NEWS FROM THE BRIDGE CLUBS myles.buchanan@peoplenews.ie
from the East’ the Grand Slam Bridge Club had a most enjoyable night.
The competition was what is known as a Howell movement and produced a few new names in the winners enclosure. Overall first place went to Cathal Cooney and Marie Dernin. To my impaired recollection this may be their first time at the top of the table. Second place was awarded to a very promising novice, Jennifer Finnegan and her partner Billy Dunne. Just two points behind them came Rose Behan and Rosemary Morrissey in third place. The rest of the players were closely bunched behind these first three pairs. As normal the hands that were dealt on the first round were varied in distribution and presented many challenges to both sides of the table.
The novice and beginners session is expanding and some great examples including a small slam appeared. The difficulty of counting losers in a trump contract and certain winning tricks in a no trump contract plus trying to remember what cards have been played all give the less experienced players headaches!
The law of probability is often a critical part of the game of bridge. How the cards in any of the four suits are dealt randomly between the four players at a bridge table, leaves each player contemplating the distribution of their thirteen cards. One weighs up if the four suits are balanced or if the distribution is otherwise not balanced. The playing of the cards is undertaken by only one player, called the Declarer. Their partner takes no part in the playing of the cards following the auction or bidding sequence that determines how many winning tricks the declarer has to attempt to win. This can be any number of tricks between seven and thirteen. The Declarer and the two opponents can all see the exposed hand laid down face up on the bridge table by Declarer’s now silent partner. At this stage it seems perhaps a little unfair that there are two opponents against one declarer. On the majority of deals the probability of suit distribution being relatively evenly divided in the two defender’s hand is ok to assume. But when you get a night like last Wednesday all bets are off. There were voids and singleton holdings in many hands that made the normal distribution of suits go out the window. Much grief followed and gnashing of teeth and wailing of players was heard around the room. But, there were winners, despite a night of unpredictable distributions. The first pair in the moving section of players were Susie Byrne and Gwen Teevan, who were nine points ahead of Pam McDonogh and Angela McDermot. They were nineteen points ahead of third placed pair of Carol Wadden and Linda Walsh. In the seated chairs, Larry Ryan and Cathal Cooney showed the rest of the players the way into the winning spot, twenty points ahead of the sisters Mary Kilcoyne and Kay Murphy. A couple of points separated these from third placed pair of Neville Caine and Kay Kelly.
This was the last Wednesday of March and next week, the first Wednesday in April after Easter, the Club will be offering everyone in the audience the traditional Chocolate Easter egg. Whatever you may have given up for Lent, I hope it was not your game of bridge. The hour from 6.30 to 7.30 p.m. every Wednesday prior to the weekly competition for tips and practice. THE District Engineer for Wicklow Municipal District outlined the proposed roads programme for 2018, which will also include some footpath works.
Costings for each job hasn’t yet been finalised but there is a budget of just over €757,000 for restoration works and another €189,000 for resurfacing, councillors heard at the most recent meeting of Wicklow Municipal District.
Engineer Paul Byrne said that the works would commence in May and would continue through the summer months.
Councillors had been asked to provide any proposed projects to the District Engineer in December.
Garden Village Estate had been suggested but Mr Byrne felt the roads in the estate were adequate. Instead, he proposed replacing the Garden Village with the R772 road at the front of Mount usher Gardens in Ashford.
‘There is half a kilometre there that requires a lot of work,’ said Mr Byrne.
Road and footpath works will also take place at Glenview Park and further works at the R764 and the R765 junction at Ashford.
Also included will be the L6120 near Laragh, the Oldtown to Roundwood road, the L500 in Laragh, the L1039 in Altidore and the R751 and R750.
Works will also be carried out at the Marlton Road junction beside the Grand Hotel in Wicklow town.
Cllr Gail Dunne suggested that said works should continue all the way up to the junction near to St Patrick’s Church, which he described as being ‘dreadful.’