As your new president, I’d like to say thank you very much for all the support and best wishes I’ve received since the AGM, they’re greatly appreciated. 

The committee and I have had a busy few weeks organising next season’s events and we’re not finished yet.  We are currently reviewing all of our club competitions and the dates of these will be finalised as soon as we have the West District event dates.

 

JK McDonald

This individual club competition will take place on Wed 23^rd June, an entry form will be posted on the notice board or you can enter on-line if you have access to the website. 

 

Constitution

The revised constitution and bye-laws are ready to be sent to the printers.  The bye-laws will be the included in the new fixtures diary and the constitution will be printed as a separate booklet at the same time.

 

Parking

A resident has complained to the council about our ‘anti-social’ parking.  Can I please remind all of our members to park in designated bays only.  The police have also paid us a visit to remind us that the loading bay should not be used for routine parking either.  Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated. 

 

Painting

At the AGM, Dr Jake Davidson very kindly donated one of his paintings to the club which he has since had framed.  We are very fortunate to have such talented members and are delighted to accept this beautiful gift.  Although we have not yet decided where to hang it, I would like to take this opportunity to say a very big thank you to him for his generosity.

 

Hugh Kelsey Results

We had excellent results from our class members who participated in this national competition. 244 pairs played in various events up and down the country.   From 20 pairs entered from the Buchanan, 5 pairs were in the top twenty with 3 of these in the top 10.  Well done to you all and to our teachers.

 

Congress

Our thanks go to Horst, our Congress Manager, for organising our congress so efficiently for us again this year.   Another excellent job Horst!!

We had a very good turn out of 16 tables for the Congress Pairs, 11 Ladies Teams, 8 Gents Teams, 11 Learners Teams and 11 Congress Teams.  The winners’ names have been posted on the notice board and on the website.  

Many thanks to everyone who participated in these events; I hope you all enjoyed them.  Thanks also to those people who assisted behind the scenes.

 

Teams

We are fortunate to have nine teams in the West District of the SBU.   I’m currently organising the team panels for next year.  If you have returned your ‘team’ form, thank you.  If you haven’t, can you please do so ASAP?  Henry has a supply if you need another one.

 

The West District has decided to start a new 5^th division next season for less experienced players.  We were unaware of this development when we sent out our AGM papers as this was only decided at the WD AGM on April 29^th.  The format will be slightly different from the other divisions with only 6-8 people expected on each panel and only four of these playing in each match.  If you are interested in forming a team or joining a panel, please let me know ASAP or fill out a team form and hand it in to the bar.  I will be happy to assist in any way I can.

 

Saturday Night Tournaments

The committee have decided to start the Saturday evening tournaments at the earlier time of 7pm and respectfully ask that players be seated by 6.50pm.  This will take effect from June 12^th 2010.  We hope this decision will not inconvenience anyone.

 

Congratulations

Belated congratulations to Sheena and Colin Hamilton who celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in March; may you enjoy many more happy years together.   

 

Holidays

The holiday period is upon us and I am jetting off to the sun for a fortnight at the end of this week; volcanic ash permitting.  I’ll be leaving you in the capable hands of our Vice President Peter during the first week and our Past President Liz during the second week when Peter is also on holiday. 

 

Happy Slamming

Grace

President

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CHARLOTTE

As you all know Charlotte moved to London in the Autumn to be nearer her family.

She wanted to show her appreciation to the club, of the many happy hours she spent at the Buchanan, and she sent us an extremely generous cheque.

The committee had the very pleasant task of deciding how best to use this unexpected donation. For years Charlotte ran the tournament on the top left, and in fact, when you got your disc it was for ‘Charlotte’s tournament’. It seemed therefore to be a good idea to rename this as ‘Charlotte’s Room’. The next logical step was to spend her gift improving this room, and it was decided to buy new chairs. They are now delivered and in addition we have made a new door plaque.

