Newsletter - 24 August 2018

From the President:

Yes, you do read the newsletter! Thank you to all the ‘collective noun-ers’ who replied so entertainingly. My apologies for not responding individually; the volume and my current activities precluded it. Answers from 2 states and this territory were received. Please read below for more. Little parcels will be in the office from the middle of next week for the 4 people named at the end.

We are planning a Working Bee for Saturday 8 September at 9.30am for jobs inside and out.

Best wishes,
Pam

Tuesday and Thursday evening players please note

From Tuesday 4 September these sessions will commence at 7.30pm.

Monday evening start remains at 7pm. Wednesday evening start remains at 7.15pm

Upcoming events

GNOT Daytime Qualifying Events – Gold Masterpoints

Monday Morning Matchpoint Pairs - 27th August & 3rd September 10:00 am
Thursday Morning Matchpoint Pairs - 30th August & 6th September 10:00 am
Thursday Morning Butler Pairs - 30th August & 6th September 10:00 am

Results

2018 Coffs Coast Gold Congress

Roy Nixon, with David Weston, Bob Sebesfi & Richard Douglas won the Open Team.
Rowan Corbett & Rob Hurst, with A. Delorenzo & L. Shonk won the Restricted.
Lydia Hockings was part of the winning Team with under 300MPs.

Wednesday Night Bridge

Wednesday Night 29^th August will be run as a Butler Pairs night.

This is where you can play teams tactics as a pair rather than Matchpoint, as your score is calculated against the average across the whole field. This means that the odd overtrick is not as important. You do not need to form a team for this event or to register, just turn up on the night.

Our next Pizza/Lecture night will be Wednesday night 5^th September when Richard Hills will be talking about simple squeeze plays.

BFACT AGM

Sunday 16 September 5pm, to follow after the Gala Pairs. More information and documents are available on the BFACT website, including the 2018 BFACT Draft Constitution.

Canberra in Bloom

Don’t forget that at the end of September you can play in our home grown Canberra in Bloom congress, either pairs or teams - or both. If you’ve never played in a congress this is a great one to start with. Each event has novice, restricted and open categories. A fun way to spend the long weekend.This year it’s being held at a new venue, the Gungahlin Club, part of the Eastlake group. More information is available at the website, by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Or ask Justine Beaumont, or either Kerry or Emily (our managers).

Bicycle security – CBC in want of a U-Bolt

It’s great to have a number of members cycling to the Club – healthy and relieving pressure on car parking spaces! However, there are some concerns about the security of bicycles outside the Club, even with basic chains. If anyone has a U-Bolt they do not need, and would like to donate to the Club for use on premise by those cycling to the Club, it would be greatly appreciated.

Collective Nouns for Bridge Players

Questions were raised about the Conditions of Contest, e.g. how much chocolate exactly? From a woman after my own heart. The answers fell into a few categories:

Those who thought broadly:

A span of bridge players
A spanner
A cable

Bridge Terms:

A great deal of bridge players
A deck
A suit
A pack
A convention
A talent
A finesse
A shuffle
A congress
A score
A trick
A squeeze
A counting
A club
A slam
A spadeful
A trumping
A cue of bidders

Those worried about the future and declining numbers:

A myth
An absence
A collapse

General terms:

An array
A crown
A burden
A gambol
A gambit
A band
A delight
A mallam (no, I didn’t know either – a learned man or scribe is one meaning)
A balance
A duopoly
A duet
A battery
A deep in thought

Those thinking about the attributes needed by players:

A concentration

Those thinking about less attractive attributes:

A criticism
An intensity
A grumble
A muddle
A confusion
An ego
A squabble
An asylum
Wimps
A boring
A blue rinse
A dottary
A nutter
A Bolly
A Bordeaux
A worry

Links with animals

A menagerie (a la Victor Mollo) using the meanings of a collection of wild and unusual animals or a group of unusual and varied people
A congress (think baboons)
A cornucopia of slugs/snails

A duplicate competition is:

A Xerox of bridge players

The following collection from Rick Nehmy deserves chocolate:

A Dedication of Directors
A Deck of Dealers
A Drongo of Declarers
A Deuce of Defenders
A Drooling Dementia of Dummies
and (this is Canberra in an interesting week; and we should be grateful for free speech)
A Dutton of Dummies

Donna Stewart also deserves chocolate for:

An Enchantment of Bridge Players, made up of
- A bewilderment of beginners
- A frustration of intermediates
- A chutzpah of Open players

Fred Heywood gets an Honourable Mention for a number of suggestions included above, but particularly for a Combinatorial.

Perversely and unreasonably, I am awarding an Honourable Mention to someone who answered a question that I did not ask:

Nick Ware offered two modern collective nouns that appeal to him:

An absence of waiters, and
An annoyance of mobile phones

Does anyone want to follow this trail…

Beachfront Viscount

CBC is very grateful to our generous sponsors. Support Beachfront Viscount while doing yourself a favour by taking a holiday in the warmth of Queensland.

2 bedroom apartment from $270/night
3 bedroom apartment from $310/night

Contact: Amber Woodroff

Ph: (07) 5538 7222
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Master the Basics – cement your Bridge skills

Cost: $6 for members, $7 for non members

The next lesson will be on Wednesday, August 29:

No Trump Opening – “Responses to 2NT”

Supervised Session 2018

Supervised session topics	Mondays (starting at 7.00pm)	Fridays (starting at 9.30am)
Responses to NT & Stayman	27^th August	30^th August
Rule of 20 & Rule of 15	3^rd September	7^th September
High opening bids:Pre-empts	10^th September	14^th September

Supervised session topics	Thursday (starting at 9.30am)
Second-hand play	30^th August
Take out double	6^th September
Advancing a Take out double	13^th September

- Barb, Ann and Jeanette