CHRISTMAS PARTY NIGHT

This was, as ever, a great success. Our thanks are extended particularly to:-

Pam Southon who organised the refreshments together with her team of helpers,

Joan Underdown, Rosemary Rice, Helen Seymour and Sylvia Timberlake

John Timberlake who purchased the booze

Roger Sugden, Chris Pullan and Ron Maclaren who ran the bar

Rosemary who organised the fun competitions and prizes

Sylvia who taxed us somewhat in finding our team partners.

Peter Southon was presented with a special bottle of wine for all his efforts as the Chief Director.

George, our jovial and attentive refreshment server, was presented with a box of chocolates for all his efforts for the club. He and his wife, Angela, worked throughout the evening to run the catering and clearing up with their usual efficiency.

The winners on the evening were Peter & Pam Southon, Joan Underdown & Andrew Barnett.

As in earlier years, Roger Morton produced a great set of photos taken during the evening, and you can view these on the Web site Rogue’s Gallery. Thank you Roger.

The evening was spoilt a little for the organisers by some non-prizewinners who decided to leave early, and this caused disruption and noise while the prize giving was still taking place. We do arrange that the evening will end at the normal time after prize giving and request that you all enter into the spirit of the evening and graciously stay until we have completed.

MEMBERS SUCCESSES

National

Nicko Peter Lee’s team are in the 4^th round having beaten Young Chelsea A in the 3^rd round

Congress

Brighton

Senior Pairs – A Final 3^rd John Cruickshank and Tony Turnage

Porthcawl

Little Dragon Secondary Pairs 1^st Tony Scoullar and partner

Year End Mixed Pairs 1^st Liz Phillips and partner

B Swiss Teams 1^st Julia Brough, Steve Bourton and team

Surrey

County Pairs 1^st Angela Samuelson and René Price

Senior Pairs 2^nd Liz Phillips and Bernard Pike

Club

Committee Cup 1^st Jack Feld and Martin Trouse

2^nd Audrey Kolbe and Elizabeth Johnson

Liz Phillips Cup 1= Rosemary Rice and Joan Cullen

Liz Phillips and Bernard Pike

Pro-Am Cup 1^st Mike Stilwell and Sean O’Neill

2^nd Chris Pullan and Rolf Alexander

NEW MEMBERS

We are pleased to welcome Richard Fedrick, Sandra Vogt and Rob Zijlstra as our new members to the club. Their telephone numbers are included with this Newsletter or, for those of you accessing this Newsletter on the internet, their telephone numbers will be posted on the Notice Board.

OUR CHAIRMAN’S NOTES

§ ¨ © ª The Christmas Party § ¨ © ª

It was nice to see so many members at the Christmas Party and be able to chat to some of you rather than just passing pleasantries at the table. I am sure that you will agree with me that it was a good evening for which I can claim no credit as all the work and organisation was done by the other members of the Committee who did seem not to require any intervention from the Chairman.

§ ¨ © ª AGM § ¨ © ª

The date of the Annual General Meeting is 12th April. The Nomination Sheets for Officers and Committee Members will be put on the Notice Board in the near future. This will give members a long time to ponder the situation and put themselves forward for consideration for one of the positions.

We are already one Committee Member short after the resignation of Sylvia Clark last May and Sylvia Timberlake has decided not to seek re-election to the Committee. There are also several committee members who are undecided. These are members who have served a long time and are very willing to stand aside for new blood stock to come forward.

When we asked for a volunteer in the July Newsletter to replace Sylvia Clark we were met with a deafening silence. Please don’t be shy and if you feel that you can put something back into the Club enter your name on the Nomination Sheet.

Sylvia Timberlake has served on the Committee for the last six years and, prior to becoming a member, she took the minutes, edited the newsletter and performed a myriad of other tasks when John was Chairman. The Club will always be indebted to her.

§ ¨ © ª § Costs § ¨ © ª

Despite the increases in subscriptions and table money and the cost cutting measures the Committee put in place at the last Annual General Meeting, it is very likely that the Club will run a small deficit again this year, and dip into our reserves again.

