NEWS 2010  Updated on 08 Mar 2010
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HUBERT PHILLIPS BOWL
The team of Malcolm Oliver Clive Owen Val Gibson John Atthey and Bill March has reached the final of the Hubert Phillips a national mixed pivot teams event knockout event. The last 4 named beat the London team of Richard Hillman in the semi-final. In previous rounds the team has beaten teams containing Brian Senior, Paul Hackett and John Holland. The final is against the Surrey based team of Francis Hinden.
 This is a superb achievement & we all wish them well in the Final.

The North East has been successful once before in this competition as a team including Steve Ray Georgia Ray Liz Muir and Dave Roberts are amongst previous winners.
 

TOLLEMACHE FINAL 2010
 The NEBA team finished 5th in the final of the county championships which is probably the best position ever achieved by our county. We started well and after 3 rounds were leading. Unfortunately  we were well beaten by the 2 strong teams Middlesex and Manchester. On the brighter side we beat Suffolk, East Wales and Bedfordshire and drew with Berks and Bucks. To move further up the list we need to be better in the slam zone and more accurate in competitive bidding. - Clive Owen

 The Tollemache team to compete in the final was Bill March, Damien Hassan, Dave Roberts, Chris Owen, Clive Owen, John Atthey, Julian Gibson, Malcolm Oliver, Martin Kane, Steve Ray and Val Gibson.

HUBERT PHILLIPS BOWL
 The team of Malcolm Oliver, Val Gibson, Bill March, Clive Owen and John Atthey has reached the semi final of the Hubert Phillips Bowl.
 

JUNIOR CAMROSE SELECTION
 John Atthey and Chris Owen have been selected to represent England in the forthcoming Junior Camrose

TOLLEMACHE SUCCESS
I am pleased to report that the team of John Atthey,  Julian Gibson,  Val Gibson,   Damian Hassan,   Martin Kane,  Bill March,   Malcolm Oliver,   Chris Owen  and Clive Owen qualified for the final of the Tollemache the inter county championship. Those who follow the fortunes of the North East will know we have been far more competitive in recent years and this is the third time in 6 years we have reached the final. Probably the best run ever achieved by the North East.
We were always in contention and our worst match was a 6 -14 defeat. We would have done even better if two 50% ish slams had not cost us 52 imps in one match and 44 imps in another when the switch of one card would in both cases have meant we gained the same number. Such are the vagaries of the game.

Damian Hassan and Julian Gibson played particularly well and finished 3rd & 4th in the Butler Scoring. -Clive Owen

TOM BRADLEY AWARD
 Each year the EBU via its Youth Committee, of which Malcolm Oliver is chairman, makes awards to a teacher and a non teacher for their respective outstanding contributions to promoting bridge in schools.

This year's Tom Bradley Award (Non teacher) goes to Ken Pattison for his tireless work in schools over the last 10 years or so in the Darlington and Teesside areas.
 

PEEBLES SUCCESS
 Congratulations to Bill Brumby and Avril Emslie who  won the Consolation Final at the October 2009 Peebles Autumn Congress.

SUCCESS AT DAVENTRY
 Congratulations to Malcolm Oliver and Clive Owen who won the Pairs Championship at the Seniors Congress played at Daventry on 6/7 November 2009. They scored over 60% in the qualifying round , the semi final and the final.

TEAM FOR THE TOLLEMACHE
 The team to represent the NEBA in the Tollemache on Nov. 28th/29th is:-
J R Atthey, D Broadhead, J Gibson, V Gibson, D Hassan, M Kane, W March, M G Oliver, C F Owen, C G Owen.
We wish them every success.

TYNEMOUTH BRIDGE CLUB’S 60TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION PARTY
 On Wednesday 2nd Sept the club celebrated 60 years since the formation of the club in 1949.
The party started with a buffet meal and lots of wine with a special cake baked by Loraine Oliver.
Then followed  a speech given by the Chairman Phil Jackson outlining the early history of the club and it’s development. A humorous speech by Bob Pyke followed and the party finished with 19 hands of bridge.  A good time was had by all.

