President’sReport

Well,wehave come to theendofa successfuland satisfying yearhere at theBrisbaneBridgeCentreandwearenowinChristmasmode.LastweekwasHamperWeek,duringwhichwerafflehampers at each session for members. This isthefirstyearthat IhavehadsoleresponsibilityfortheorganizationofthesehampersandIcantell you it is no insignificant feat. I now realizewhat a magnificent job Lorna Newnham didover many years when she had theresponsibility for hamper production – a bigthankyou,Lorna.The Christmas partywas held on Saturday andwasagreatsuccess.Thehamperrafflewasverywell supported and for that I thank you all. Itwaswon by Keith Long. Please see pictures ofthepartylaterinthisnewsletter.Last weekend BBC had the honour of hostingtheQBATeamsofThreecompetitionanditwasgood to see so many of our Club memberscompeting. Once again there was excellentfeedback, people do seem to like the happyatmosphere and ambience that our Clubengenders. As usual there aremany thanks togiveout-ChrisLarterasusualwasorganizer-in-chief, andRichardWallis organized theexpertsand teams. All the set-up was carried out byChris, Arne and Bill Tolstrup, with help fromRichard Fox, Lynn Kelly, and Geoff and CathieMoller. John Lahey and Rachel Langdoncollected the money, and John also caddiedduringthemorning.PamSingleycaddiedinthe

afternoon.During theday itself I helped in thekitchen as did Muriel Baker, Hazel Lahey, JanStaunton, Leo Stellmach, Judy Jessop, LynnKelly,Marjorie Jackson andArne,who also didthebar.Thankyousomuchtoallthosepeopleand to the many who provided cakes andsavouries, and especially Robyn Brady andMargaret Rylands who made the rissoles.Janette Hiatt worked hard all day and herdaughter and son-in-law Lorraine and Andrewoperatedthebarbecuewithgreatskill.Tilley Thillainathan and Colleen Sobey weresecondintheAGradeandSheilaWills,LesleighEganandLynneHenleywerethird.Welldonetoyouall.Itwas lovely to see Pauline Crowe back at theClubaftera stay inhospital. I thought that shewasawayonholidaysothecustomarygetwellsoon cardwas not sent, for which I apologise,Pauline.ColMcIntosh came to see us on Tuesdaywithhelp from Jim Reay. Col has had a bad run ofluckwithhishealthandpeoplewerethrilledtoseehimback.PleasegetbacktofullhealthColandreturntoplayassoonaspossible.Thereisa lovelyarticleaboutMarjorieGodfreyin the current edition of the UQ Contactmagazine.Thereisacopyonthenoticeboard.OnbehalfofthecommitteeofBBCIwouldliketowishallmembersandtheirfamiliesaveryMerryChristmasandasafe,healthyandHappyNewYear.Elaine

Chris’sAdministrator’sCorner

Christmas-NewYearPeriod@BBC

TherewillbeNObridgeatBBConSaturday24December orMonday 26December. All othersessionswillbeheldasusual.

I will also be having some time off over theChristmas-NewYearperiodbetweenTuesday20DecemberandFriday6 January. Thereforetheofficewillbeunattendedduringthisperiod.

AnnualMembershipRenewalNotices

The Annual Membership Renewal Notices willbe prepared and sent out to all currentmembers intheNewYearbymid-January. Forhome clubmembers, therewill be increase by$1astheQBAhave increasedtheir levyfee. Areminder that the Pensioner discount is onlyavailable for members who have a CentrelinkPensionerConcessionCard.

NewMembers

AreyounewtoBBC?Areyouplayingregularlyat BBC but pay the visitor fee? If you haveanswered yes to one of these, I stronglyencourage you become a member. Updatedapplication of membership forms are availablefromthesideboardoutsidetheoffice.

Date Claimer: BBC Club Pairs Championship -Saturday21January

TheBBCClubPairsChampionshipwillbeplayedonSaturday21January.Theentryform,withallthe details, will be available within the nextcoupleofweeks.