It has been calculated that we need at least 18 tables (36 pairs) a week to break even. Average weekly numbers of Pairs attending over the last four years have fallen each year and are as follows:-

Year	Tuesdays	Fridays	Total
2001	26.94	10.27	37.21
2002	25.63	10.35	35.98
2003	23.45	10.56	34.01
2004	23.48	10.40	33.88

We find ourselves in a position that to balance the books we either increase revenue or decrease expenditure. As a Committee we are loathe to increase charges or to reduce expenditure, so the only course open to us is to increase attendances. As you know, the Mayfield has always prided itself on the standard of the Bridge especially on Tuesdays, and if you know anyone whom you think would fit into the Club on either evening invite them along, as word of mouth is the best advert for a Bridge Club.

§ ¨ © ª Scoring § ¨ © ª

Over the past three months we have had problems with the scoring on four or five occasions, including a couple of occasions where the wrong winner has been announced on the Web Site.

As we aim to have the scores on the Web Site by the following morning the scoring and the Web Pages are done straight after people get home from the Club and are tired, but it is rarely the scorers who are at fault. The more usual problem is that North has entered an incorrect pair number or put the score in the wrong place on the travellers. So please be careful when entering the details on the travellers and remember that East is just as culpable as North if a mistake is made as it is his or her duty to check the entries.

\continued …

One of the files we usually put on the internet is a copy of the travellers so those people with access to the Web can easily check their scores, and mistakes are now easily spotted. To be fair to everyone, including those who do not have access to the Internet, the results will not be finalised until 11:00 pm the week after the Tournament finishes. For example, if you play on Tuesday 11^th January, you have until 11:00pm on Tuesday 18^th January to query the results. Prize Vouchers will not be distributed until the results are finalised.

For those night owls among you, the results are often on the Internet by 12:30am.

§ ¨ © ª Slow Play § ¨ © ª

One complaint that I hear fairly often from members is that of slow play, so please be considerate to others. If you think this might apply to you, speeding up can be achieved by keeping discussion of the first hand to a minimum and, if the Director has called move before you have finished, please just score up and move immediately after East has checked it. If you finish before the Director has called move, you may discuss the hands if you wish but please do so quietly as other people will be playing the hand later on in the evening.

DO NOT DISCUSS THE HAND IF PEOPLE ARE WAITING TO START THE NEXT ROUND

§ ¨ © ª Wedding Bells § ¨ © ª

On a happier note, two our Club Members, John Cruickshank and Ann McNab were married on 15^th January. I am sure that all members will join with us in offering our congratulations and wishing them a long and happy marriage.

§ ¨ © ª § ¨ © ª § ¨ © ª§ ¨ © ª § ¨ © ª § ¨ © ª

SYLVIA’S “HAIL AND FAREWELL”

This edition of the Newsletter has been a combined effort by Rosemary Rice and Sylvia Timberlake. After 40 previous editions I am handing over the reins to Rosemary who has already shown a great aptitude for the task. I have enjoyed every minute of producing the Newsletters but as I am going off the Committee it is essential that it is passed over to a Committee Member and, in any case, it is time for a new broom with new ideas. My thanks to all those who have written contributions or given me cuttings for the Newsletters and, in particular, thanks to Peter Lee and his wonderful secretary Pauline for printing them all.

So it’s FAREWELL from me and HAIL to her! Good luck Rosemary.

The EBU Club Directors’ Certificate of Competence

Congratulations to Chris Pullan who recently passed the Club Directing Assessment with Distinction. In the article below, he describes his experience of the Course.

We all play bridge for the fun of it and our evening is more likely to be enjoyable if it is well run. A good and competent Director is important in achieving this and, at the Mayfield, we are fortunate in this respect.

To assist in improving standards, the EBU runs courses where, at the end, the attendees can be assessed for an EBU Club Directors’ Certificate of Competence. Last Autumn, I decided to enrol in the four sessions that culminate in the assessment. Each session lasts 6 hours and they are: Running a Duplicate Event, Book Rulings, Judgment Rulings and the Assessment.

Beforehand, I thought that I had a reasonable understanding of the Rules and Ethics of bridge but, as the course progressed, I realised that in some areas my knowledge was rather superficial. For example, how many of us can state the five options available after an opening lead out of turn? (see later). This you have to do at the Assessment.

The first session was about running a duplicate event and includes how not to panic when the movement goes wrong.

The second session is about Book Rulings. These are where there has been an error of procedure and the Rules set out the options available. One of my simulations was where a card was exposed during the auction. I felt sure I had seen a Rule on this but could I find it? There was a pause as I frantically searched the Rulebook and just before it became embarrassing, I saw “Law 24 – Card exposed or led during auction.”