STOCKTON BRIDGE CLUB VENUE
 Stockton Bridge Club have moved to a new venue in Yarm Fellowship Hall, West Street, Yarm, TS15 9BT.
Club nights will still be on Tuesdays, starting at 7pm
and Inter-Club matches will also be played in the Yarm Fellowship Hall.

Directions http://www.stocktonbridgeclub.talktalk.net/local_map.htm

RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL by  Bill  Niccol

 Not having seen an old Geordie school friend, John Gladders, for over 25 years, I was delighted when we met up. I was even more delighted when he agreed to partner me in the Summer Congress at Scarborough, following his gap of 17 years from “serious” competitive bridge.

Having finished fifth in the main teams final on the Friday, after winning our heat, we retired to a local hostelry for a well earned lemonade or two. But I was a worried man.
How come this guy was virtually error-free in the teams? The next 2 days were 13 swiss pairs matches.

After a comfortable first round win, we lost the next match, then played the two Toms – Copeland and Rainforth – who, although some 35 years our juniors, mauled us 18-2. So, clearly we had found our level, I decided as we made our way to the fish and chip shop.

The massive haddock and chips, however, revived us to 3 equally massive wins and we retired(again) to our deserved liquid repast. Strangely the good form continued on the Sunday and we entered our penultimate match among the top echelon, hence our opponents, Phil Godfrey and Tom Cohen.
Board 1 of the match saw me on lead after the opponents bidding was; 3C – 3D- 3S-3NT. I decided to trust their bidding and led a heart. The layout was – (with the hand rotated for convenience)

   

North

    
   

A753

    
   

2

    
   

J

    
   

QJ107652

    
 
J62
75
Q7654
843
Bill
 
K1098
AJ9843
83
9
John
 

Q4
 

 

 KQ106    
 

 

 AK1092    
 

 

 AK    
 

 

 Declarer    

Now John is normally a meticulous, slow and thoughtful player.
But, quick as a flash, he won the ace of hearts and switched to the only card to hold declarer to 10 tricks – the king of spades!
The Merrimac Coup!

This brilliancy has the effect of cutting declarer off from dummy. 

Finishing second overall reflected a tremendous personal performance from John.
Afterwards I asked him why he defended in such an uncustomarily  speedy fashion. 

 “Well …….. it was obvious man,” he replied.
 

PEEBLES & SCARBOROUGH SUCCESS FOR NEBA PLAYERS
 Clive Owen and Malcolm Oliver kept up their winning form by repeating their success of last October in winning the main event at Peebles the Championship Teams at Peebles teaming up with Charles and Vi Outred from Glasgow.

Then at Scarborough North East players performed most creditably. Ian Rankin Mike Stanbury Janet and Frank Springett won the main final in the Teams event, narrowly ahead of Clive Owen playing with the Manchester players John Holland Michelle Brunner and Bill Hirst. Janet and Frank followed this success by finishing in 7th place out of 168 pairs in the Swiss pairs one place ahead of Clive Owen and John Holland.
John Gladders, playing with Bill Nichol were 2nd in the Swiss Pairs and partnering Cedric Cockcroft  and Alex Hogg from Yorkshire, were 5th in the Multiple Teams 'A' final. Congratulations to them all.

2009 WOMEN'S TEAMS
Hello to you.
The 2009 Women’s Bridge Teams is just 9 weeks away. Sarah Teshome and I are doing our best to encourage women from all over the country to enter. Please will you help us by adding a link to the event website on your county homepage, and give it a prominent mention.
We are going to try and make this year special – we’ve taken care of food, goodies and activities for all – so we are really hoping lots of players will come and join us for a fab weekend of bridge, relaxation and personal challenge. Plus, we are very optimistic that there will be a very special new prize for the highest place team where all players are members of the same county.
The event website is www.womensbridge.co.uk. Take a look. There is plenty to do there – Players can even hire a coach to get them in bridge shape for the weekend if they’d like to!
If your members don’t have a partner, or are still looking for teammates we are confident if they register their interest we will do our best to help them. If you have any questions or queries please ask Sarah or myself.

