BRIDGE groups from across the Farnham area gathered on August 24 to run an ‘all Farnham’ Festival of Bridge in the Maltings Great Hall.

More than 160 participants took part in the festival, making it the biggest bridge event to be held in Farnham for decades.

Participants ranged from the age of eight to 99 years old, with different sections of bridge to suit all abilities, from beginner to grand master.

Organisers received feedback that it was a “uniquely enjoyable and friendly event”, which “really demonstrated that the great game of bridge is alive and well in Farnham and has appeal for all ages and abilities”.

Jeremy Dhondy, chairman of the English Bridge Union, presented bridge trophies to the winners:

• Graham Davison and Joe Dinnen won the ‘open duplicate’ (18 boards with bridgemate scoring)

• Beverley and Graham Sylvester-Evans won the ‘no fear duplicate’ (14 boards with travellers in use)

• Lene Rasmussen and Maureen Butler were champions in the Chicago section (a variation of rubber bridge).

All partipants were also given a free invitation to participating bridge clubs and a free invitation to a lesson given by 3 Counties Bridge.

A special award was presented by the Mayor of Farnham, David Attfield, and the chair of the English Bridge Union to Annabel Sommerfelt of Weydon School for her ‘exceptional contribution to the development of youth bridge in Farnham’.

Annabel, with Douglas Wright, launched the Weydon after-school bridge club several years ago. Since then, week-in and week-out Annabel has led and encouraged the group, which is coached with the help of local bridge playing volunteers.

As well as this, Annabel was also tasked with handling essential admin alongside her own teaching workload.

The Weydon School bridge group has been described as a “beacon of light”, having won multiple Surrey Schools bridge trophies. The team was also invited to visit and compete against the House of Lords in 2016.

Organisers gave special thanks to the Farnham Institute which provided a grant. Grants were also given by two sponsors, Arena Travel and Bridgeclublive, who organisers also thanked.

These grants were used to fund all the trophies and enabled under 21s and participants in the beginner and taster sessions to join in free of charge.

The target for the overall event was to break even, however a profit of more than £100 was raised, which will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Society.

It is hoped that the Festival of Bridge will return as part of the Farnham bridge calendar, with further plans to hold a “Farnham Cafe Bridge” event next year. The proposed date for this is May 13.