Charlotte is delighted by this, and has written to thank us. For our part we are enormously grateful to her for such a wonderful gift. We are hoping that she will come North for a ‘Grand Opening’ in October. I know that everyone will be so pleased to see her again. She has been missing us too!

 

DEATHS

MARGARET OSBORNE  died on Feb 8^th.  She has been a member of this club for innumerable years and she will be sadly missed by her many friends. Her last visit was at the Xmas party.

ALAN MILL died on March the 5^th. He has been a member of the Buchanan for more than 30 years and played for the Buchanan team in the first division for a large proportion of that time. He played in the club until the autumn when his health prevented him from participating.

 

CONGRATULATIONS

To Lina and Fergus on winning the SBU Swiss Pairs

Stuart Bradnam who is a junior member was part of the winning Scottish Junior team in the Peggy Bayer competition in Wales

Fraser Morgan who was a member of the Buchanan prior to going to St Andrews University, was in the winning Scottish Under 25 team, and has been selected for the European Open Team

Horst and Rickie who won the Dave Jolley Trophy (Men’s Handicapped Pairs)

Grace and I who won the Currie Glen Trophy (Women’s Handicapped Pairs)

Jake and Edith Davidson who won the Dunmow Flitch

 

TEAMS

Congratulations to Dalriada and Morison who are both being promoted. Lansteel lost by the narrowest of margins in their last match and they are sadly going down from the first division. All our other teams are safe in their divisions for next season.

 

TRAINING

John Wilson of the SBU  ran a club level training course for Tournament Directors in March  and Maurice, Bill, Isobel and Paul have now qualified as Club Directors.

Horst recently ran a bridgemate training course and plans to run another one soon, so it is not too late if you would like to join in.

 

CONSTITUTION AND BYE-LAWS

Our Constitution had sections which required revision, and Grace has chaired the sub-committee which has been updating it. You now all have a copy of this with your AGM papers, and she will be presenting this at the AGM for your approval. At the same time the sub-committee has looked at our Bye-laws which were drawn up pre decimalisation in 1972! Grace will also be presenting an updated version of them for your approval. This has been an extensive, detailed task and we all owe a debt of gratitude to Grace, Sandy, Stewart and Peggy who have all been involved in this task, as well as to Joyce whose legal advice on this has been invaluable.

 

HANDRAIL

The new handrail is now up and it has been stained to ‘match up’ with the staircase. Many of you have commented on how pleased you are about this.

 

BUCHANAN CONGRESS May 8 ( Pairs ) May 11 ( Men’s and Women’s Teams) May 13 (Learners’ and improvers’ Teams)  May 15 ( Congress Teams)

Horst will be running this event again and the main thing that you can all do to help is to make sure you enter for it! Do put the dates in your Diary - the entry forms are now available.

 

SUMMER PAIRS

This is a really popular tournament which starts on May 18 - the first Tuesday after the Congress - and goes on every Tuesday until the end of August. Do get your diaries out and get fixed up. You play three times with as many people as you like – so it is good fun, and a chance to have games with members other than your usual partner.

 

NEW INITIATIVES

1. We have organised an invitation event for first division players (both current and future) and those members whose SBU ranking is Scottish Master and above. This has been organised for April 20^th, and is a pilot scheme.  We do hope that it will be well received by those of you who are eligible to play.

2. We are also hoping to attract players from other smaller clubs (golf clubs/bowling clubs etc) to play in the summer months when their clubs often close down. This is where we need our members to actively help – so I really do need you for this! If you play elsewhere (and I know many of you do) then I would like you to approach and chat to folk about playing in the Buchanan over the summer. They can first of all come as visitors and, if they like it, they can join as temporary members for the summer. As you know we have tournaments at various levels – Rickie’s practice tournament on a Thursday is for those just finished, or taking lessons. The ‘No Fear’ is on Tuesday for players who are at the ‘next stage’ and of course our ‘normal’ Monday, Wednesdays and Saturday as well as Summer Pairs on Tuesday. They will be spoilt for choice!

 

It is important to our club to attract new members, and new learners. Classes will of course be restarting in September for anyone who wants to learn to play.