Have a fantastic week, and I thank you in advance for helping us promote the only remaining women’s event in the EBU calendar.
Nicole Cook (on behalf of the EBU and event organisers)

 

EUROPEAN CUP SUCCESS
 Martin Kane playing with Patrick Shields from Gloucestershire qualified for the final of the European Pairs at San Remo. This is a magnificent achievement as many top European players were eliminated at the qualifying stage.

GOLD CUP SUCCESS
 The team of Clive Owen, Malcolm Oliver, Chris Owen, John Atthey ably assisted by Charles and Vi Outred from Glasgow have progressed to the last 16 of the UK's most prestigious event by beating the seeded team captained by Brian Short of Scotland. Short's team included the majority of the team that won the Gold Cup 3 years ago.

NEBA v SCOTLAND
 On Sunday 5th July, the following Teams represented NEBA in the annual match against Scotland ED in Berwick.

Ian Rankin & Mike Stanbury Sue & Dick Davies
Brian Lumsden & Norman McTaggart Margaret McCabe & Marion Curran
Frank & Janet Springett Ken Spragg & Tony Couchman
Dom Maloney & Tom Dessain Neil & Inga Aiston.

Both matches were close affairs against strong opposition.
The ‘A’ team lost by only 7 IMPs but the ‘B’ Team triumphed by 21 IMPs.
Well done everybody who played, with a special thanks to Sue & Dick who stepped in as
late replacements for Gill & Ray  less than 24  hours before the match. We wish Gill a speedy recovery.

 

NEBA SUCCESS IN NORTHERN BRIDGE LEAGUE
 On 13th June two NEBA teams-of-eight competed admirably at Bradford in the first round of this inter- County Teams competition.
The ‘C’ Team – Pauline & Nigel Durie (C) + Jill & Roger Hancock + Sue & Dick Davies + David Milner & David Joy – were joint winners of their section.
The ‘B’ Team – Ian Rankin & Mike Stanbury + Janet & Frank Springett + Clare Dutton & Robin Zygmond + Laura Perryman & Rob Morris were second in their section.
The ‘C’ Team would have won their section if a lorry hadn’t caused chaos by dumping a load of pig manure on the A1, leading to a late arrival fine.  Full results http://www.northernbridgeleague.org.uk/

ANDREW KAMBITES
 Cramlington Bridge Club have invited Andrew Kambites to give a seminar  on the topic of
 ‘ACTIVE OR PASSIVE DEFENCE’ More information here.

KEMPSON FINALS
 Kempson Cup Winners - Clive Owen, Malcolm Oliver, Dave Broadhead & Martin Kane.
Kempson Plate Winners - Clare Dutton, James Ewington, Eve Hatfield and Robin Zigmond.
Kempson Cup runners up were : Janet & Frank Springett + Brenda Osbourne & Alec Simpson.
Kempson Plate runners up were : Catherine Longley, Margaret Gilbert, Rene McMahon & Jill Hancock.
 Congratulations to both Teams & thanks to Peter Burnip for Directing the Finals so smoothly.

CONGRATULATIONS

Four NEBA members have just had a particularly successful weekend.  Malcolm Oliver and Martin Kane, Dave Broadhead and Damian Hassan, won their Nicko match on Friday night to progress to the last 16 of this national event.  On Saturday they were part of the Hurworth team that qualified to play in the Garden Cities final.  Then on Sunday they were in the winning Kempson Cup team.

For the sixth successive year David Broadhead has been captain of a Nicko team that has not only been the last surviving NEBA team in the event but has also progressed to at least the last 16 of this national knockout teams event.  This is a team of 6 and in previous rounds Chris Owen and Clive Owen have also played.  On Friday they beat a Sheffield team but next round have drawn the strongest team left in the competition, a Manchester quartet captained by Michelle Brunner.  The Manchester team have previously been Gold Cup finalists.

On Saturday the four above mentioned together with Chris Owen, John Atthey, Clive Owen and Bill March came second representing Hurworth in the northern final of the Garden Cities.  This is the EBU club teams of 8 championship.  In a very strong field they qualified for the national final for a second successive year, the first time this has every been done by a North East team.

