the kibbitzer r df oa d b r - bradford bridge club van heel chairman ... and placing it in the box...

TheThe KibbitzerKibbitzer

Contents

A Holiday in Viet-Nam 4 EBU Really Easy 8Recent successes 9 Yorkshire League 10

Hosts 11

The Bradford Kibbitzer August 2014 www.bradfordbridgeclub.org

Bradford

Bradford

August 2014

http://www.bradfordbridgeclub.org/

From the Chairman

Well done, Georgina, for organising the first National Grading Scheme competition held in June. 37 pairs competed in the three sections and the evening was a great success.Your committee has decided to go ahead with Pianola and Stuart Davies is hoping to have the system up and running before he goes away in August. This system will make our

administration much easier from the point of view of scoring; sending results to the EBU; members will be able to log in to find information about their bridge and there is also a facility to find partners or to put your own name forward as requiring a partner. When the system is up and running we will let you know and give you more information. For many years we have used software written by Stuart and we would like to thank him for all the time he has put in over the years in maintaining this.The removal of the wall boards and decoration of the Coffee Room on the first floor is now finished and I hope you are all pleased with the result. Margaret Brayshaw has done an excellent job with all the work she has put in – not just painting – but organising everyone who has helped with the removal of the wall boards, the painting and fixing of the skirting boards. A huge thank you to all the members who have been involved with the work.We have some bad news in that our tenant at No. 10, at short notice, is leaving in August. The building will be advertised for letting and your Committee will be keeping a very watchful eye on the financial situation here.I know Donald is finding it somewhat difficult to get copy for The Kibbitzer – please let him have an article from time to time – an interesting holiday – your hobby – an amusing experience – an extraordinary bridge hand - it can be short or long . Don’t wait for him to ask!Friday evenings are still a concern and they will only keep going if you, the members, support Friday evenings. Elaine van HeelChairman12 July 2014



From the EditorWe are about to start a new year in the Club calendar. A major series of events is the Yorkshire League competition, in which we have six teams entered. The matches are played on Sundays on various dates and at various venues over the winter months. Details of dates and venues are given elsewhere in this issue, and are also available on the YCBA website. The series givs us the opportunity to meet players from other clubs in a friendly yet competitive setting, and to visit other clubs. It all makes for enjoyable afternoon out, regardless of the scores. All members of the club are eligible to take part, and there are opportunities, over the various

teams, for players of all levels of experience and expertise. In particular, the two lower teams provide excellent opportunities for new players to develop confidence and hone techniques. Anyone who wishes to take part should, at the earliest opportunity, show interest by completing a form, available in the club, with their contact details and availability, and placing it in the box provided on the Library cupboard.

There will also be a new series of lessons for Beginners and Improvers over the winter months. No details as to times, etc are as yet available, but the should be posted up soon. If you know anyone who would like to learn about Bridge, please let them know about our courses.

The club has a number of facilites available to Members, including a small library, containing an interesting variety of Bridge-related books covering most, if not all, aspects of the game. There are books to suit all levels of player. It is currently housed in a cupboarb in the main playing room.

A series of planned events over the coming months is the Evening League. This is a teams series, in which teams of relatively inexperienced players (ams) are led by, and mentored, by experienced players (pros). A team consists of one pro and three or more ams. The first session is on Tuesday, 7th October, and interested members should sign up by Saturday, 30th August. Full details and the signing up sheet are now available in the club.

Last, but not least, one of our excellent Club Suppers will be held on Saturday, 23rd August. There is a fascinating Tapas menu, and Supper is followed by a bridge drive. It starts at 6.00pm, the cost is £8.00, and you may bring a guest. Again, full details available in the club; complete a form and give it to Bob, the Steward.

Items for the next (November) issue should be with me by Sunday, 12th October. (How time flies!)



A HOLIDAY IN VIETNAMLiz Brown

Christmas was approaching. Outside it was cold wet and gloomy."Let's book a winter holiday" said Morris"Somewhere hot and interesting. Lets try Vietnam""Why Vietnam?" It's certainly hot but beyond that we knew very little about the country. Set between China and Thailand, formerly Siam, it had an air of mystery but also Eastern Promise.

