learn, laugh, live

There is a lot in the press these days about the benefits of mental stimulation, social contact and physical activity in keeping us younger. Our bridge group offers both mental stimulation and social contact – even physical activity too for some of us, putting out tables and chairs and tidying them away afterwards! If you’re an intermediate standard bridge player and would like to join us for Chicago bridge (no partner needed) please do come along on the day or email for more information.

New members are always welcome. We are an “open” group so new players can just come along on the day. We play ACOL in a ‘Chicago’ format so you do not need to come with a partner or to come every time. We change partners every 4 hands so you experience playing with 4 or occasionally 5  different people during the morning.  We like people to be of at least an intermediate standard and to know the standard Acol bids and responses. We can supply an Acol basic bidding crib sheet to anyone who thinks they might be a bit rusty.

Our two May sessions have had 11 and then 17 players, so numbers are still quite variable. The  winner on 27th May was John Christy.  The scores on 10th June were all so low that no one wanted to claim the winner’s recognition! Presumably the cards were all quite fairly distributed  across the tables.

We are occasionally asked by potential new members whether we give bridge lessons. The group has not done this for many years now and there are currently no plans to start but there are options locally which run from time to time and with a bit of research can be found advertised online. One option of which we have recently become aware is an online course run by the u3a nationally. They normally run two courses a year one starting in January and one in the summer – entries are currently open for the summer one. They state that “The online course is based on a well-proven methodology using Nofearbridge lessons and RealBridge playing sessions. The course starts with a set of free, short, self-taught MiniBridge Lessons on the NoFearBridge website to obtain two MiniBridge certificates, demonstrating you have learnt basic principles. This normally takes 1 to 2 weeks to complete. Those completing the MiniBridge course may join 23 weeks of online study with weekly readings and exercises to complete in your own time. We support your learning through a weekly group meeting and weekly supervised practice sessions (at a fixed time) on the RealBridge playing platform.”   
Details can be found at www.bridgewebs.com/u3abridgegroup.

Next sessions:-  24th June, 8th and 22nd July then a 2 month break and restart on 14th October

Last updated 13 June 2026