On Sunday the team of Clive Owen, Malcolm Oliver, Martin Kane and David Broadhead, Bill March and Damien Hassan beat a team captained by Frank Springett playing with his wife, Janet, and Brenda Osborne and Alec Simpson.  Initially it looked likely to be a one sided affair with the Owen team 68 imps ahead after 16 boards.  The Springett team rallied strongly over the next 8 boards reducing the deficit to 37 imps.  The last 24 boards were more closely contested and the Owen team eventually were the winners by 45 imps.

Two new records were established.  Clive Owen first won the Kempson Cup 35 years ago.  The gap between winning the event for the first and last time equalled the record previously set by the late Len Wood.  Also, Bill March won the event for a record 17 times.
Simultaneously, the final of the Kempson Plate was held at the St Georges Bridge Centre and the team of Clare Dutton, Robin Zingmond, James Ewington and Eve Hatfield beat the team captained by Catherine Longley by 95 imps.

CFO  18 May 2009
 

SUCCESS IN TURKEY AT THE SCOTTISH CONGRESS
Janet & Frank Springett won the Swiss Pairs event at the first SBU Overseas Congress held in Marmaris May 2 to May 7

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
 I know its hard to believe but in July, St. Georges Bridge Centre celebrates its 10th anniversary. The committee have planned a weekend (10 - 12 July) of various bridge activities .
On Saturday night (11 July) they are holding a Play with the Experts teams night with the additional excitement of Strawberries and Fizz at the interval. The experts are Jason and Justin Hackett and the late great John Armstrong and John Holland. This event will be open to non members of St Georges Bridge Centre to which a cordial invitation is extended.
Emailed entries to bev@stgeorgesbridge.co.uk

EBU SPRING FOURSOMES
 Although a team of U 25's including Chris Owen and John Atthey from NEBA together with Fiona Brown and Alex Morris were knocked out in the fourth round they did manage one outstanding result when they beat the full current Gold Cup holders captained by Janet de Botton by 70 imps in a 32 board match.

FIRE AT BRUNTON
There has been a fire at St Aidan's Community Centre, and Brunton Bridge Club has had to move, temporarily, to alternative premises.
On Mondays 20th April, 4th May and 11th May, we will be playing at Gosforth Civic Centre, on Regents Farm Road.
From 25th May, until further notice, we will be meeting at Northern Rugby Club, at McCracken Park, Gosforth.

THERE WILL BE NO BRIDGE ON MONDAYS 27TH APRIL AND 18TH MAY.  Full story of the fire here.

NEBA YOUTH SUCCESS
The Arnott Davidson trophy has been won by the NE region, with three pairs from Yorkshire and Tom Pallister and Ben Wooff from the NEBA area. The NE region won the Northern final at Sheffield. The Southern final was not contested, and so the overall title goes to the NE.

CLEAN SWEEP AT PEEBLES
Clive Owen & Charles Outred won the Friday Pairs, the Swiss Pairs and, with Violet Outred and Michael Alexander they won the Swiss Teams at the Buchanan Congress in Peebles. To round off the NEBA clean sweep Mike and Dorothy Craig won the 'No Fear' Congress.

VAL GIBSON CBE
Congratulations to Val Gibson who was awarded the CBE in the New Year's Honours List.

JIMMY MILLER
 Jimmy Miller passed away on Tuesday 30th December, his funeral will be at Sunderland crematorium on Friday 9th January.

WYN BOOTH
Wyn Booth died suddenly in hospital on the 22nd of December. She had been taken to the hospital at the weekend with a chest infection, and appeared to be improving, however it was not to be.

TOLLEMACHE
The North East team finished a disappointing 5th out 10 in their group at the Tollemache last weekend. It was particularly disappointing as the team starting so strongly winning their first 3 matches 12-8, 20-0 and 19-1 against Northants, Middlesex and Lincs respectively.

The win by 20-0 over a very strong Middlesex side who showed their class by still winning the group was an outstanding performance. Unfortunately on Saturday evening the team performed poorly losing to Bedfordshire Oxfordshire and Staffs and Shropshire.