The plane touched down at Hanoi airport at 6 am and we were a little disappointed to find it was foggy and not that hot. The bus from the airport was going quite slowly rarely getting above 40 mph and then we noticed the scooters.Vietnam's economy is doing quite well. Most people can now afford a scooter or motor bike and they are everywhere. Rules of the road are few. Survival relies on the Vietnamese natural courtesy, consideration and dislike of hurting anyone.The Melia hotel was beautifully appointed and of Western standard except for drinking water which was bottled throughout the holiday. After a pause to freshen up we set off for the temple of Literature.The Temple of Literature was founded in 1070 and dedicated to Confucius. It became the spiritual and intellectual centre of Vietnam and promoted education. In time over 20,000 schools teaching Confucian classics were created in North Vietnam. From the 15th century examinations were held here and the successful candidates became mandarins, advisers to the Emperor. Their names are recorded on a collection of tablets called stelae. The temple was a beautiful building with many statues and carvings. Even the tiles on the roof had delicate patterns on them. It contrasted dramatically with Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum which we visited later.

On the tour we had two guides, an Englishman, John King, who was responsible for our creature comforts and ensuring we all arrived everywhere roughly on time. He was expert at counting to 36. The Vietnamese guide called Nam was 30 years old and a paid up member of the Communist party. It is difficult to tell how much checking up went on but there was a definite impression that we got the party line and he did and said what he was expected to do and say. John went along with this but we couldn't help noticing that

we arrived at Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum just after it closed so we were unable to view the mummified Chairman Ho. No one was upset. The concrete mausoleum was very foreboding and the guards outside did nothing to lift the sad desolation. There were no


Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum


guards at the Temple of Literature where followers of Confucius left money on an open tray. Apparently Ho himself had wished to be cremated as he didn't want to take up good farming land. The Vietnamese traditionally bury their dead on the family land Ho didn't have children but I wonder what surviving relatives think of him in suspended animation. Who will finally turn the freezer off?Next day we went to Halong bay for a cruise in a junk. This was a highlight of the holiday. But would the junk be quaint and quirky? No! it was first class - like a mini cruise ship. The food was the best on a holiday of very good food. When we got on board we were shown to our rooms. Ours had a double bed and en suite facilities and an open balcony. Next the crew were all lined up and introduced. There was tai chi before dinner though we chose to watch the sunset over the bay - wonderful. The food was similar to Chinese but the spices were delicate and the portions smaller. Lots of lemongrass and fresh fruit . The fresh fruit in Vietnam is available at every hotel; pineapple, watermelon, mango,guava and much more. The next day after another hearty meal we visited a cave and a floating village before bidding a reluctant good bye to our junk and returning to Hanoi.That evening we boarded the train for an overnight journey to Hue. The train was somewhat down market from the junk. The French built the railways in Vietnam and the sleeping coach was very similar to those in France. They were very old with each compartment having space for three bunks on each side. Fortunately the two top bunks were removed. Each compartment had only two occupants so there was plenty of room for our cases etc. The food was rather basic too - mainly biscuits crisps and yoghurt but it was nice to look out of the windows and watch the world go by. We saw many graves in the middle of acres of rice. What we didn't see was birds. In my mind I associate rice fields with flocks of white birds - egrets, storks,cranes lazily rising as people approach. We didn't see any white birds in North Vietnam. Neither did we see any sea birds on the acres of cliffs of Halong Bay. We had seen birds in cages outside peoples houses. Perhaps they missed the birds too. The country seemed sanitised. In the North we saw only rice fields, water buffalo and duck ponds. Further south we saw rubber plantations and groves of fruit trees. We also saw cattle, sheep and a few white birds. We didn't see natural woodland until we got to Saigon.Hue was the old capital of Vietnam. It had beautiful temple buildings on the banks of


The Junk


the Perfume river and we approached them by boat. By now the temperature which had been around 20c was rising to 30c and the mist had cleared.We went by bus to Hoi An stopping at Marble Mountain which rises quite dramatically from the coastal plain and was strategically important in the Vietnam war. There is a Buddhist temple surveying the coast and also a pagoda. When we arrived at the pagoda an elderly monk was changing the flowers offered to Buddha and a young monk was sweeping the floor. He motioned me to follow him inside. To my surprise there was a spiral staircase going up seven floors. On each floor there was either a golden statue of Buddha or a collection of his helpers in black. Very interesting.Hoi An was the surprise delight of Vietnam. 200 years ago it was a prosperous little port. The local merchants spent their money on family houses and chapels. Little has changed since then. The Anantara Hoi An Resort hotel was pleasantly quirky after the previous Best Western. It was on the banks of the Thu Bon river. From the restaurant you could watch the sampans moving up and down and ferries loaded with scooters going back and forth. A short walk along the river banks brought us to the market street where ladies sat selling fruit and vegetables.