 

I am relying on you all to do your best to encourage anyone you know to join us. Our members are the best ambassadors our club can have!

 

The AGM is now organised and that, of course, means that my term as President of the Buchanan is coming to an end. I would like to thank all of you who are so supportive of the club. When I looked for volunteers, I was always delighted by the response. So many of you do so much, and that is what makes it such a pleasure to be your President. If any of you are in the position that you would like to be more involved, then do let either Grace or I know!

 

It has been an honour and privilege to be your President

 

Thank You

 

Happy Slamming

 

Liz

 

PARTIES

 

I think it is fair to say that the Christmas party was a great success this year. 72 members had a really enjoyable evening of bridge, wine, food and entertainment.

Alison’s singing was wonderful and her quiz was a distinct challenge to many of us! Aileen was absolutely hilarious as Rev Merry – she brought the house down. Peggy accompanied it all and it rounded off an excellent evening.

 

The class party was also well attended and after a term of serious learning it was a pleasantly relaxed occasion. Our raffles on both party evenings were in aid of Macmillan Nurses and we raised over £700. This is a really magnificent sum and thank you to all of you who contributed to the success of this. I know it is a charity which is dear to the hearts of many of you.

 

Thanks also to all of you who participated in so many ways to ensuring that our parties were smoothly run, and enjoyable social events.

 

The decorations are down and it is now back to the serious business of  bridge.

 

 

DEATHS

 

ALBERT RISI

It was with much regret that we learned of the Death on December 12^th of Albert Risi. He had stopped playing bridge at the Buchanan in the last couple of years, but he had been a member for many years prior to that and was very well liked.

 

GERRY MURNIN

Gerry died on Christmas morning, and his passing brings great sadness to his many friends at the Buchanan. Gerry has been a member of the Buchanan for over 30 years and for most of that time has played in a Buchanan team. At the bridge table he was most courteous, and a great pleasure to play against. He has partnered Gordon Logan for all of this time and they were a very well respected pair. He will be very much missed.

 

MARY CLEGG

Mary died last week and she will be missed by her many friends in the club. She has been a member for more than 35 years and for many years played in a Buchanan team. In recent years she has had regular games with various people, but she always avoided match pointed events! She loved travelling and her favourite place of all was Las Vegas.

 

 

CONGRATULATIONS

 

NANCY BARR : Well done to Edith and Jake Davidson who won this event.

 

MANNING FOSTER : Congratulations to John Di Mambro, Hugh McCash, Ian Aitchison and Jim Dennison who won this trophy.

CLUB ATTENDANCE

 

The recent ghastly weather has meant that many of you have struggled to get to the club. Fortunately, the ice and snow have now gone, and you will all be able to get back to the club.

 

TRAINING

 

If anyone is interested in either Bridge Mate or Tournament Director training would they please let me know. It is hoped to run training courses for both in the very near future. I know there is a temptation to leave the running of tournaments to others, but the club really does need to have an adequate pool of volunteers! We have recently lost a number of very regular directors – so if you could help it would be appreciated.

 

HELPING OUT!

 

The club is enormously fortunate in having so many willing talented members.  Some of you are brilliant at flower arranging, some at tournament directing and some at taking photographs when we have parties. If any of you have skills that you are hiding under a bushel, would you come clean and let me know!

 

 

SUGGESTIONS

 

The club does have a suggestions book and if you would like to comment on anything or have ideas about how we could improve then please let us know.

 

 

For those of you who are in one of the Buchanan teams can I wish you all the best for the remainder of the season. Remember to get your names up for the club competitions. I hope those of you who have qualified for National and District have good games.

 

Happy slamming

 

Liz

 

CARL’S BIRTHDAY

I hope that all of you who managed to the club on Dec 2 enjoyed the birthday celebrations. The 36 candles on the cake were shaped in 1 0 0; and it did not strike us beforehand that this could be a bit too many! Carl managed to blow them out without a problem, but at one point it looked as if the fire brigade would be needed! Carl and Elsa then proceeded to win the tournament. It was a really good night and we were delighted to have Carl’s son join us for the evening.