Things picked up on Sunday when we beat Cumbria and Gloucestershire. So with a match to go we could still have qualified. However a strong Manchester side who had previously underperformed played well and we lost 20-0

HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY WEARSIDE
Herewith the planned celebrations for the 60 years young Wearside Bridge Club. February 2009
Mon.       2nd. to which our NEBA friends are invited to help kick start the week.
                      60th Anniversary set hands for pairs.
Tues.      3rd.  60th Anniversary lucky dip team event. (draw for partner team)
Wed.      4th   (the actual anniversary of the formation meeting)
                      60th Anniversary Aggregate score slam bang (set hands).
Thurs      5th.  Eileen Spalding (inaugural) pairs event. Eileen was one if the characters     
                      of  the club who, sadly, died last year.
Sunday   8th.  The Grant Cohen Memorial comp. Grant was one of our larger than life characters
                      whose love of fun is celebrated annually at this competition.

FOUR NEBA JUNIOR INTERNATIONALS
As short a time ago as 2004 the North East had never produced a Junior International.  It is with some pride that we can now announce that 4 of our U25s have been selected to play for England in forthcoming Internationals.  John Atthey and Chris Owen have been selected to play in the Channel Trophy against France, Belgium and the Netherlands.  This event will be held in London on 19/20/21 December.

Tom Dessain and Dom Maloney have been selected to play in the Junior Camrose against Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in February 2009.  All 4 players have played for Hurworth in the 'A' Division this year and their selection for the international team is well merited as they have all won National competitions over the last 12 months.

Clearly, we are very fortunate to have 4 such talented junior players in the area simultaneously but it does demonstrate the rewards achieved when time is taken with junior players.  We hope this will encourage other youngsters in the North East to re-double their efforts to improve their game.
Clive Owen

NO FEAR CONGRESS AT PEEBLES
I would like to inform you of the No Fear Congress that we are running
at Peebles Hydro from 27th  to 29th March 2009.
It is aimed at learners who have completed at least one year of tuition and who would like to have a taste of a bridge congress without the stress of playing against strong players.

There will be four sessions of pairs over the weekend and they could choose to omit one if they wanted to go shopping in Peebles or just have a rest. Their two best scores would count towards their final placing. All boards would be duplicated across all sections and hand records would available at the end to encourage discussion.
The SBU National congresses at Peebles are very popular with many players from England and we would like to extend this to the less experienced players.

Information is available on the West District website at www.sbuwest.co.uk 
If you wish I can send you paper brochures.Needless to say, that if any of your club players would like to come to the main congress (red pointed), they would be made most welcome.

Regards, David Merriman Congress Convener

NORTHERN BRIDGE LEAGUE
Two NEBA Teams played at Bradford in the final round of the Northern Bridge League on 25th October.
The NEBA ‘B’ Team – Ian Rankin & Hayden  Dando + Gill Gold & Ray Green + Ted Murdoch & Tony Wardle + Ken Pattison & Peter Allan – were second to Yorkshire.
The NEBA ‘C’ Team – Nigel & Pauline Durie + Roger & Jill Hancock + Dick & Sue Davies + David Joy & David Milner were second to Manchester.For overall results see http://www.northernbridgeleague.org.uk/  
Over the season, the NEBA Teams performed well and enjoyed all their matches.

YOUTH BRIDGE - SATURDAY 6TH DECEMBER
 Ken Pattison is running a heat of the Schools Simultaneous Minibridge/Bridge Pairs event organised by the English Bridge Union (EBU). This is a national event run within a set time scale, with schools all over the country playing exactly the same hands, these hands then being scored up at the EBU headquarters. Details can be found in the Youth Bridge section at www.ebu.co.uk . The date is Sat. 6th December ’08 at St Georges Bridge Centre. Details of the Bridge Centre and its location can be found at www.stgeorgesbridge.co.uk.

The event is intended to be light hearted and informative, but with a slight competitive edge. Other schools will be attending and there are up to 12 hands to play over a period of about 2/ 2½ hours. Start time is 10.00, therefore it is requested everybody gets there by 09.45 at the latest. Refreshments and prizes will be provided by courtesy of our sponsors Hurworth Bridge Club.

In previous years we have simultaneously provided “taste bridge” sessions for interested parents/family/friends and we are expecting to do the same again, so do give it a try.