Pleasenotethatwillbenonormalafternoonorsupervisedsessionsonthisday

EclecticSessions

Some players will be aware that we currentlyconduct Eclectics at most of our duplicatesessions each month. Eclectic events arecompetitionswhere a competingpair doesnothavetoplayineverysession,but,inordertobeeligibleforanoutrightaward,needstoplayinaspecified minimum number of sessions. Acommon example is a competitionwhere finalplacings are determined by the total of eachpair’s best 3 scores from the 4 availablesessions.

Asof2017wewillbeonlyconductingEclecticsat sessions in those months which have 5particular days. These will appear in the BBC2017Diary.ForJanuarythiswillbetheTuesdayMorning session & Tuesday Night session. (i.e.thereare5TuesdaysinJanuary)

MasterpointPromotions

Congratulations to the followingmemberswhohavereceivedamasterpointpromotion.

• EvelyneMander–SilverLife• LindaGroves–*Regional• BobHearle–Local• JanetteHiatt–Local• JanStaunton–Local• BlairWaters–Local• JimGrayson–Club• RodWilson–Club

ChrisLarter

2016BrisbaneZoneInterclubTeamsRedlandsBridgeClubhostedtheInterclubTeamsforBrisbaneZonethisyear,andwarmlywelcomedupto4teamsfromeachclubinthe4gradedsections:A-Open,B<400,C<100andfinallyD<10MPs(allfor each player). Where a club could not submit a team in each grade, Redlands BC made up thedifference,sothateachgradehad8teamsplayingacompleteround-robin,8-boardmatchesforA,B&Cand7-boardmatchesinDgrade.BBCenteredteamsineachofthe4grades,andwhile Ibelieveeveryoneenjoyedthedayas Idid,wewere competitive, but not successful, with Sunnybank BC winning B and C grade to triumph overKenmore, last year's winners. BBC finished 5th overall and the B team in second place was our bestindividualresult.Ourteamswere:A:RosaLachman,RichardWallis,JohnKelly,PeterEvansB:PeterBurke,DavidJayne,ChrisLarter,JohnLaheyC:PatriciaTan,RozClark,CliveCarter,MarieBuckleyD:LynneDay,GayeJackson,DeviThilllainathan,JeffreyKennedyAs usual itwas a very enjoyable day of bridge played in good spirits, andwewerewell looked afterthroughouttheday.NextyearBBChaveagreedtohosttheevent.NextafewhandswheremypartnerRosaplayedwell,firstlytopickupacoupleofImpsinovertricksinagamecontractviaa3-suitedsqueeze,beforelandingaslamswingthroughcarefulcard-readingandanendplay.Finallyahandwheretheoppositionhelped,butRosatookfulladvantagetolandagameswing.

M 4 Bd 29 Dlr N Vul All

J6 432 AKQ72 AT6

Onboard29inthe4thmatchRosa's1Sbidinsteadofadoubleshowsa5-card or longer suit, but all I could do over this was to rebid mydiamonds.However,withalikely6tricksinmyhandIhadnohesitationinraisingherinvitational2NTtogame.West dutifully led the HT and East ducked, so Rosa won the HJ andwent to dummywith the D3 and took the losing spade finesse. Eastducked the next heart, which appeared to be an attempt to avoid asubsequentsqueezeontherunofthespades,butifthatwasthecaseitwascompletelyunsuccessful!RosawontheHKandtestedthediamonds,findingEastwithsomethingelsetoguard,but12trickslookedtohavevanished!NowwhenRosa cashed the spades, Eastwas subjected to a3-suitedsqueeze,and felt thepinch immediately,andmusthavegotconfusedashetookhisbestchancebydiscardingtheC9,butwhenRosacashedtheCAandledtheCT,hediscardedtheHA,soRosatookthelasttrickwiththeH8andmade12tricksfor+690and2Imps.

