Today is a very sad day - I have just learned of the death last night of Jimmie Arthur, a dear friend and one of the nicest people you could hope to know in a lifetime. Jimmie had been ill for some time, and I am thankful that Mark and I were able to visit him about 10 days ago.
I knew Jimmie in the days of the British Bridge League, when he captained the British Women's Team, leading them to success and gold medals. My job was to make all the travel arrangements, book the hotels, and generally sort out the logistics of getting everyone to where they had to be at the right time, so I got to know Jimmie and his lovely wife Jill, quite well as a result !
I know you will all want to join me in sending our heartfelt sympathy to Jill and to Jimmie's family. You can read a full obituary on the EBU website
Friday, 4 May 2007
Friday, 13 April 2007
Lovely Easter !
Wow weren't we lucky with the weather - we had a fabulous relaxing Easter ! My daughter Catherine and her partner, Mark (another Mark !), came up from Bristol and we did lovely things like visit the zoo (baby aardvark - so cute) and go to a bird reserve to see the wetland birds, and sit in the garden and enjoy the peace and quiet. It was great. I do hope you all had a good time as well.
Then came Tuesday and back to earth with a thump !
Wednesday saw the first of three BGB Simultaneous Pairs and the results have been rushing in as clubs upload to the servers. Nice that they are all in London now (we wave to them when we go past Canary Wharf) - it makes it much quieter in the office without them and we don't have to panic every time there is a thunderstorm, worrying about the power going off! Living in the country is great but it does have the occasional drawback - I remember running a big sim and having the local farmer put his digger through the mains!!
The EBU Simultaneous Pairs material has now been dispatched and I have a reminder pinging me to put the club lists up, which I will try and do on Monday if not this evening.
The first batch of World Wide packages have left here, and we have more to pack on Monday - bless her, my other daughter, Vickie has said she will come and give me a hand which is great because she will bring Jasmine, my granddaughter with her so I can spoil her !
The master points from the Charity Challenge will go out after the weekend - sorry for the delay on that but what with Easter and everything else it has taken a bit longer than I would have liked. The master point list is on the website if you want to see how many you earned.
If your club wants to enter the World Wide, do email me, because we would love to have your company, wherever you are on the planet :-)
We are also starting to work towards Shanghai and the World Championships in September - there is lots of information on the website about that - click here to go to it. I will let you know when I put new stuff up - there is bound to be lots coming through as we get nearer to the event. And remember that there is the World Transnational Open Teams Championship in the 2nd week - anyone in good standing with their Federation can play in this, and I have some pretty leaflets about it, so if you want one, email me and I will pop it in the post for you. It is a marvellous event and you get to enjoy the final stages of the Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup and Seniors Bowl as well, with all the tensions and excitement that is created by that. Enormous fun - truly. And Shanghai as well ... all that shopping ! I can't wait !! Mind you, I will be working there, not playing bridge, but it will still be enormous fun I know.
That's it for now ... look after yourselves !
Then came Tuesday and back to earth with a thump !
Wednesday saw the first of three BGB Simultaneous Pairs and the results have been rushing in as clubs upload to the servers. Nice that they are all in London now (we wave to them when we go past Canary Wharf) - it makes it much quieter in the office without them and we don't have to panic every time there is a thunderstorm, worrying about the power going off! Living in the country is great but it does have the occasional drawback - I remember running a big sim and having the local farmer put his digger through the mains!!
The EBU Simultaneous Pairs material has now been dispatched and I have a reminder pinging me to put the club lists up, which I will try and do on Monday if not this evening.
The first batch of World Wide packages have left here, and we have more to pack on Monday - bless her, my other daughter, Vickie has said she will come and give me a hand which is great because she will bring Jasmine, my granddaughter with her so I can spoil her !
The master points from the Charity Challenge will go out after the weekend - sorry for the delay on that but what with Easter and everything else it has taken a bit longer than I would have liked. The master point list is on the website if you want to see how many you earned.
If your club wants to enter the World Wide, do email me, because we would love to have your company, wherever you are on the planet :-)
We are also starting to work towards Shanghai and the World Championships in September - there is lots of information on the website about that - click here to go to it. I will let you know when I put new stuff up - there is bound to be lots coming through as we get nearer to the event. And remember that there is the World Transnational Open Teams Championship in the 2nd week - anyone in good standing with their Federation can play in this, and I have some pretty leaflets about it, so if you want one, email me and I will pop it in the post for you. It is a marvellous event and you get to enjoy the final stages of the Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup and Seniors Bowl as well, with all the tensions and excitement that is created by that. Enormous fun - truly. And Shanghai as well ... all that shopping ! I can't wait !! Mind you, I will be working there, not playing bridge, but it will still be enormous fun I know.