If you would like a refresher Ken is going to hold a walk-in session on Sat morning 15th Nov at St Georges.
All welcome, both players and helpers. Start 9.30, come when you like, stay as long as you like.

PEEBLES SUCCESS
 The team of Chris Owen Clive Owen and the Scottish pair Charles and Vi Outred won the major teams event 'The Herald Trophy' at the main Scottish Congress of the year played at the Peebles Hydro. 

This was a notable double for Chris Owen as he had also won the July Teams event at Peebles albeit in a different team. It was also the first time a father /son combination has won this longstanding trophy.
Sandy Allan was in the winning team for the 2 board Knock-Out a charity raising event on the Sunday morning.

THE LEDERER
 The Lederer is probably the most prestigious Invitation Event run in this country. Organised by the London Association it attracts an extremely powerful field. This year was no exception. The players there were a Who's Who of the current top players in the UK. It was quite an honour therefore for John Atthey and Chris Owen to represent the English Juniors. Although  their team not unexpectedly finished last it was  a tremendous learning experience. 

81%
 Amalia Jobes and Rita Robson scored a massive 81% during the final evening play on the holiday in Cala San Vicente. Both players compete regularly at the Whitburn and Wearside Bridge Clubs. Other members beware!

GREAT NORTHERN SWISS SUCCESS
Clive Owen and John Atthey finished 2nd in the Great Northern Swiss Pairs on the 4th / 5th Oct.
In so doing they narrowly failed to complete a double as they won the event the previous year. 

TOLLEMACHE SELECTION 2008
The team to represent the North East in the Tollemache in November is :John Atthey, Dave Broadhead, Julian Gibson, Val Gibson, Damian Hassan, Martin Kane, Bill March, Chris Owen,  Clive Owen, Malcolm Oliver.

BOOK REQUEST
I very much wish to obtain a copy of "Kempson on Bidding", the 1937 edition for preference.
Given Kempson's connection with the North-East over a long period, I was hoping that one of your members might have a copy that is no longer required: would it be possible for you to publish something on the website asking anyone with a spare copy to contact me?

Incidentally, I suspect that the Dr Niman whose name is commemorated in the Niman Israel Cup is Ralph Niman. He was a prominent player in the North before and immediately after WW2 and was a member of the EBU selection committee. He partnered Joel Tarlo in the Camrose match v Republic of Ireland in 1946; Kempson wrote about the selection process as follows in the December 1946 edition of Contract Bridge Journal:

“Joe O’Neill was coming over … Clearly there was only one person capable of sitting up with Joe until 4 a.m., so we were selected. This let in Selby Wraith as a sort of hospital ship …

“Somebody then said that Mr [Joel] Tarlo was a fine player ... Being polite, he did not contradict the statement … Mr Tarlo was selected … Questioned as to his choice of partner, Mr Tarlo was about to reply when Mr Niman offered him a cigarette … Mr Butler offered him a cigar … Mr Niman … ordered a whisky and soda for Mr Tarlo … Mr Niman was selected.

“It was then felt that some effort should be made to win the match so Mr L. Tarlo and Mr J Janes were selected.”

The match was lost!

Richard Fleet
16 Upper Hall Park
Berkhamsted
Hertfordshire
HP4 2NW
01442 875968

NORTHERN LEAGUE SUCCESS
Both the NEBA ‘B’ & ‘C’ Teams were successful in the second round matches of the Inter-County Northern Bridge League on Saturday 30th July.
The ‘B’ Team was Ian Rankin (Capt), Mike Stanbury, Gill Gold, Ray Green, Ken Pattison, Peter Allan, Phil Smith & Dom Maloney.  Playing at Bradford, they were joint top with Yorkshire.
The ‘C’ Team was Nigel Durie (Capt), Pauline Durie, Jill Hancock, Roger Hancock, Sue Davies, Dick Davies, David Joy & David Milner.   Playing at Brierfield, they finished a creditable third on the day.

 Full details http://www.northernbridgeleague.org.uk/

SCARBOROUGH SUCCESS
 The EBU Northern Summer Congress was again held at Scarborough. Clive Owen's team of John Holland from Manchester,  Giles Foster from Yorkshire and Ron McEwan from Derbyshire successfully defended the Main Teams Final Trophy winning by the narrow margin of 1 imp over the second place.
The team of Emily Goodway Linda Benneworth Joan Astill and Stella Findlay also qualified for the main final.