K985 T7 8 J87543

74 AQ965 JT65 K9

AQT32 KJ8 943 Q2

W / /

N 1D 2D 3NT

E 1H / //

S 1S 2NT

M 6 Bd 10 Dlr E Vul All

QT95 AKQ943 Q AQ

Onboard10inthesixthmatchEastpassedasdealer,soshewasabletobid1NTovermy1Hresponsetoshowaweakhandwithspadesanddiamonds(doublewouldalsoshowthesesuitsbutstronger).Rosa could have passed to deny a good hand and also less than 2hearts,butchosetorebidherclubsuitratherthan1NT.I forcedwith2SandoverRosa's3NTresponseImistakenly jumpedto6H,butcorrectedto6NTwhenRosaoffered6S,andEastledtheD9.RosawontheDAattrick1and12trickslookedeasy,eventhoughthehearts were unlikely to break after the 1NT overcall, but when shecashedthetopclubsindummy,12trickshadbecome11!Back to hand with the SA to cash the clubs, Rosa carefully watchedEast'sdiscards,whichwereaspadefollowedby4diamonds.NowwhenRosacashedtheSKandWestshowedout,East'shandisanopenbookandRosaexitedwithherlastdiamondandEasthadtoleadintothespadesindummyfor12tricksand13Imps.6NTcanmakebycashingthetopClubsindummyandrunningtheST,but that is double-dummy. Also double-dummy, East can discard thetopdiamondsandrelyonWesthavingtheD8.

7 JT852 98 97642

J8642 6 KJT632 T

AK3 7 A754 KJ853

W / / / /

N 1H 2S 6H 6NT

E /

1NT / / //

S 1C 2C 3NT 6S

M 7 Bd 18 Dlr E Vul NS

J92 Q642 AJ43 J6

Onboard18intheseventhandlastmatchwehadasimpleauctionto3NTduringwhich Icheckedforaheart fitviaStayman,butwithoutamajorRosatooknochancesbyjumpingstraighttogame.Sincethe1Copeningwasprepared,Eastcouldhavedoubledmy2Cbidforthelead,butwasstrangelysilent,andWest,withnopossibleentryinhishandledtheD9,topofhislongestsuit.SinceRosahad2 tricks inspades,heartsandalsoclubs thanks to thepips,shecouldaffordtoplaylowindummyandsetup3diamondtricksforthecontract.EastwontheDKandledtheCK,whichheld,followedbytheCQ,whichRosatookinhandandledtheHJ.TheC9wasthecrucialtricksand9trickswere+600.Attheothertablethebiddingwassimilar,exceptJohndoubledthe2CbidandPeterdutifullyledaclub,thuswhenJohnwontheHAhewasabletosetuphis5thclubasthesettingtrickifHegotinwiththeDK!SouthdidfinessetheDQandwent1downfor+100and12Impstous,butitwasafinessethatshouldnothavehappened!IfWesthastheDK(unlikely on the bidding) it is only the 4th trick for the defense anddeclarerhastherest,sodeclarershouldallowfortheslightpossibilityoftheDKbeingsingletonbylayingdowntheDA.

864 T73 98652 53

Q753 A85 K KQT82

AKT KJ9 QT7 A974

W / //

N

2C!

E 1C /

S 1NT 3NT

RichardWallis

HardLuckStories

Oneofthefrustrationsofthisgameiswhenthingsgospectacularlywrongandyouhaven'treallydoneanythingtodeserveit…

MichaelsMix-up

OurpartnershiphadacrossedwireinaMichaelsauction,andthebiddingwentlikethis.Westopened1Handmy2HbidwasMichaels,showingspadesandoneoftheminors,5-5shape.

West North(Richard)

East South

1H 2H Pass 3DPass Pass Dbl Pass3H Pass 4H PassPass Pass

EastpassedandSouth,probablythinkingalongUnusualNTlines,responded3D.Thisbiddoesn'treallyexistexceptifitshowsaverylongdiamondsuitandnotoleranceformysuits.ItpassedaroundtoEast,whosedoubleIsensedwaspenalty-oriented.Iwouldhavehadnowheretogoifithadcomebacktome,butWestunderstandablythoughtthedoublewascompetitiveandjustaskinghisopinion.Dummy appeared and it was clear that 3D would not have been a good contract. East was near-apoplecticbutIhavetocommendtheopponentsforkeepingtheircoolandsenseofhumour.Looking at the hands, partner's correct bid would have been 2S, supporting my known suit to theminimumlevel.East'swait-and-seeapproachdidn'tworkthistimebecauseitwastoohardforWesttoreadthesituation.AtanothertableEasttookthebullbythehornsandsimplyresponded5D.