If your friends wonder why you play bridge, just hold this up as an example of how to maintain your mental capacity as you get older. I just hope it works for me!

As you probably already know the Herald did a nice article about Carl, and I have written one for the SBU News. David took the photos which are on the website, and these have been sent to the SBU News too.

 

STAFF

We have a ‘new girl’ started on the bar. She is called Jennifer and is a student at Glasgow University. I like her a lot because she is friendly and outgoing and I know you will all be charmed by her too.

 

CONGRATULATIONS

Sue and Sandra won the Helen Clarkson Pairs – very well done.

Chris Harrison Teams was a very close run competition with the winners being Trish, Ian, Fergus and Lina. They had the same number of VP’s as John, Jimmy, Peter and Bob!

While they were on holiday at Aviemore, Norman and Peter played in the Children in Need Simultaneous Pairs in which they were 3^rd Nationally.

David, Heather Katy and I were third in the Ayrshire National Swiss Teams. 

WEBSITE TRAINING

Christina has mastered getting the results on the web. I am OK at putting up our aggregate tournaments but David had to rescue me last week when I attempted the Match Point events. Apparently I ‘corrupted’ them last week, which sounds very nasty indeed. Thank goodness for David, who is keeping a very watchful eye on my tentative efforts! Grace is next in line for ‘having a go’ – one can only feel sorry for David in all this!

  XMAS PARTY

We are all organised for the next round of festivities in the Club.

Aileen, Grace, Peggy and Christina go into regular huddles, and I am sure the ‘entertainment’ will be just fantastic. The raffle is in aid of McMillan Nurses and do feel free to bring in prizes for this at any time. If you are unable to attend and if you want to contribute to the raffle then you could always buy tickets for this from Grace Christina or me.

There are still a few Party tickets left so you are not too late if you wish to come, and remember you do not need a partner for this. Do not miss out on this great evening, and remember that it is Friday 18^th December.

 

CLOSURES OVER XMAS

This year the party is on the Friday night which is normally Henry’s day off.  This means that we will be closed on Saturday 19^th December instead. We will also be closed on Thursday 24^th to Sunday 27^th December, and from Thursday 31^st December till Sunday the 3^rd January. 

NEW ICE MACHINE

Our previous machine was constantly breaking down and Stewart has organised the installation of new one. Good news!

 

ON A PERSONAL NOTE

I am off to Sri Lanka after New Year, to enjoy some sun and some culture. I know that the club will run smoothly because there is such a brilliant team of people, who are always so willing to volunteer to help. I would like to thank all of you who do any of the million tasks that we need done with such enthusiasm. We are so lucky to have such fantastic members - you make our club special!

 

Happy Christmas and a Guid New Year

  

Liz

CARL’S BIRTHDAY

 

It is utterly amazing but Carl will be 100 on Dec 1^st! He still plays bridge regularly, and even more remarkable, he still wins regularly. What an amazing man!

He is anticipating being in the club on Wed 2^nd December and we plan to have a toast to him on this tremendous achievement, and get him to cut the cake. We propose to do this before bridge starts, so if you could make sure that you are in the club that evening before 6.45, then you can join in the celebration. Please pop it in your diary (I know how annoyed you will be if you forget)

 

CHRISTMAS PARTY

 

The Christmas party will be on Friday the 18^th Dec at 6.45p.m., and tickets are available from the bar from Monday November 16^th price £16. This is a real bargain! For this modest sum you will have wine when you arrive and more wine with your meal. Your meal will be a delicious buffet supplied by Catherine Hannah, and if any of you have not experienced the delights of her food then I can assure you that it is worth coming for. In addition there will be 16 /18 hands of bridge, with spot prizes and prizes and to crown it all you it will conclude with ‘entertainment.’ I look forward to seeing you there. The class party follows a similar format and is on the 17^th Dec, and I am sure the members attending our lessons will have a really good night.