Further on was a 16 century Japanese Bridge which led into the old town where the merchants had built assembly halls for sailors of different origins to reside in between trips. They also helped ship wrecked sailors and those who died without known relatives. The Fukien Assembly Hall includes a temple to Thien Hau. This lady was a cross between St Christopher and Grace Darling. In her youth she rescued her father from the sea. She is now worshipped as a protector of sailors. When the boat people set sail for a better life

in Australia many came to the Fukien Assembly Hall to pray for a safe journey. Hoi An also had an interesting collection of shops selling silk goods, made to measure suits and shoes and varied tourist items.The temperature was now in the 30's and the pace of the tour never flagged. Everyone loved Hoi An and would have happily stayed there forever but it was onwards and southwards.


The Pagoda

Street market in Hoi An


In Nha Trang we stayed at the Novotel and ate buffet meals. This was the poorest hotel of the holiday. Nha Trang's main attraction was three miles of beautiful beach. The locals were swimming in the sea at 6am. By 9am the beach was deserted. Too hot! At the far end of the beach a cable car would take you over the sea to a Disney style fair ground. This has attracted the Russians. Up till now all tourist signs had been in English and occasionally French and the tourists we met were from these two countries. Suddenly there were signs in Russian, Polish grocery shops, German beer gardens. Planes were flying into the local airport from Vladivostok! One day there was quite enough.Next day we took the train to Saigon - officially Ho Chi Minh City. It was late when we arrived so we decided to eat in our hotel - The Grand. The Grand was built in the hey day of the French occupation and it had all the (slightly) faded glory of those days including en suite baths and a roof top restaurant on the 20th floor. Up there we had a wonderful view of the Saigon River with its floating casinos, and a gentle breeze to take the edge off the heat now approaching 40c. As a penance for all our hedonistic pleasures we visited the War Museum which was quite upsetting and learned about Agent Orange and all the other herbicides that the Americans scattered everywhere. It was probably these poisons that had killed all the birds as well as killing all the native plants and killing or deforming so many Vietnamese. We also went to the Cu Chi Tunnels where the Viet Cong hid from the Americans in an underground village with a hospital, school etc. We had to admire their ingenuity, stubbornness and determination not to give in. The Vietnamese as a whole came over as a proud but gentle race. In spite of their injuries there weren't any beggars. In spite of their relative poverty there was a very low crime rate. Although the guide said only 5% of the population were practising Buddhists the Buddhist ethic of kindness and consideration for all seemed to pervade the country. On the last night in Saigon we went to a Water Puppet Show. It lasted less than an hour and yet it explained in a delightful way what it is to be Vietnamese. On the stage is a trough of water with the facade of a temple behind it. The puppeteers stand behind the facade and manipulate the puppets in the water. We started with the dragon which is all powerful. Then we went onto agriculture, sowing rice, rearing ducks catchingfrogs. Next it was boat racing and passing the "exam". Finally it was the dance of the four Holy Animals; the dragon (power), the phoenix (gentleness), the unicorn (intelligence), the tortoise (longevity). I hope that the water puppets will be allowed to perform for a long time.

The final part of our Vietnam holiday was on the Mekong delta. We took a bus to Cai Be where we saw the local floating market and visited a local family who made rice paper for the confectionery industry. We had lunch there before going by boat to our hotel for the night. We were pleased to find the river mosquito free. There were blue water hyacinths floating in the



river. The boats were somewhat disappointing being an unpainted dingy brown. There were working boats carrying gravel and alarmingly low in the water. There were also boats loaded with fruit and vegetables and ferry boats loaded with scooters. Private cars were few in Vietnam although Saigon had its share of people carriers. The river was still tidal when we boarded thespeed boat the next day. Soon we joined the main channel of the Mekong River. Shortly after lunch we reached the customs post and had to leave the boat to have our passports and visas inspected. Our holiday inVietnam was over. Our holiday in Cambodia was just beginning. What wonders would it reveal? We wouldsoon know. .

EBU Autumn CongressThe following is an extract from a recent EBU notice. Please note that our club is one of the three listed venues. Full details are available on theEBU website, but information relevant to the Bradford and Richmond (London) clubs may be obtained from the venues.

