Monmouth Bridge club is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and members are sharing some of their memorable experiences throughout the years.

The club is based at Mitchel Troy village hall and was established in 1985 as Mitchel Troy Bridge club by Jean Hodgson ably supported by her husband, Henry.

In 2001 it became more formalised, and the name changed to Monmouth Bridge Club. The club offers bridge sessions every Monday and Thursday evenings from 7pm to 10pm for anyone with a basic knowledge of bridge.

In 2015 the club had 46 members when Julie and Dave Davies started a Wednesday “No Fear Bridge” session to encourage both new learners and social bridge players to come and enjoy the game on a regular basis.

Now they have 50 plus people who play regularly play every Wednesday.

In 2016, a new committee took over at Monmouth Bridge club and membership had increased to over 100 players by the end of 2017.

Julie and Dave who are both qualified bridge teachers are keen, empathetic and encouraging to all of those who feel they would like to learn this fascinating and addictive pastime.

This year is the tenth anniversary of their “No Fear Bridge” inauguration and the members are celebrating this alongside the 40th anniversary of the club with several events.

Every year the club runs charity events which support both national and local causes and recently raised over £500 for Cancer Research.

The sessions run every Wednesday afternoon at Mitchel Troy village hall, they have their own car park and the session is from 2pm until 4.30pm.

In the autumn the club will be offering a ten-week course of lessons aimed at beginners. You can find out more information on their website.