That's it for now ... look after yourselves !
Wednesday, 21 March 2007
Help ! the WWBC booklets have arrived ...
... and my hall has disappeared ! This year's World Wide Bridge Contest is on Friday 1st & Saturday 2nd June, and it is time to think about entering - I know it is early to send out the packs but I would love to get rid of the booklets and create a bit of space, so - if your club wants to take part please get in touch soon. Click here for more information and to find out how to enter. And do remember that we can offer a discount if you want to take it all by email rather than have me posting the booklets to you, so if you are interested in that, email me for more information (remembering to tell me which club you are and which country you are in!)
It is such a fun event to enter - watching the results coming in from all over the world is really exciting, and I can tell you that Eric Kokish has done his usual wonderful job with the commentary which is really entertaining and interesting! Do join us if you can - we would love to have your company ! Click here for more information about the whole event and to find out how easy it is to run a heat.
What else - well, all is in place for the BGB Sims on 11, 12 and 13 April (Friday 13th must be lucky for someone !) ... the club lists are on the website (click here) so you can look for the club nearest you to play at. Again, a fun and enjoyable event, so do try and find a heat to play at. We can take late entries, up to 2 days before each of the events, so if your club decides to hold a last minute heat we will do our best to help.
On the home front, we are enjoying some glorious spring weather and the cats are moaning less which is always good news - though I have a feeling that we will soon be seeing the baby bunnies being brought in ... always a drawback with cats I am afraid. The garden is springing into life though, and shaking off the winter browns and greys. I have been inspired into some eastern mediterranean cooking with lovely Ras-el-Hanout spice mix which went down well!
And my spare time this week is being spent helping my daughter with her dancing school - they do an annual show, this year with 129 children in it, and I get brought in as a licenced chaperone to help backstage! My 12 year old granddaughter is in the production, so I get to be in her dressing room which is great fun. And on Friday I will be going to see the show so I am really looking forward to that.
It is such a fun event to enter - watching the results coming in from all over the world is really exciting, and I can tell you that Eric Kokish has done his usual wonderful job with the commentary which is really entertaining and interesting! Do join us if you can - we would love to have your company ! Click here for more information about the whole event and to find out how easy it is to run a heat.
What else - well, all is in place for the BGB Sims on 11, 12 and 13 April (Friday 13th must be lucky for someone !) ... the club lists are on the website (click here) so you can look for the club nearest you to play at. Again, a fun and enjoyable event, so do try and find a heat to play at. We can take late entries, up to 2 days before each of the events, so if your club decides to hold a last minute heat we will do our best to help.
On the home front, we are enjoying some glorious spring weather and the cats are moaning less which is always good news - though I have a feeling that we will soon be seeing the baby bunnies being brought in ... always a drawback with cats I am afraid. The garden is springing into life though, and shaking off the winter browns and greys. I have been inspired into some eastern mediterranean cooking with lovely Ras-el-Hanout spice mix which went down well!
And my spare time this week is being spent helping my daughter with her dancing school - they do an annual show, this year with 129 children in it, and I get brought in as a licenced chaperone to help backstage! My 12 year old granddaughter is in the production, so I get to be in her dressing room which is great fun. And on Friday I will be going to see the show so I am really looking forward to that.
Tuesday, 13 March 2007
Spring is Sprung ...
... and I am not sure my poor hands will ever recover from the gardening I have been doing, but at least it all looks a bit tidier and I have got some of my tubs planted up !
On the bridge front, it is the usual scramble to get the files to the printers for the World Wide booklets - don't forget to enter that will you ? All the details are on the website - just click here for the information. It is such a fun event, with clubs from all over the world competing - so your scores are compared with players from New Zealand to Alaska. We love watching the results coming in as the world spins and the time zones change - it is really exciting, even after doing it so many times!
Have you got - or has your club or organisation got - a bridge related website ? If so, do make sure it is linked from our site. Just click here and you can a) check and b) enter it yourself if it isn't there. And when I see it come through I will make it live - have to do that or some dear soul will put something up that is totally unsuitable !