At the Autumn Congress in Peterborough the EBU will hold another Really Easy Afternoon on Friday 17th October. The event will also be held concurrently at Richmond Bridge Club and Bradford Bridge Club, and it will be scored across the three venues. The event at each venue is open to all - EBU members and non-members alike.. The event will be a duplicate pairs with prizes for the overall winners. The results will be stratified based on the EBU NGS grading system, with Blue Points awarded based on the stratified results. Non-EBU members, and those members without an NGS grade, will be assigned to the top tier for scoring purposes to ensure they do not gain an unfair advantage. It may be possible to accommodate individual players at the Peterborough venue, so please contact the EBU who will try to arrange a partner. The event will start at 2pm and will be played over approximately 21-24 boards (the exact number will be dependent on entries). It will end around 5:30pm and include a short break. The cost of entry is £6 for EBU members (£12 for non-members). For all venues please enter in advance by contacting Peter Jordan, at he EBU, by email or on 01296 317203.

Recently heard...

A friend drowned in a bowl of museli. A strong currant must have pulled her in.

Forty football supporters arrive at the Pearly Gates. St Peter goes to tell God, and God says it must be a mistake. “Go back and check” He said . St Peter checked and went back to God “Well,” said God “have they gone?” “Yes,” said St Peter “but the gates have gone.”



Recent SuccessesRecent successes in Club events include:

Hill Pairs ChampionshipTony McNiff, Bill Townsend

NGS (organised by Georgina Wooler) Level A: 1st Steve Blackburn, George BakLevel B: 2nd Robert Eaton, Janice BrearLevel C: 1st Hazel Greenwood, Jackie Schmitz

Club Championship teams of fourSue Logan, Stuart Davies, Tony McNiff, Bill Townsend

Joyce Allard TrophyMorris and Liz Brown, Colin Robinson, Janet Hardcastle

Vera Walton TrophyWendy Murphy, Sue Sheldrick

Outside events

Castle Swiss Pairs 2nd Stuart Davies with Alan Jarvis

YCBA Congress, Men's PairsRichard Winter, Stuart Davies

Yorkshire Stratified PAIRSPhil Godfrey with Jack Stocken

EBU Masterpoints Promotions

Advanced Master: Mr L Andrews, Mrs M Andrews, Mrs M Dixon Master: Mr Ian FooteDistrict Master: Mr John Bastow, Ms G Ramseyer, Ms S Sheldrick



Yorkshire League fixtures 2014-15

The dates and venues for our Yorkshire league fixtures are given below. At certain venues, car parking can be difficult. The various host club websites give useful local advice. 26th October 2014A at home Sheffield BB away to Hull AC at home Beauchief AD at home BarnsleyE away to Huddersfield EF at home Ilkley E

25th January 2015A away to Doncaster AB away to Keighley AC at home Sheffield HD at home Leeds EE at home Keighley EF away to Halifax D

16th November 2014A away to Huddersfield AB at home Leeds BC away to Brighouse BD at home Sheffield IE away to Doncaster EF away to Leeds F

15th February 2015A at home Leeds AB away to Harrogate AC away to WensleydaleD away to Halifax BE away to Ilkley EF at home Huddersfield D

7th December 2014A away to Sheffield AB at home Sheffield CC at home Ilkley CD away to Beauchief BE at home Brighouse CF at home Thirsk B

8th March 2015A at home York AB at home Malton AC at home Leeds DD away to Wakefield CE away to Wakefield D F at home Huddersfield F

4th January 2015A at home Scarborough AB away to Ilkley AC away to Harrogate CD at home Huddersfield EE at home Leeds FF at home Wetherby D When two or more teams are playing at the same venue, please ensure that you are playing the correct opponents. (NB: D and E teams on 8th March)



Hosts for Friday evenings

1st August 2014 Tony McNiff8th August Margaret Brayshaw15th August Georgina Wooler22nd August Gill Copeland29th August Margaret Dixon5th September ----------12th September Carol Swales19th September Donald McLean26th September Bill Prior3rd October Margaret Andrews10th October Alan Jarvis17th October ----------24th October Sue Logan31st October -----------7th November Monica Lawson14th November Donald McLean21th November Elaine Van Heel28th November John Middleton5th December Margaret Brayshaw12th December Martin Dredge19th December Louise Armitage2nd January 2015 Robert Eaton

All hosts will receive a Free Game whether or not they are required to play. If not required to play then claim the free game at the next drive. Hosts unable to keep their commitment please attempt to exchange dates with another host or contact the Editor.

This list is provisional. In view of the frequency with which Friday evening drives are cancelled because of lack of support, all potential hosts should check whether or not a drive will actually occur.

No information has been received for Monday hosts. For these please check the notice board in the main playing room.



the kibbitzer r df oa d b r - bradford bridge club van heel chairman ... and placing it in the box...

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