BRIGHTON SUCCESS
 John Atthey who is now playing in the NEBA area, won the Brighton Swiss Pairs competition playing with Simon Cope. This considerable victory was achieved against 474 pairs.

HARROGATE SUCCESS
 Although only 2 teams containing NE players participated both trophies travelled home northwards. In first place were Clive Owen, John Atthey  and the Yorkshire pairing of Liz Reese and Mark Bratley. In third place and winners of the non expert shield were Eve Hatfield James Ewington Claire Dutton and Robin Zigmond.

HEXHAM NEWS
 Hexham Bridge Club are having to move for three weeks while development works at Wentworth Leisure Centre are completed.
They are re-locating to The TORCH Centre on Thursdays, 7th, 14th and 21st of August and will be back at Wentworth Leisure Centre on the 28th August.

PEEBLES SUCCESS
 At the July Peebles Congress the team of Liz Muir, Chris Owen and John Atthey from the North East and Liz Reece from Yorkshire won the main event of the congress - the teams final.
This was a particularly good achievement as they also won their qualifying round in what was undoubtedly the toughest section finishing ahead of a number of internationals who played for their country in the recent European Championships.

North East players did particularly well in this event with Steve and Georgia Ray in a team that finished third.
Ian Rankin, Ajit Shivdasani, Mike Stanbury and David Morrison finished fourth and Clive Owen and Malcolm Oliver were in a team that finished fifth.

This must be the best overall result ever achieved by North East players in the major final at a Peebles Congress. 

ALNWICK BRIDGE CLUB HOLIDAY
The Alnwick Bridge Club committee is pleased to announce it has arranged a holiday for next year at the spacious Victorian AA 3-Star Cumbria Grand Hotel, Grange-over-Sands which overlooks Morecambe Bay and Grange Golf Course.  Andrew Kambites, a bridge Grandmaster, EBU senior congress director and experienced teacher will offer Bridge tuition on this holiday.
Full details and a booking form can be obtained from the Club's web site. www.alnwickbridgeclub.co.uk



Grand Hotel, Grange-over-Sands   

GERARD FAULKNER SALVER SUCCESS
 The team of Clive Owen plus three Manchester players, John Holland,  Bill Hirst and John Hassett,  beat the Kent team captained by Denis O'Donovan by 54 imps in the final of the Gerard Faulkner Salver which is the National Knock Out teams competition for Senior players. Their team included three players who have won the Gold Cup.

After 16 boards O'Donovan had led by 40 imps. In previous rounds, matches had been won against teams from Hampshire, Warwickshire, Yorkshire, Lancashire and Manchester.

GARDEN CITIES SUCCESS
Hurworth, the winners of the North East Inter Club teams of 8 competition, represented the NEBA at the weekend in the Northern Regional finals at Bradford with the top 2 teams qualifying for the 8 team national final.

The team of Julian Gibson Haydn Dando Clive Owen Chris Owen Malcolm Oliver Martin Kane David Broadhead and Damian Hassan came second on a split tie but 15 victory points clear of third and so represent the North East in the final at Solihull on 21st June.

OBITUARIES FOR IAN SPOORS
 Are shown separately here

    KEMPSON CUP WINNERS 2007/8
    
    The Final of the Kempson Cup was won by Clive
    Owen's Team - Clive Owen, Malcolm Oliver, Bill March, 
    Damian  Hassan, Martin Kane & Dave Broadhead.

    They beat Tony Jackson's Team - Tony Jackson, Fred Dalton,
    David Joy & David Milner - in a hard fought match.
    Nigel Durie was the TD.

HEATON IN THE 50'S - 'LEGENDS OF THE EBOR STREET GANG'
 If you lived in or around Newcastle in the 50's you may be interested in this new novel by local writer John Rothwell.
Michael Bailey is an intelligent and perceptive ‘almost twelve’ year old living in the terraced streets of railway houses in post war Britain. These Legends, written from his perspective and delightfully embellished by the author, give an unashamedly nostalgic insight into the nineteen fifties. They portray relationships within families, loyal and lasting friendships and the working class ethics of the time. The novel evokes memories of an era that will soon be forgotten and is sensitively written with great humour and pathos.