In case any of you do not have a partner for the party – it is not necessary – we will get you all matched up – so please do not miss out because of that!

 

CONGRATULATIONS

 

PEEBLES    Buchanan members did well at the Peebles Congress and our congratulations to Peggy + Betty, Anne + Christine, John + Jimmy, John + Ronald, Horst and Ricky, and Paul.

 

WESTCHESTER   Congratulations also to John + Hugh and Paul + Jim who won the Westchester by such a good margin.

 

CLASSES

 

We continue to welcome new members to classes and if anyone has a friend who is interested do let them know. If anyone just wants to try playing and has played in the past then Ricky’s tournament might be a good place to refresh skills.

 

TRAINING

 

Horst has organised the training for additional BridgeMate operators. He is intending to train more people after the first group become proficient – so if you were interested you will still have an opportunity. Anyone else wanting to have a go give your name to him or let me know

 

David has been training Christina, Grace and me on how to do our website results. He is so good – I just hope I get the hang of it! Christina is top of the class so far!

 

INA RITCHIE

It was with regret that we learned of Ina’s death on October 22^nd. Ina was a member here for some 25years, was captain of Ramblers and she also served on the committee. She was 91 and had not played in the club for the last couple of years, although she did continue to play socially.

 

PHOTOCOPIER

 

I am so pleased to be able to tell you that we have a new machine. The old one was constantly breaking down and Lorna has spent an inordinate amount of time organising the repairs. The new one even copies direct from our PC – so we are really up to date! It will be such a benefit to our class teachers (as well as the rest of us) to have a reliable machine.

 

HENRY

 

Henry has made a wonderful job of reorganising his ‘cellar’ – which means there will not be a need in future to put the crates and surplus bar stock in the hall. What an improvement – well done Henry!

   

The season is now in full swing – hope it is going well for you!  See you on the 2^nd Dec for Carl’s birthday and remember the Xmas Party is the Friday 18^th Dec this year.

 

Happy slamming

 

Liz

 

DOORS OPEN DAY

 

This was a great success! We gave guided tours of the club to 220 people and told them a little about our building. Some people were very interested and one lady has been back in touch to give me a lot of information about David Hutcheson, who was the first owner of our building. I will add an additional page to our history soon, but basically he was one of the founders of MacBraynes, (now Calmac) and there is a monument to him on Kerrera.

 

The club was looking great! Donna had done an ‘extra clean’ and we got the hall cleared of the paraphernalia which accumulates. Janice brought in very elegant flowers, and the club was transformed - we were all looking at it through new eyes.  We did taster lessons on both days, which was organised by Trish and which went down well.

 

We had an amazing team of volunteers for both days, and we all got more confident as the weekend progressed – in fact by the Sunday afternoon we were real professionals!

 

Our visitors were from all over – lots of people visiting Glasgow on city breaks, and many people from abroad, but the majority were from the Glasgow area and many of them were our neighbours from Clairmont Gardens! The club certainly raised its profile, and we had an amazing number who were actually interested in playing bridge. This has translated into 12 additional people joining our classes, and many more who may come back to us next session.

 

The whole exercise did take an effort, but it was certainly worthwhile, and would not have been possible without the backing of so many of you. We have such a beautiful club, and it was much admired – thanks to all of you who made it such a success.

 

CLASSES

Our classes are all looking very healthy – but if any of you know of anyone who is looking for either daytime (Wed a.m.) or evening lessons (Thurs) then please let us know – we are always delighted to welcome new faces.

 

NANCY BLAIR

When Nancy died last year her niece wanted to give something to the club in her memory. There is now a very appropriate painting in the bar, which we will hang soon. I am sure it will bring a smile to your face!

 

HALL

We cleared the hall for Doors Open Day and the intention (hope) is to try to keep it that way! If there are not enough rails for all the coats then we will have to bring some more down, but at least the lemonade crates etc are tidied away and you can see our beautiful hall fireplace.

