Mrs M J Milne
Mrs M E Parker
Bridget Bayly
Dr A Howes
Mrs M Iles
Mrs J McLaren
Graham Skipper
John Maplesden
John Luxton
Pauline Melles
Vivienne Harris
A few words from our Life Members
Vivienne Harris
I started playing bridge over 20 years ago and I still forget basic play rules but really enjoy the challenge. Every game is different, you never stop learning. I had my lessons with Pauline Melles, at Papakura. We are a friendly club and hopefully make new members feel welcome. I was the Administrator Officer for about 15 years. Again, always something new to learn about systems and I’m finding it hard to step back.
Vivienne is such a valuable member of our club. We would be lost without her! She has a depth of knowledge about our systems that will be hard to replace. She is always working quietly and efficiently behind the scenes.
Jon Maplesden
I was born in North London, weighing only 1kg, the son of school teachers. While hitch-hiking in Europe in 1965, an old Ford Thames van trundled along and picked me up. Inside was Carmela. And the rest, as they say, is history. Carmela (my wife) and I learned to play Bridge during a work placement in Suva, Fiji in 1975. Then in 1976 we joined Papakura Bridge Club where I was Club President (for 2 years), and Club Secretary (for many, many years) including the role of fund-raiser.
Jon has worked tirelessly to involve people in the Club, to make them feel included and welcome, nurturing our membership. He is also a staunch advocate of good behaviour at the table.
John Luxton
I have been playing bridge since 2003 when I joined our club. I took on the role of President for the club in 2009 and continued till the end of 2015. After 7 years I thought it was time for someone else to have some fun! While President I also took the beginners lessons for three years with the instructions, “Do as I say, not what I do”. All my partners have all had to cope with this playing strategy! I love the game and enjoy helping new players.
John has been a very active member of the club, giving guidance and support to all
our Presidents. His knowledge of the club and his experience is always sought after by
members. John is an experienced Director who the club relies on heavily for our
Wednesday night play.
Pauline Melles
Bridge was high on my list of things to do from quite an early age. In 1972 as a mum of 3 small children and married to Mike, who worked at the National Bank, we found ourselves on our way to a new position for him in Dunedin. During that time I met 2 friends who played Bridge. They seemed to talk about it all the time! I determined, that as my husband had absolutely no interest in card games, it was something I would learn one day.
Mike’s next move, in 1976, was to Papatoetoe as manager and we moved into our new house in Ardmore. This was short lived as I was sadly widowed early in 1977. With 3, now larger, noisier children, I needed to do something for my sanity! Bridge! One the of the best decisions I have made in my life.
I joined the lesson group in 1978 with Miriam Milne as our tutor. What an amazing lady! There were about 12 of us, I think. After we had “mastered” the game… (or thought we had!) those years of Bridge, with the friendships we made, were great. We travelled to a lot of tournaments, played at each others homes and had some great weekends away.
I started teaching in the mid 80’s and still enjoy seeing a few dawning lights on those bewildered faces by the end of the 10-12 weeks!
In 2001, I had several people asking me to take some lessons at Clevedon. Monica Aplin and I had been running an annual “Fireside Tournament” in the All Souls Church Hall there for some years as a fundraiser for the church. And so the Clevedon Fireside Club was born and is now in it’s 26th year where I enjoy nurturing new players along and feeding them into the affiliated clubs. For many years I took the lessons at Papakura on Tuesday evenings and at Clevedon on Wednesday mornings before the Clevedon Bridgertons (as our Vicar calls us) arrived for their weekly Bridge session but now it’s just Clevedon – maybe for a couple more years!
When all else fails – sport, love, ambition, … Bridge remains – a solace and an entertainment. Somerset Maugham
Pauline’s contribution to the Club has been significant, teaching, and inspiring many of our club members and organising the Save the Children Charity Tournament every year.