Copies can be purchased directly from the author at £7.95.  Ring John on 01325 262573

ENGLISH BRIDGE JUNE 2008
 The cover design of the June 2008 issue of English Bridge advertises the forthcoming Brighton Congress and features the work of the NEBA webmaster!

 

MORPETH BRIDGE CLUB'S 40TH BIRTHDAY
In 2008 the Morpeth Bridge Club celebrates 40 years since it was founded. A party will be held at Embleton Hall on Sunday 1st June 2008

All current and past members of the club are most welcome.Tickets £15 Reserve your place now with Moyra

REVENGE
The Durham University team of James Ewington, Tom Dessain, Dominic Maloney and Robin Zigmond have today won the EBU inter-university cup, the Portland Bowl. They beat Edinburgh 147-125 in the semi-final, then led the strong Oxford A team throughout in the
final, winning 143 - 96. Fitting revenge for last year, when they lost to the Oxford A in the final.

GERALD FAULKNER SALVER
 The National Seniors Knock Out is played annually for the Gerald Faulkner Salver. This year a team captained by Clive Owen has reached the final . The team which includes three North West players in John Holland Bill Hirst and John Hassett beat  a Hampshire team captained by Jeremy Baker in the semi finals.

It is with regret that we have to report that Norman Dykes passed away suddenly on Wednesday 5th March 2008. Norman was both a driving force and a leading player at Stockton Bridge Club for over 30 years and will be sorely missed by all who knew him.  

EBU SILVER PLATE SUCCESS
 The team of Clive Owen, Julian Gibson, Bill March and Val Gibson won the final of the Silver Plate by 23imps over 48 boards.

The Silver Plate is played by teams who were knocked out in the first or second round of the Gold Cup .
In the final played at Derby against a London team captained by Adam Humphreys they led from start to finish.

To get to the final they won 6 previous rounds against teams from Scotland,  London, Berks and Bucks, Lancashire ,Yorkshire and the North East. Their closest match came in the first round when they narrowly beat a Durham University side captained by Tom Dessain after being 30 imps behind going into the last 8 boards.

   FUTURE CHAMPIONS
   The February cover of English Bridge features a photograph taken at the 2007 NEBA
   Congress and the magazine includes an article about the very encouraging youth
   events that took place on the Saturday morning of the congress.
  
   As reported earlier thirteen tables of youngsters took part and Yarm School won the
   Sinclair Trophy and Polam 'A' won the Mini Bridge event.


£10,000 FOR LOCAL BRIDGE CLUB
The committee and members of Whitley Bay Bridge Club were delighted to have been informed by Awards for All (part of the National Lottery) that they have been awarded a grant of £10,000.
celebrated its Diamond Jubilee in 2005, has occupied the same premises on Whitley Road for over 40 years.

It is acknowledged as having some of the best playing facilities in the region and this grant will enable work to commence on bringing the rest of the premises to a similarly high standard.
The club which offers both lessons and playing sessions on most days of the week has in excess of one hundred and sixty members and is always pleased to accommodate visitors and new members. The premises are also used each week by both Tynemouth and the YMCA Bridge Clubs and throughout the season Whitley Bay Bridge Club hosts regional competitions.

 Awards for All is the small grants scheme administered by the Big Lottery Fund on behalf of Lottery good cause funders, Arts Council England, Big Lottery Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund and Sport England. The scheme makes awards of between £300 and £10,000 to grass-roots community groups and voluntary organisations.

Pam Gladwin - Secretary of Whitley Bay Bridge Club

THE FUTURE OF BRIDGE !
 A little late, but this montage shows some of the participants at the 2007 NEBA congress and offers some hope for our game!

Thirteen tables of youngsters aged between 6 and 15 played in the NEBA congress on November 10th 2007. Yarm School won the Sinclair Trophy and Polam 'A' won the Mini Bridge event. Well done to children, teachers and parents!
Watch out for the February issue of English Bridge!