, ideally via BACs to Metro Bank, Eastbourne, Sort Code 23-05-80, Account Number 34877173 in the name of Sovereign Harbour Bridge Club; alternatively, payment may be made in cash or by cheque (if absolutely necessary) when attending at SHYC. Payment receipts will be issued in due course. Membership will lapse if payment is not made by 14 May, 2024.

2. Hosting

While the system works very well, gaps in the schedule need to be filled from time to time. As of today, volunteers are required for hosts on 11 April, 18 April, 7 May and 21 May. Please contact Viv Morris if you are in a position to assist.

3. Competitions

As you will know from recent circulars, teams events are being organised by:
-Mark Elliott - an on-line SCCBA inter club tournament and
-Hilary Levett - an in-house league tournament to be held in members’ homes.
For further information, etc., please contact Mark or Hilary.

Further, there will be:
- a pairs event on Thursday, 27 March
- an as-yet-to-be determined event in September for the Peter Wraight trophy and
- a simultaneous pairs event in November in support of the EBU’s Children in Need campaign.

The Harry Shirley trophy (Improvers Award) and Yvonne Buss trophy will continue as previously.

Any questions you may have vis-a-vis competitions should be referred to Hilary Levett.

4. Please note that:
- a huge review of SHBC’s website is in progress (please bear with us as it proceeds)
- members are required by SHYC to carry their membership cards while at SHYC and
- the new dealing machine is fully operational although, as is to be expected, challenging as our teams of dealers come to terms with what it has to offer.

Alan R Middleton