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If you missed Joan's workshop on Modern Competitive Bidding on Saturday 9 September, then you missed out. It was excellent and there was so much chatter afterwards with people saying how much they had enjoyed it and how much they had learnt.

Her morning workshop on “Modern Competitive Bidding” was well attended even though it clashed with compulsory voting for council elections. Those members present certainly got value for their $12 as well as justification for giving up a valuable Saturday morning. I spoke to several attendees and they were unanimous in saying it was very worthwhile.

Joan is a gifted teacher in bridge – no wonder she is the ABF Teaching Coordinator – as she can communicate to all levels of players. Her logical explanations, her empathy with the attendees, her anecdotes and quotes, reinforces the principles she is teaching. You can see a you-tube video version of her presentation.

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The Charity Day on Monday 4 September was well attended across the full range of members. Check the full results on our website. The restricted section winners, Sue Davies, Terry Mackin, Gil Elliot and Terry Herfort each took home a bottle of wine. Here are first hand reports first from Terry Herfort and secondly from Marg Cliffe:

Terry: "I was keen to attend my second charity day, as I so much enjoyed my first. Well, Monday certainly lived up to my expectation and in fact succeeded my expectations.

Why? Charity Day is a day of lots of talking, friendship, congeniality, bonhomie and bridge. And all for a good cause. The fact that the proceeds of the day were going to two honourable local charities made it worthwhile.

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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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