 

PARTNERS

If your partner is on holiday or off ill why not use the standby system? There are always people looking for a game and it is such a good way of getting to know other members – give it a try! Thanks to all of you who volunteer to be standbys – the system would fall apart without you, and it is such an asset to so many people.

 

Happy slamming and do remember to put the Xmas Party (Dec 18^th) in your diary!

 

Liz

The season has started and this year there are some changes.

 

MEMBERSHIP

 

This autumn when people come to our classes, they will become ‘Temporary Members.’ There are two reasons for this step. The first is that the Licensing Regulations only allow us to serve members, and the other reason is that, in order to allow people at classes to attend the ‘No Fear’ Tuesday Evening tournament, they had to become members. A real bonus of this is that, in future, all the people attending our classes will be on our data base, which should improve our communications.

 

HENRY

 

Henry is coming back! He is due to start on Mon 14^th September. He has had a long absence and I know he is really looking forward to being back in the Buchanan. In the meantime we have had Andrew, Kirstin and Roddy holding the fort. As you know they have been wonderful, and everything has been dealt with more than efficiently. The club has been so fortunate in having such a willing, cooperative team and I cannot thank them enough. They ensured that they covered for each other, and it has all gone like clockwork.

 

PHOTOCOPIER

 

The photocopier needs to be replaced and this is in hand.

 

DOORS OPEN DAY

 

We are busy getting organised for doors open day. We have information which we will give out, and we are planning to put it on our website too. The banners have arrived and the balloons are ready. Do come and show off our beautiful building to your friends!

TIME KEEPING

 

Everyone knows that tournaments start at 7 15.  That means that we have to be organised before then!

We need to know how many people are in each room, and on each floor (new Building Control restrictions)

When we are using the Bridgemates we need to get them set up in the office, and for this we need to know our exact numbers. If members are lingering in the bar it can really cause a time delay in getting started as well as lot of inconvenience to the T/Ds.

 

Could I plead with you to ensure that you are in the card room and at a table by 7 10.

 

It is awkward if folk are milling about, and it delays the start for everyone. Let’s try to be better at this!

 

FIXTURES BOOKLETS AND DIARIES

 

These are now available at the bar, so do remember to ask when you are next in.

 

NEW WINTER PAIRS AND TEAMS – FOR YOUR DIARY

 

The new Winter Pairs (on the first Tuesday of the month) have started. It is not too late if you want to join in, so please do come along.

 

The Winter Teams are the second last Tuesday of each month, and starts on September 22^nd. If anyone is looking for another pair for this please speak to Grace or myself.

 

CARL DICKEL - Congratulations to Bill Clow and Don O’Driscoll who won the Carl Dickel on Tuesday with a great score of 64.29%

 

JIM O’ LEARY CUP (Summer Pairs) – Congratulations to Paul Maiolani who won the Summer Pairs with a score of 12

 

ENTRY FOR EVENTS

 

The sheets should be up on the board 4 weeks before any event, and there is also the online entry, which I am pleased to see, is being used by many of you!

 

MAX MILLER

 

I was so devastated to hear of Max Miller’s death on August 6^th. He had of course been ill with cancer for a long time. He tackled his illness with enormous courage, and was in the club whenever he could manage, right up until 10 days before he died. His last game was July 27^th in Match Point Monday. Max who was a Past President of the Buchanan was a real gentleman, and always a pleasure to play against.  He was full of energy and nothing was too much trouble. The club owes him a great debt.

The presence at his funeral of so many Buchanan members is a measure of the affection and esteem in which he was held.

 

CHARLOTTE AND KATY

 

On August the 27^th we had a lunch in the club to say goodbye to Charlotte and Katy. There was a great turnout and the lounge was transformed for the occasion. We are all so sorry to see Charlotte and Katy leave to go to London. They are both Past Presidents, frequent tournament directors, and such core members of our club, all their many friends in the Buchanan are going to really miss them.

 

XMAS PARTY

 

The classes’ party is on Thursday December 17^th and the main party is on Friday December the 18^th.

