Newsletter 18 December 2025
In our newsletter this week...
- Vale Len Dixon
- President’s Christmas Message
- Christmas Raffle
- Holiday Schedule
- Supervised Sessions Schedule
- New Members
- SFOB 2026
- Results
- Lighter Moments
Vale Len Dixon
27 December 1921 – 17 December 2025
Len Dixon - honorary life member of the Canberra Bridge Club.
When Len Dixon passed away on Wednesday morning, he was just ten days short of his 104th birthday. It is therefore unsurprising that Len was a pioneer in both his chosen profession - information technology - and his chosen recreation - bridge.
Len Dixon was born in London. Soon after completing his secondary education, he entered what was to become known as the IT industry, then in its infancy. His early training was under the wing of IBM, and by 1955 he was Chief Programmer for the London County Council.
The Council had an active bridge club. Its members included England international Derek Rimington (who worked under Len) and acclaimed bridge columnist Albert Dormer. The club competed in the London Business Houses Pennant competition, one of England’s premier bridge events, attracting many of the best players in the country. The pennant was played in several divisions, and Len Dixon was a regular member of the second division team.
In the early 1960s, the Australian Public Service began recruiting specialists in computing, advertising positions throughout the British Commonwealth. Len and Ruth Dixon, who had married in 1947, saw an advertisement in a London newspaper and decided it would be interesting “to see Australia”. Len applied for two positions and was offered both. He chose a role as Systems Analyst in the Department of Defence, partly because it included the opportunity to complete tertiary studies - a degree in mathematics.
Len and Ruth arrived in Canberra in 1962, though it was another twelve months before they played duplicate bridge. They eventually found a weekly game in a rather gloomy upstairs room at the Burns Club, then located on Canberra Avenue. There they met Maureen and Val Ackerman, Wallace Caplehorn, Olive Lott, Julian Makowski, Kay Poplawski, and Lew and Shirley Thomson. Almost immediately, Wallace Caplehorn organised ACT participation in the 1963 Australian National Open Championship in Adelaide. The ACT team comprised Len and Ruth Dixon, Val Ackerman, Wallace Caplehorn, A. Garrett, and Julian Makowski.
This was just the beginning of Len’s long representative career. Following that first ANC, Len played in the next five ACT Open Teams at ANCs and subsequently represented the ACT on seven more occasions, twice as non-playing captain. Later still, Len was a member of ten ACT Seniors Teams at Interstate Championships - eight times as a player and twice as non-playing captain. Although he never won an Interstate Open Teams Championship, he finished second in Hobart in 1980. He did, however, taste national success on two occasions: in 1970, when he won the Open Individual Championship, and in 2001, when he was a member of the winning ACT Seniors Team. His performance in the final of the 2001 event against Victoria was especially noteworthy. In his 80th year, Len played in two of the six ten-board stanzas. During those 20 boards, ACT gained 72 IMPs; the final margin of victory was 27 IMPs.
In 1968, David Sobell - one of Len Dixon’s favourite partners felt that The Canberra Times could do better with a local bridge correspondent than with a syndicated column. He wrote to the editor and proposed Len’s name. The editor agreed, subject to approval of two or three sample columns. The samples were accepted, and Len Dixon’s first column appeared on Thursday, 17 October 1968. The column was published at least weekly in The Canberra Times and/or The Sunday Times until mid-2023, when the newspapers discontinued their leisure sections. Len’s 55 years as a bridge correspondent must surely be a record, unsurpassed anywhere in the world. Ever a tireless propagandist for the game, Len kept fellow reporters well informed of newsworthy bridge events, ensuring that bridge coverage appeared well beyond his own column.
Newspapers were not the only outlet for Len Dixon’s literary talents. He was a frequent editor of the daily bulletin at Canberra’s Summer Festival of Bridge - a demanding and often thankless task. Len once recalled, with equal pride and horror, a Festival at which he alone typed the copy, edited each issue, and organised printing and distribution. Yet he continued to take on the role most years. That was because he was Len Dixon.
We extend our deepest sympathies to Len’s daughters, Jo and Felicity, and his grandchildren Sam, Lily, Ruby, Gracie and Stella, and his great granddaughter Mia. They, better than any of us, know that Len was a great man!
- John Brockwell
President’s Christmas Message
As we come to the close of another successful year, with Christmas fast approaching, I would like to pause and sincerely thank the many people who make our club such a welcoming, vibrant, and special community.
My heartfelt thanks go to our dedicated staff - managers, directors, teachers, and dealers along with our many volunteers who so generously give their time and energy. I also extend my sincere thanks to the Committee, whose tireless work behind the scenes ensures the club continues to grow and thrive. Everyone’s dedication, care, and willingness to always go the extra mile truly make a difference, and is greatly valued.
A special mention must go to Nicole Finn and her team for the beautifully catered Christmas lunch, which brought our members together to celebrate the festive season in wonderful spirit.