DealerWEWVul

♠J10875♥A82♦♣K8432

♠A6♥Q7654♦10♣A10965

♠Q43♥KJ♦AKQJ632♣

♠K92♥1093♦98754♣QJ

DoublingDebacle

This time Ienter theconfessional, guiltyofa similarattempt to takeadvantagewhen theopponentsappeared to be in big trouble. In theANCButler Pairswe played JimmyWallis and Bill Nash. Jimmyopened 3D with the North rubbish, and partner AndrewWoollons was forced into an imperfect 3Hovercall.Billdoubled,andIpassedwithglee,expectinganovertrickortwoin3HX.Andrewnaturallypulledthistohissecondsuitwitha4Cbid-hethoughtSouthhadahandmorelikemine.Bill re-emergedwitha4Sbidand thiswasn'twhere I'dhoped tobe. Iwasn't sure if5HwouldmakebutIhopedwehadenoughstufftotake4SdownsoIdoubled.Billveryquicklyclaimedwithanovertrick.I'dhavedonebetterobviouslytoforgetthedoubleandjustbid4H.Billwasn'tfollowingthetextbookwithhisdouble,whichshouldbepenalties.Partnerwasnevergoingtowear itunlesshehadasemi-balancedsingle-suiter,whichwasimpossiblegivenmyheartholding.

LightOpeningBackfiring

Ouropponent in theWest seatdecided to riskanopeningof1D.Thishasbad features,but I'msurewe'veallopenedhandssimilartothisonoccasion.Thesingletonking,difficultrebidandvulnerabilityareallriskfactors.

DealerNNilVul

♠J52♥742♦QJ7532♣2

♠Q94♥AJ983♦1086♣K4

♠♥KQ1065♦94♣AQ9653

♠AK8763♥♦AK♣J1087

DealerWAllVul

♠AQ8♥A976♦KJ72♣62

♠K♥K854♦A10984♣J75

♠97654♥32♦65♣K983

♠J1032♥QJ10♦Q3♣AQ104

IwasNorthandcouldnotquitejustifya1NTovercall.Apointshortwithadoublestopperindiamondsbutnoparticularsuittosetup, Idecidedtopass.Easthadaneasypassandpartnerreopenedwithadouble.Wemighthaveaheartfit,butIthought1Dwasmostlikelynotmaking.It'sonly140ifitmakeson the nose, and plus 200 or 500 if it goes off, I thought. Better than a part-score. These thoughtsconvincedmetopassthedouble,andEastdidn'thaveanythingtosay.I ledtheobligatory lowtrump,thestandout leadagainstanydoubledpart-score,andWestranintoalayout thatgavehimnochance.TheKSwasdeadaswas theKC,andpartner found the telegraphedheartswitchwhenshegotonlead.Theoutcomewas+1100 for fourdown,and theother tableplayed2NTwithovertricksbringing it to210.Someoneelsemusthavebeeninasimilarhole,andfurtherdiggingledto2CXfor-1400.Quiteafewpairsreached3NTbutIsuspectthosewhodidn'tmighthavehadanopeningbidtoscarethemoff.Youwinsome,youlosesome…