So what else - well, we are really getting our fish tank going ! It is tropical freshwater, and we have some zebra danios, neon tetras, glass catfish, honey gouramis, a couple of khouli loaches (which we never see!) and two adorable, very busy little corys! And don't let's forget the two angel fish - small ones or they might eat the tetras. It is such fun .. it is a 300 litre tank so there is plenty of room for some additions as time goes by.
It is going to be a very hectic and social week, culminating with Oliver's birthday celebration on Friday (Oliver is Mark's younger son). I have agreed to do a Chinese feast for 10 - I normally do about 10 different dishes, including lemon chicken, Szechuan Prawns, sizzling beef, Kung Po Chicken and I try and do a completely new dish each time to add to my repetoire. I LOVE cooking - my major relaxation at the end of a day.
On the bridge front, it is the usual scramble to get the files to the printers for the World Wide booklets - don't forget to enter that will you ? All the details are on the website - just click here for the information. It is such a fun event, with clubs from all over the world competing - so your scores are compared with players from New Zealand to Alaska. We love watching the results coming in as the world spins and the time zones change - it is really exciting, even after doing it so many times!
Have you got - or has your club or organisation got - a bridge related website ? If so, do make sure it is linked from our site. Just click here and you can a) check and b) enter it yourself if it isn't there. And when I see it come through I will make it live - have to do that or some dear soul will put something up that is totally unsuitable !
So what else - well, we are really getting our fish tank going ! It is tropical freshwater, and we have some zebra danios, neon tetras, glass catfish, honey gouramis, a couple of khouli loaches (which we never see!) and two adorable, very busy little corys! And don't let's forget the two angel fish - small ones or they might eat the tetras. It is such fun .. it is a 300 litre tank so there is plenty of room for some additions as time goes by.
It is going to be a very hectic and social week, culminating with Oliver's birthday celebration on Friday (Oliver is Mark's younger son). I have agreed to do a Chinese feast for 10 - I normally do about 10 different dishes, including lemon chicken, Szechuan Prawns, sizzling beef, Kung Po Chicken and I try and do a completely new dish each time to add to my repetoire. I LOVE cooking - my major relaxation at the end of a day.
Monday, 5 March 2007
Bridge Info
Just a short note today really - to let you know that I have updated all the Shanghai information - just click here and you will find all the new stuff that I have put up.
And to remind you about the EBL Open Championships in Antalya - don't leave it too late to book will you ? Click here for information about that ...
The sun has been shining, the birds singing and the daffodils dancing today - most unfair as it poured with rain all day yesterday (Sunday), and I have had to sit and watch it out of the office window today instead of enjoying it in the garden or something. Ho hum. Never mind, another time. And at least it is 5 o'clock now, so nearly time to stop ...
And to remind you about the EBL Open Championships in Antalya - don't leave it too late to book will you ? Click here for information about that ...
The sun has been shining, the birds singing and the daffodils dancing today - most unfair as it poured with rain all day yesterday (Sunday), and I have had to sit and watch it out of the office window today instead of enjoying it in the garden or something. Ho hum. Never mind, another time. And at least it is 5 o'clock now, so nearly time to stop ...
Thursday, 1 March 2007
Horrible bugs ...
Things have caught up on me a bit this week, mainly because I have spent 2 1/2 days in bed fast asleep - heaven knows what the bug was, but it knocked me for six - I slept for about 36 hours out of 48, but am much better today thank goodness. Which is just as well, as there is lots to do!
We have sent out all the material for the April Sims - the Wednesday and Friday sackloads (28 of them) went last week, and another 13 sacks will leave here tomorrow containing the Thursday packs. And I can tell you I will be very glad to see the back of them ! My ex-husband used to reckon that if he nailed a matchbox in the middle of an empty floor I would trip over it, so you can imagine how I am with a hall full of sacks ! The only thing is ... the travellers for the EBU May event arrive next week, so there will be a whole set of new boxes just lying in wait for me. Ho hum !
By the way - speaking of Sims - the club list for the Charity Challenge Pairs is up, so do try and find somewhere to play... Action Medical Research is such a good cause and we would like to raise lots and lots of lovely money for them.
So what is new in the bridge world - well, I have been asked to tell you about the Estoril Bridge Festival in April - this is an excellent event I am told, so you might want to have a look at the brochure - click here to go to it. And don't forget that if you go to our Events pages there are lots of different tournaments etc that you might want to play in - or perhaps you would like to add your own event ? You can see the link on that page so that you can do it yourself!