The third session was on Judgment Rulings. As the title suggests these are situations where the director has to use his judgment. The commonest must be what is abbreviated to UI (Unauthorised Information). This can occur in so many ways, such as hesitation, asking questions, drawing attention, folding ones cards and so on. We are all guilty and I recently did it myself. My RHO opened 1 Diamond and my hand has 5 Diamonds and 13 points. So what do I do? I decided, unusually for me, to look at their convention card and then after a pause passed. I’m sure that a Director would consider that my actions had conveyed UI and that my partner was compromised. Fortunately for me, he had 9 hearts and was able to bid 4 Hearts but it reminded me how easy it is to give UI.

The last session was the assessment. This consisted of three quizzes and three simulations. We were split into two groups of 6. Two left the room whilst the other four were given a simulation to enact and the two took it in turns to act as Director. Thus not only did you do 3 simulations yourself but were able to see another 15 attempts. I found the whole experience rather nerve-wracking but well worthwhile.

\continued …

Opening lead out of turn

The five options of an opening lead out of turn are: 1) accept the lead and put one’s hand down as dummy with partner as declarer, 2) accept the lead with dummy being put down next and a card from one’s own hand being next played. The other three involve refusing the lead which then reverts to the correct place and are: 3) refuse a lead of the suit originally lead, 4) require a lead of the suit originally led. In both 3) and 4) the card originally led is replaced in the defender’s hand. And lastly 5) allow any lead and, in this case, the card originally led remains on the table as a major penalty card.

BRIDGE IN FRANCE

Peter and Pam Southon report on their experience of the Deauville Bridge Festival

Deauville is a delightful town on the Channel, up-market neighbour of brash Trouville; it has a wonderful daily market and many good shops, but its distinctive feature is the boardwalk. This runs beside the beach for a kilometre or so and is lined with beach huts, each named after a Hollywood 'great' - Clark Gable. Bette Davis, Norma Shearer, et al. The July Bridge Festival is held in the Casino, rather more imposing than the usual venues at home. We had been worried about parking - meters have crossed the Channel - but the Casino assured us, “pas de probleme!”, just drive in the Casino entrance, hand the key to the Commissionaire and he will park your car. No charge!

Pre-entry is not required, just arrive 20 minutes before the start and choose the level of competition – 1^st serie, 2^nd, 3^rd. The first time we optimistically chose 1st, but did not win anything even though the prizes go down a long way, thanks to sponsorship. We blamed their funny cards, Aces are 1's, Kings R, Queens D, and Jacks V. On the second occasion we opted, more realistically, for the 2^nd serie with less munificent prizes, but we still met the legendary Paul Chemla, playing with an amateur of course, but nevertheless surrounded by 40+ kibitzers. Nearly all our opponents knew what they were up to and gave very few gifts, though they usually omitted to divulge the meaning of their bidding. Any request for an explanation was met with a Gallic shrug! The normal system being 5-card majors + strong no trump, it was up to us to alert our 4-card majors + weak no trump. The latter was like a red rag to a bull, most opponents did not have a recognised defence but bid anyway.

I wish we could say that we upheld the honour of the Mayfield, but that would be less than the truth. However, it was great fun, stimulating to play against opponents from all over Europe, and we shall return again. We certainly like the format, one long session which finishes in time for a leisurely dinner.

Peter & Pam

Parting Shot

This contribution is made by someone who wishes to remain anonymous – the Editor takes no responsibility for it. I hope that our friendly George doesn’t see us in the same light!

A tea lady was applying for a new position. When asked why she had left her last employment, she replied; ‘Well, sir, wages were good, but it was the most depraved place I ever worked in’.

‘They played a game they call bridge and last night a lot of folks were there. As I was about to bring in the refreshments, I heard a man say: “Lay down and let me see what you‘ve got”.

‘Another man said: “I’ve got strength but not much length”. Then another man said to a lady: “Take your hand off my trick”.

‘I pretty near dropped dead just when a lady argued with her partner: “You forced me, you jumped me twice when you didn’t have the strength for one good raise”.

‘Another lady talked about protecting her honour, but two other ladies said: “Now it’s my turn to play with your husband while you play with mine”.

‘Well, I got my hat and coat and, as I was leaving – I hope to die, if I didn’t hear one say:

“ Well, I guess we can go home now. That was our last rubber.”