RichardFox

AHistoryLesson

Thenexttimeyouarewashingyourhandsandcomplainbecausethewatertemperatureisn'tjusthowyoulikeit,thinkabouthowthingsusedtobe.Herearesomefactsaboutthe1500's:MostpeoplegotmarriedinJunebecausetheytooktheiryearlybathinMay,andtheystillsmelledprettygoodbyJune.However,sincetheywerestartingtosmell,bridescarriedabouquetofflowerstohidethebodyodor.Hencethecustomtodayofcarryingabouquetwhengettingmarried.Bathsconsistedofabigtubfilledwithhotwater.Themanofthehousehadtheprivilegeofthenicecleanwater,thenalltheothersonsandmen,thenthewomenandfinallythechildren,andlastofallthebabies.Bythenthewaterwassodirtyyoucouldactuallylosesomeoneinit.Hencethesaying,"Don'tthrowthebabyoutwiththebathwater!"Houseshadthatchedroofs-thickstraw-piledhigh,withnowoodunderneath.Itwastheonlyplaceforanimalstogetwarm,soallthecatsandothersmallanimals(mice,bugs)livedintheroof.Whenitraineditbecameslipperyandsometimestheanimalswouldslipofftheroof.Hencethesaying,"it'srainingcatsanddogs."Therewasnothingtostopthingsfromfallingintothehouse.Thisposedarealprobleminthebedroomwherebugsandotherdroppingscouldmessupyournicecleanbed.Hence,abedwithbigpostsandasheethungoverthetopaffordedsomeprotection.That'showcanopybedscameintoexistence.Thefloorwasdirt.Onlythewealthyhadsomethingotherthandirt.Hencethesaying,"Dirtpoor."Thewealthyhadslatefloorsthatwouldgetslipperyinthewinterwhenwet,sotheyspreadthresh(straw)onthefloortohelpkeeptheirfooting.Asthewinterworeon,theyaddedmorethreshuntil,whenyouopenedthedoor,itwouldallstartslippingoutside.Apieceofwoodwasplacedintheentrance-way.Hence:athreshhold.

Inthoseolddays,theycookedinthekitchenwithabigkettlethatalwayshungoverthefire.Everydaytheylitthefireandaddedthingstothepot.Theyatemostlyvegetablesanddidnotgetmuchmeat.Theywouldeatthestewfordinner,leavingleftoversinthepottogetcoldovernightandthenstartoverthenextday.Sometimesstewhadfoodinitthathadbeenthereforquiteawhile.Hencetherhyme:Peasporridgehot,peasporridgecold,peasporridgeinthepotninedaysold."Sometimestheycouldobtainpork,whichmadethemfeelquitespecial.Whenvisitorscameover,theywouldhanguptheirbacontoshowoff.Itwasasignofwealththatamancould"bringhomethebacon."Theywouldcutoffalittletosharewithguests.Andwouldallsitaroundandchewthefat.Thosewithmoneyhadplatesmadeofpewter.Foodwithhighacidcontentcausedsomeoftheleadtoleachontothefood,causingleadpoisoningdeath.Thishappenedmostoftenwithtomatoes,soforthenext400yearsorso,tomatoeswereconsideredpoisonous.Breadwasdividedaccordingtostatus.Workersgottheburntbottomoftheloaf,thefamilygotthemiddle,andguestsgotthetop,oruppercrust.Leadcupswereusedtodrinkaleorwhisky.Thecombinationwouldsometimesknocktheimbibersoutforacoupleofdays.Someonewalkingalongtheroadwouldtakethemfordeadandpreparethemforburial.Theywerelaidoutonthekitchentableforacoupleofdaysandthefamilywouldgatheraroundandeatanddrinkandwaitandseeiftheywouldwakeup.Hencethecustom;holdingawake."Englandisoldandsmallandthelocalfolksstartedrunningoutofplacestoburypeople.Sotheywoulddigupcoffinsandwouldtakethebonestoabone-house,andreusethegrave.Whenreopeningthesecoffins,1outof25coffinswerefoundtohavescratchmarksontheinsideandtheyrealizedtheyhadbeenburyingpeoplealive.Sotheywouldtieastringonthewristofthecorpse,leaditthroughthecoffinandupthroughthegroundandtieittoabell.Someonewouldhavetositoutinthegraveyardallnight(thegraveyardshift)tolistenforthebell;thus,someonecouldbe"savedbythebell"orwas"consideredadeadringer."Andthat'sthetruth.Now,whoeversaidhistorywasboring!!!