One thing I did get a chance to do over the weekend (before I succumbed to that totally uncalledfor bug that attacked me) was to add to our pages about the ECats Cats - you see EMale now has a friend in South Africa, who is trying to persuade him to learn bridge (yes, OK, I know -we are not the sanest people here at the Railway Station, but hey - life is for having fun and enjoying !). Click here to find out more about Emale and sevenlives!
Now it is the end of the day, lots of plants have arrived for our splendid new tropical fish tank, and I am off to help Mark plant them! Pictures will be forthcoming in due course.
Happy March days !
We have sent out all the material for the April Sims - the Wednesday and Friday sackloads (28 of them) went last week, and another 13 sacks will leave here tomorrow containing the Thursday packs. And I can tell you I will be very glad to see the back of them ! My ex-husband used to reckon that if he nailed a matchbox in the middle of an empty floor I would trip over it, so you can imagine how I am with a hall full of sacks ! The only thing is ... the travellers for the EBU May event arrive next week, so there will be a whole set of new boxes just lying in wait for me. Ho hum !
By the way - speaking of Sims - the club list for the Charity Challenge Pairs is up, so do try and find somewhere to play... Action Medical Research is such a good cause and we would like to raise lots and lots of lovely money for them.
So what is new in the bridge world - well, I have been asked to tell you about the Estoril Bridge Festival in April - this is an excellent event I am told, so you might want to have a look at the brochure - click here to go to it. And don't forget that if you go to our Events pages there are lots of different tournaments etc that you might want to play in - or perhaps you would like to add your own event ? You can see the link on that page so that you can do it yourself!
One thing I did get a chance to do over the weekend (before I succumbed to that totally uncalledfor bug that attacked me) was to add to our pages about the ECats Cats - you see EMale now has a friend in South Africa, who is trying to persuade him to learn bridge (yes, OK, I know -we are not the sanest people here at the Railway Station, but hey - life is for having fun and enjoying !). Click here to find out more about Emale and sevenlives!
Now it is the end of the day, lots of plants have arrived for our splendid new tropical fish tank, and I am off to help Mark plant them! Pictures will be forthcoming in due course.
Happy March days !
Friday, 16 February 2007
Busy doing nothing !
Not quite true in fact, but it looks as though I have been very quiet this week. In fact I have been doing a lot of background work on the EBU site, plus getting everything packed for the Charity Challenge Sims so the post office can pick it up this afternoon and get it all on its way. And I am still battling with getting the regulations for Shanghai ready for approval .
Mark has been doing some funky programming to make the sims stuff easier for me to use and I can't wait for that to be ready - he really is a star. And Emale has spent most of the week asleep on top of the radiator at the back of my desk (or in my bed when he thinks he can get away with it!)
It has been fun on the home front though ! We have been decorating our hall way, which runs the whole length of the station, and the carpet is now fitted and the new bookshelves delivered, and very nice they look too. Not only that but we have also had a lovely new sideboard in the dining room - solid oak and very heavy but it is great to have it and be able to store lots of bits and pieces at long last, instead of having them stashed in corners. Isn't it amazing how long it takes to get a place straight - we have been here for 12 years and we are still doing stuff !
The birds are all making spring type noises (did you know that people believed that birds chose their mates on 14 February ?!), and I have a couple of daffodils out which is ridiculously early.
And it is Friday which means I have the weekend to look forward to with my daughter and her husband coming over for dinner on Saturday which will be great.
Mark has been doing some funky programming to make the sims stuff easier for me to use and I can't wait for that to be ready - he really is a star. And Emale has spent most of the week asleep on top of the radiator at the back of my desk (or in my bed when he thinks he can get away with it!)
It has been fun on the home front though ! We have been decorating our hall way, which runs the whole length of the station, and the carpet is now fitted and the new bookshelves delivered, and very nice they look too. Not only that but we have also had a lovely new sideboard in the dining room - solid oak and very heavy but it is great to have it and be able to store lots of bits and pieces at long last, instead of having them stashed in corners. Isn't it amazing how long it takes to get a place straight - we have been here for 12 years and we are still doing stuff !
The birds are all making spring type noises (did you know that people believed that birds chose their mates on 14 February ?!), and I have a couple of daffodils out which is ridiculously early.
And it is Friday which means I have the weekend to look forward to with my daughter and her husband coming over for dinner on Saturday which will be great.
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