We have changed the party from a Saturday to a Friday because so many of you were unable to manage on a Saturday so close to Xmas. It is always a great night, so please put it in your diary as a ‘not to be missed event’!

 

Happy slamming

 

Liz

 

I hope you have all had a good summer and that, if you have been away on holiday, you are back feeling refreshed. I had a really relaxing break in France with friends and family and am home feeling ready for the fray! I am sure you would like an update so here goes.

THE LICENSING BOARD

We expected to be reviewed in June but so far there has been no word. The new licensing regulations seem to be causing all sorts of problems throughout Scotland both because of the changes required to buildings (we are not the only ones to have restrictions in our numbers because of sanitary capacity) and the training requirements. We are so lucky that Henry was trained nearly a year ago and that Christina MacPherson has also done the training. It means that we always will have someone qualified to train our staff.

The fact that we are prepared for these changes, is due in no small measure, to Joyce White. She is our unsung heroine who has guided the committee though the various stages of this process, and I would like to thank her, on your behalf, for all her professional time and help.

NEXT SEASONS ‘FIXTURES BOOKLET’

We are now only weeks away from the start of competitions and matches and the fixtures booklet has gone to the printers. I would like to give you advance notice of one or two changes from previous years:

• On the second Monday of each month we will have an additional Match Point Monday
• Match Point Wednesday will now be the first Wednesday of each month.
• Match Point Monday on the last Monday of the month is unchanged.
• If there are fewer than 20 tables on Match Point Monday, then the prize money will be adjusted.
• Winter Pairs will now be once a month on the first Tuesday.
• There will be a new Winter Teams event on the penultimate Tuesday of each month.
• Some club competitions will now be held on Tuesdays

TRAINING COURSES

We are looking for volunteers!

There is an SBU 2 day Tournament Director (Club Level) training event in Edinburgh on Sept 5^th and 6^th. If anyone is interested in attending would they let either me or Martyn know.

We will also be running bridgemate training courses and anyone interested please give their names to either myself or Martyn.

You may have been trained before and need a refresher, or you may prefer a briefer ‘in-house’ training day – please come forward and let us know.

The club runs so many different tournaments each week that we need as many of you as possible to help spread the load, so please do not be shy!

TABLE PROCEDURES

We are going to be raising your awareness of table procedures, both through the M T blog, and during tournaments. Please take a little time to look at it!

WEB SITE

Our website is changing so have another look!

You can now enter online for competitions, so that will be perfect for those of you who are not always in, or who have a senior moment! Entry will be closed 24 hours before the event, to allow the organiser to finalise movements. We are going to trial not having a written starting positions, to see if that simplifies preparing for the events.

The 2009 / 10 events are now on the website, so you can get your diaries organised.

The Summer Pairs leader board is also on the website.

There is also the ‘find a partner’ section and I would love to get feedback from you if you are finding this useful. You might be interested to hear that we recently had registrations from Afghanistan and Nigeria! I suspect that they thought it was some sort of dating agency.

DOORS OPEN DAY

This is just to remind you that the club will be open for Saturday 19^th and Sunday 20^th September as part of the Glasgow Doors Open Day event. You will find our details on www.gbpt.org

If you would like to help on either the Saturday or Sunday please let me know.

HENRY

The good news is that both of his injuries are healing well and he is now getting physiotherapy. He is hoping to be back by September, but it is a slow process and difficult to predict. He was in the club recently to say hello to everyone.

NOTICE BOARDS

These are transformed thanks to John di Mambro who has used his skills to give our notices a wow factor. He is looking for feedback on this so do give him comments!

MASTER POINT NUMBERS

Please keep a note or your number for MP events – it causes so much hassle when your name has to be typed in each time. There are lists in each room and if there are problems speak to Martyn.

PERSONAL

We were all very sad to hear of the death of Kate Loughray’s husband last month, and I know that we would all like to express our deepest sympathy.

