Table Talk March 2024
Table Talk
The Occasional Newsletter of Hunters Hill Bridge Club: March 2024
Years ago, at a committee meeting, there was a discussion regarding what to call our occasional newsletter. Linda Allen suggested "Table Talk", a clever name that was quickly adopted. I've now decided to readopt that name (thank you, Linda) for my irregular emails.
On the topic of table talk, I would like to remind members of the importance of not engaging in this practice during the course of a game. While I understand that it is almost always entirely inadvertent, it is important to be aware of any messages you might be sending your partner with comments such as "Oh, I'm sick of not getting any points" , lengthy pauses before making a Pass in the bidding, or even sighs when deciding what to bid. There are lots of ways in which a player can send their partner a message & it's really important to be aware of how easy it is & to make a conscious effort not to do it.
Council Meeting: It was terrific to see so many HHBC members at the last community feedback meeting regarding what Council now calls "the Henley Precinct". I think our club represented more than half of the attendees. Personally, I found the meeting quite reassuring, as it was clear that both Council & its consultants now fully understand the venue's importance to the club & have a better understanding of our needs.
However, it is essential that we maintain our high profile & to this end, I would again ask those who can to attend the next meeting (same place) on Tuesday, 12 March at 6pm. At this meeting, the consultants are to present their draft plan. Our feedback will be crucial to achieving our goal of long term security of tenure in an accessible hall. If you can attend, please email rsvp@huntershill.nsw.gov.au. If you can't attend, you can instead send an email to info@huntershill.nsw.gov.au making any suggestions you might have & outlining the importance of the venue & the bridge club to you. It's not too late to do something.
Henry Chu & the Unusual NT.: Henry will present his next lesson this Wednesday, 27 February at 10.30pm. The unusual NT is a widely used convention & one that all players, including novice & intermediate players, should know. Henry will be ably assisted by me, so that participants can play practice hands which demonstrate what they have learned. If you're not already all over this convention, you really should come. You won't need a partner.
We have a Champion: Congratulations to Margaret Gidley-Baird for her achievement at the recent Gold Coast Congress. Margaret & her team won 11 of 12 matches to come first (yes, first!) in the Under 1500 Teams Championship - a stunning result.
System Cards: This is a reminder that all partnerships should have a minimum of one, but preferably two, current system card(s) on the table available for the opponents to look at. This is an important aspect of the etiquette & full disclosure requirements of our game. We have an ample supply of blank system cards in the office & they're just waiting to be filled in by eager players anxious to do the right thing. Please ask a committee member to get you a card & if you're not sure how to complete it, any of our committee members will be happy to help.
Late Arrivals: It is required that all players be seated at least 10 minutes before the game begins. This is a courtesy to our directors who are very busy at this time determining how many table there are, whether there are any sit outs and what the appropriate movement is, at the same time as they are giving out boards & bridgemates. Let's please try to make their lives a bit easier.
Members' Booklets: They’re finally here. Yay! For those of you who are relatively new to the club, these little books contain lots of important information including a list of current members with phone numbers, the full programme of events for 2024, guidelines regarding behaviour (including mention of arrival time & system cards - not that I want to labour the point). Many thanks to Linda, who is probably the only person in the club who knows how to format these booklets before they go to the printer. She's been doing this arduous job for many years. Thanks also to Paula Nigem for travelling to the other side of the world (well Sydney, anyway) to pick them up.
Website: I know that many of you like to look at the results & perhaps even analyse where things go right and/or wrong. The reason I know this is from the not infrequent emails I receive from members when they don't receive their Pianola email. That's ok. It's part of my job. However, what I don't know is how many of you are using the club's website. This also contains a lot of information including results, upcoming events, links to other sites, etc. Richard Sheldrake is our webmaster & he ensures the site is up to date, so please use it. Just google Hunters Hill Bridge Club & you'll find it.
Partner Finder: We have volunteers who will assist in finding partners for you. I'm not going to tell you who they are, as that information is already available on our website & in our new booklets. (That's me, encouraging you to use these resources.) However, did you know that you can also find a partner through Pianola? There is a function at the top of the Pianola website that, not surprisingly, says Partner Finder. It enables you to let others in the club know that you're looking for someone for a particular session(s) & even allows you to only include certain people or even exclude those from this notice with whom you would really rather not play. (I guess that's important??) I would encourage players to have a good look at the Pianola site as it also has a lot of other information that you might find interesting. Again, just google Pianola & skip the results that refer to the piano.
Thank you: I probably seem to nag a bit, but I also like to thank the many people who contribute to the club. It's great to see so many members pitching in with set up & take down, taking table money, assisting directors, tidying the kitchen, emptying the bins & even helping those of us who are less able. So, thank you. You're what make us a club.
All the best.
Kathie de Palo
PRESIDENT