The event was thoroughly enjoyed and very much appreciated by all who attended as you can see in the photos below ( and the food was absolutely delicious!). There was a lucky door prize, a beautiful hamper donated by the Grange one of our sponsors, which was won by Michael Falk.
We are also grateful for the kind donation from a member of two bottles of champagne, which allowed our “responsible pourer” to offer an extra glass to a few lucky members 😊
We would also like to thank our membership for their generosity in supporting the Barnardos Christmas Giving Tree again this year. The gifts collected last week will undoubtedly bring joy, smiles, and hope to many young people on Christmas Day.
Once again, appreciation goes to our wonderful “Christmas elf” for keeping our much-loved Christmas raffle alive. This year, the raffle raised $710, with half of the proceeds being donated to our chosen charity, Dementia Australia - a fantastic result (winners listed below).
Lastly, and most importantly, thank you to you, our members. You are the heart of our club. We hope you have enjoyed a rewarding year at the table, strengthened existing friendships, and formed many new ones along the way.
On behalf of the Committee, I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Safe travels to those spending the holidays with family and friends, and a happy, healthy New Year.
We look forward to welcoming you all back in 2026.
Warmest wishes,
Mary
|
|
|
|
|
|
Christmas Raffle
Congratulations to the following winners of the Christmas Raffle.
1st prize Hamper - Nola Arnold
2nd prize Cake - Felicity Rowe
3rd prize Bonbons - Christine Donovan
Holiday Schedule
- 24th December Wednesday morning session - ON
- 24th December Wednesday night session - CANCELLED
- 25th December Thursday club session and RB - CANCELLED
- 26th December Friday club session morning and afternoon - ON
- 31st December Wednesday morning and evening club sessions - ON
- 1st January Thursday club session - ON
- 1st January Thursday RB - CANCELLED
Supervised Sessions Schedule
- 24th December Wednesday night Supervised - CANCELLED
- 26th December Friday morning Supervised - No Lecture but DUP session ON at 9:30am
- 31st December Wednesday night Supervised - No Lecture but DUP session ON at 7:15pm
- 2nd January Friday morning Supervised - No Lecture but DUP session ON at 9:30am
- 7th January Wednesday night Supervised - back to normal
- 9th January Friday morning Supervised - back to normal
New Members
Canberra Bridge Club welcomes the following new and returning members to our club:
- Gordon Cheyne
- John Knight
Summer Festival of Bridge 2026
Next year SFOB will start on the 14th January 2026 and will be held at two venues: The Canberra Rex Hotel and The Canberra Common which is just over the road from the Canberra Rex Hotel. If you are intending to play please register early through myABF. Full details of dates and events can be found though the link below:
SFOB 2026 Partnership Desk Coordinator
Perelle Scales is the Partnership Desk Coordinator for the Summer Festival of Bridge 2026. Please contact Perelle on:
Results
Congratulations to the winners of the Tuesday night competition - Christmas Pairs:
- JADE WILKINSON / STEPHEN FISCHER
Lighter Moments
- How is Christmas exactly like your job? You do all the work, and some fat guy in a suit gets all the credit.
- What are the best Christmas sweaters made from? Fleece Navidad.
- What’s the best Christmas present in the world? A broken drum—you just can’t beat it.
- Why are Christmas trees so fond of the past? Because the present’s beneath them.
- What do you call a search engine that sings Christmas songs? Michael Googlé.
- Who is never hungry at Christmas? The turkey—he’s always stuffed.
- What’s it called when you buy a piano this holiday? Christmas Chopin.
- What did Adam say on the day before Christmas? “It’s Christmas, Eve!”
- Why did no one bid for Rudolph and Blitzen at the auction? They were two deer or maybe nobody had an opening hand!
Sorry about that last joke everyone, obviously taking poetic license is becoming an occupational hazard of mine.
Well this is it, this is the club's final newsletter for 2025.
Many thanks to everyone who have contributed to our newsletter during the year, I appreciate the time you put in to compose and send me your articles.
To our members who comment and tell me they like the lame jokes, it is always gratifying to hear from you and as you can see I am easily encouraged.
To the committee members who make themselves available to help me review and find the mispellings - thank you and they are typos by the way.
And to those who've occasionally been caught out having to admit that they've missed reading the last newsletter - I am sorry, I admit that I sometimes do quiz you deliberately because I like seeing the slightly guilty look you always give me followed by a smile.
The first edition of next year's newsletter will be coming to you on Thursday the 8th January 2026, until then please keep well and if I don't see you before have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Elizabeth
- Order a name badge
- Log into myABF
- RB links for 20 Dec to 8 Jan
- 20 Dec Saturday 1:15pm
- 22 Dec Monday 2pm
- 22 Dec Monday 7pm
- 25 Dec Thursday 2pm - CANCELLED
- 27 Dec Saturday 1:15pm
- 29 Dec Monday 2pm
- 29 Dec Monday 7pm
- 1st Jan Thursday 2pm - CANCELLED
- 3rd Jan Saturday 1:15pm
- 5th Jan Monday 2pm
- 5th Jan Monday 7pm
- 8th Jan Thursday 2pm