Katy is moving to London with her daughter and grandson. What a blow that is to me to be losing a partner, and to the club who will be losing a dedicated Past President, an excellent and frequent tournament director, the person who puts all our results on the website, (vacancy exists – feel free to apply!) and the person who has an encyclopaedic knowledge of who is who in the club. We will all miss her enormously and wish her all the best in her new life in the deepest south.

Happy slamming

Liz

This Blog is a new initiative which will allow me to keep you up to date with what is going on in the Buchanan. It will also allow you to give me feedback (just click on "add comment" at the end of an article).

 

MY FIRST FIFTY DAYS!

 

I can honestly say that this has been a very busy time. What has been happening?

 

THE LICENSING BOARD

 

You will all have noticed that our front door now opens outwards. This is to comply with the Fire Regulations and ensures that we are not restricted to a capacity of 60 members, which would have been the case if we had not altered it. That would have been a bit tricky! The front door has new handles and is about to be painted. There was also a bit of a difficulty with getting all the new keys to unlock the door, but all is now under control. We owe a big debt to Ronnie Bryce who supervised much of the saga of getting the door altered and to Joyce White whose legal acumen and advice have been critical in all of this.

 

We were given 12 months by the Licensing Board to get the door altered, so we go back to them sometime later this month. Sadly that was not the end of the story. We also have a restriction of 135 people in the club at any one time, because they reckon we are short of a ladies’ loo and two washhand basins. We are planning to argue that there is no shortage, and we are hoping that we will get this limit raised. If it stays at 135, then this will impact on the number of matches on busy Monday nights.

 

DOORS OPEN DAY

 

We have a beautiful building and we thought it would be a good idea to show it off by participating in Doors Open Day. If that were to lead to new members, or new learners joining our classes, I am sure you will agree it is would be a nice bonus. It costs the club nothing – brilliant!

We plan to give information on the architecture and the history of who lived here.

Doors Open Day is on the weekend of the 19^th and 20^th of September, from 10 till 4 both days and we are looking for members who would like to show our building / make coffee / be welcoming /help spruce the place up. All volunteers names to me / Grace / Christina / Frances /Gill.

If you just want to come and bring your friends or family to show them our building, then that would be great too! It is not often that you have this opportunity, so do take advantage of it.

 

‘NO FEAR TOURNAMENTS’

 

We started two new ‘No Fear’ tournaments at the end of May and they are both going well. Do remember that this is for you too, if you are not a 1^st or 2^nd division player. On Tuesday night it is in the lounge at 7.15p.m. and on Wednesday morning in Room 1 at 10a.m. We see this as a way to encourage players in our classes, giving them more practice, and integrating them into the club, so we do need members to come too.

 

HENRY

 

As you all know, Henry has a broken arm and a broken shoulder. He is still in a lot of pain and unable to do anything for himself. His wife has taken 3 weeks off work to nurse him, and I know that we all wish him a speedy recovery.

In the meantime Andrew, with the help of Roddy and Kirstin, is doing brilliantly. We are lucky in having such good staff. Christina and Gill are taking over the ordering of supplies for the bar and Maurice supplies from the Cash and Carry. We have a committee rota to ensure that Andrew is never left to lock up on his own. We would appreciate if you did not linger too long at the end of the evening when tournaments are over.

 

LOGO

Martyn came up with the idea of the club having its own Logo and John and Peggy added little touches - I do hope you all like it!

 

NOTICE BOARDS

 

John Di Mambro has spent an inordinate amount of time and effort making our notice boards more streamlined and much more visually attractive. If you like them then he deserves all the credit. Any complaints to me!

 

LOUNGE FOR COMPETITIONS

 

We are planning to use the Lounge more regularly for tournaments and I know from the feedback I have already had, that this is meeting with approval from many of you. It certainly means that we can manage with fewer staff and it also is more convenient for those of you who prefer not to have to go upstairs.

 

I am off on holiday for a month from June 22^nd so any problems that do arise will be dealt with by Grace. I hope you all have a good summer and I will update you all when I get back.

 

Happy slamming

 

Liz

 

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