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Put a note in your diary for next Saturday, 9th September at 9.30 until 11.30. Joan Butts will be with us at Peninsula holding a workshop on: Modern competitive bidding.

The general trend in today's game is to be more aggressive, especially in competitive auctions. Put pressure on the opponents by getting in their way. Everyone plays a role: opener, responder, intervener and the advancer. This workshop will show you when to bid a lot and when not to. Check the event details and flier.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Anita and Jo, along with Terry and I, had fun on a bridge holiday in Thailand. We played among our group of 24 but also played in local bridge clubs. The venues were wildly diverse, from a grand and opulent Country Club to a hot and dingy room above a bar, making our own club at Peninsula seem wonderful.

The players were equally diverse, mainly expatriates and mainly men. Our own accommodations were splendid, the pick being this lovely villa on a cliff overlooking the sea at Phuket.

Anita and Jo are pictured with Greg Eustace and Gaye Allen who hosted the holiday, as well as Jenny from a Newcastle club. Back to earth now!

If you have a a little bit of time and a little bit of interest in helping with communication then we'd love to welcome you to the communications team to help you help the club! Email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if any of these roles sound like you?

• Story writers - both your own ideas and ones that are commissioned
• Photographers - taking suitable photos for stories
• Bridge question gurus - Answering how-to bridge questions that are emailed in 
• Peninsula stationery organiser - refresh our stationery with the new club logo and font - guidance/support given
• Website support - update and maintain the website, helping others add their content - training/support given

August has been a busy month on the Congress and competition front. Coffs Harbour was well attended and all had a good time. Well done to Peter Clarke and Hans Van Weeran (representing NSW) as well as Cassandra Mitchell and Clare Filmer Ramsay for a competing at the 2017 Australian Restricted Championships in Canberra. Congratulations to Cath Whiddon for winning the NSW State Individual Tournament. Well done to David Farmer and Viv Eldridge for winning the Charlie Mitchell Shield.

Most importantly, well done to everyone who has managed to avoid the awful winter flu!

On an organisational front, Robin Ho, our new administration assistant, is doing a wonderful job of helping with the finances and the membership process. The Committee has been getting ready for the transition to GST status, and I am happy to report that everything is in good order. A special thanks goes to Bob Whiddon and Max Patterson for all the work that they are doing behind the scenes.

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Members are reminded that, with GST being recognised from the beginning of September:

• Table money will rise to $7 for members, and $12 for non-members
• Sets of 10 Prepaid Vouchers (PPVs) will cost $65
• Members will be able to use existing PPVs and yellow and pink vouchers at sessions and from 1 September at supervised sessions.
• From now until 1 September there is a purchase limit of 10 PPVs per member per day.

If you look at your Pianola results message and wonder how you can improve then the optional Pianola Plus subscription might be just right for you.

The club (via Cath Whiddon) has negotiated a 20% discount on the first subscription to Pianola Plus for any of our club's members. To activate the discount the promo code is PENINSULA (all caps).

Pianola Plus offers a number of additional features of interest to those wishing to improve their game, such as:

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A congress level bridge player, who has lost the use of her legs, is looking for some good bridge competition. She is located in an aged care facility on the lower northern beaches and is comfortable with playing bridge online at Bridge Base Online.

We are looking for one or both of the following:

• A small number of bridge players who would be able to trial playing face to face with her at her (lovely) facility every now and again, and/or
• One or two bridge players who are happy to trial being her online partner on BBO.

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The committee asks, in the best interests of all members of the club, that members do not attend the club when they are ill and contagious. We want to avoid others catching the flu and other diseases via coughs and sneezes and through touching the cards and boards that others will also touch.

All members are encouraged to wash their hands and do whatever they can to minimise these risks.