KeithLong

RobynBradyonEXERCISE

Itiswelldocumentedthatforeveryminutethatyouexercise,youaddoneminutetoyourlife.Thisenablesyouat85yearsoldtospendanadditional5monthsinanursinghomeat$5000permonth.TheonlyreasonIwouldtakeupexercisingissothatIcouldhearheavybreathingagain.Ijoinedahealthclublastyear,spentabout$400.Haven’tlostapound.Apparentlyyouhavetogothere.Ilikelongwalks,especiallywhentheyaretakenbypeoplewhoannoyme.Theadvantageofexercisingeverydayisthatyoudiehealthier.IhavetoexerciseearlyinthemorningbeforemybrainfiguresoutwhatIamdoing.Mygrandmotherstartedwalkingfivemilesadaywhenshewas60.Nowsheis97yearsoldandwedon’tknowwherethehellsheis.Ifyouaregoingtotrycross-countryskiing,startwithasmallcountry.Nextmonth:RobynBradyonSex

AwardsNoawardsthismonthinthespiritofChristmas.Iseemtohaverunoutofpeopletooffend.

Jokeofthemonth

SherlockHolmesandDr.Watsonwentonacampingtrip.Afteragoodmealandabottleofwine,theylaydownforthenight,andwenttosleep.Somehourslater,Holmesawokeandnudgedhisfaithfulfriend."Watson,lookupattheskyandtellmewhatyousee."Watsonreplied,"Iseemillionsandmillionsofstars.""Whatdoesthattellyou?"Watsonponderedforaminute."Astronomically,ittellsmethattherearemillionsofgalaxies,andpotentiallybillionsofplanets.Astrologically,IobservethatSaturnisinLeo.Horologically,Ideducethatthetimeisapproximatelyaquarterpastthree.Theologically,IcanseethatGodisallpowerfulandthatwearesmallandinsignificant.Meteorologically,Isuspectthatwewillhaveabeautifuldaytomorrow.Whatdoesittellyou?"Holmeswassilentforaminute,thenspoke."Ittellsmethatsomeonehasstolenourtent."

IfyouwanttohearacorkerofaJokeseeNatashaThomas–shedefinitelyhasagoodone.

Endgame

FinallywordsofwisdomfromPhyllRoxboroughwhoassuresmethatthisisinnowayareflectionofherownidyllicmaritalstatus…..“Marriageislikeadeckofcards.Inthebeginningallyouneedaretwoheartsandadiamond.Bytheendyouwishyouhadaclubandaspade.”Thankstothosenewsoulswhohavemadecontributionsthismonth,itismuchappreciated.MerryChristmasandaHappyNewYear.

PleasesendallmaterialforfuturenewsletterstotheEditor,ArneJonsberg,viaemailatarnejuser2@bigpond.com,orcontactArnebyphoneat3342-0105.CurrentandpastnewslettersavailableforviewinganddownloadonBBC’sweb-site:www.bbc.bridgeaustralia.org

ChristmasHamperMemberDrawWinners

WeheldourChristmasHamperMemberDrawateachsessionoverthelastweek.Congratulationstothewinnersforeachsession,whoappearbelow.

SaturdayAfternoonJennyHearle

MondayMorningAnnetteWhite(left)withNanetteHinsch

TuesdayMorningAnneBartholdt(right)withColMcIntosh

TuesdayNightGraemeTwaddell

WednesdayMorningPatMathews

FridayMorningRhondaMiles

PhotosoftheMonth

On6DecembertheTuesdayNightgroupcelebratedChrisLarter’s25thbirthdayadayearlywithacake.CongratulationsChris!

LynneHenleycongratulatingPatMathewson

winningtheWednesdayhamperdraw

ChristmasParty

OnSaturday17December,weheldourannualChristmasParty.Afterthelargenumberslastyear,itwasdecidedtomovethepartyupstairs.Thiswasawisemoveaswehad20duplicatetables

and1supervisedplaytable.

BronwynTurner,MarieBuckley,RobynBrady

andFloHall

ArneJonsbergsellingtheChristmasparty

hamperraffletickets

TheFood

JocelynLawrence,NatashaThomas,FranBenstedandJanetteKollisch

ChrisLarter-ourAdministratorandDirector

DiKruseenjoyingthefood

JeanRankin,JimReayandJoanRossberg