Weekend itinerary

14th November 2025

·   4.10pm Tea and coffee on arrival. Optional teas and coffees in the Assembly Hall, a chance to mingle before the first of your learning sessions begins.

·   4.40 pm-6pm Session One: Forcing or Non-forcing

Andrew starts the weekend with a very important session on whether bids are forcing or non-forcing – the basic language of the auction. Andrew realised the importance of this, hence why he wrote his 21st (and final – no more fit into the boxes!) bridge lesson book.

·   6.30pm Three-course set-menu dinner.

·   8.15pm-9.45pm Supervised Practice. Cards dealt at the table, relaxed style, with prizes for bid and made slams. It’s a really good chance to benefit from the wisdom of Andrew and his team.

15th November 2025

·   7am-9am Breakfast (for residents)

·   09.40am-11.00am Session Two: Boss Overcalls

Competitive bidding, when not to bid to the level of the fit and the Unassuming Cue Bid (which Andrew prefers to call Boss – Bidding Opener’s Suit with Support). Many auctions are competitive, and judging them correctly is key to your success.

·    11.20am-12.40pm Session Three: Trandy

Andrew’s Level Four BridgeCast subscribers absolutely love this defence to a 1NT opener – Andrew’s favourite – so we are going to have a session on it. Naturally, we’ll be playing some fascinating deals, so it’s far from wasted if you decide not to play this method (which, incidentally, is named as such because it combines Landy and Transfers – and there’s also an “Andy” within it, as Andrew is sometimes called).

·    3.20pm-4.40pm Session Four: Fourth Suit Forcing (FSF) – a showing bid

So much more than a stopper-ask for Notrumps, the main purpose of FSF is to set up a game force. Very often, you have had to go via FSF to repeat your suit, or support partner, in a game-forcing way. It therefore becomes more of a showing bid than an asking bid. We think you’ll find this session completely eye-opening!

·    5pm-6.20pm Session Five – Splendid Splinters

Andrew’s favourite slam bidding tool in action. Naturally, it’s very important to know when a jump is a splinter – or you may play in a one-one fit – as Andrew and then-partner Tony Forrester once did in the European Championships! We’ll play some fun slams - and I promise we’ll have more than two trumps between us!

·    6.30pm Three-course sit-down dinner.

·    8.15pm-9.45pm Supervised play – with an extra feature

Andrew has set up eight brand new set deals to practice all the bidding themes of the weekend. You don’t have to play them – but we hope you will! Andrew has deliberately put all the bidding-themed lessons on Friday and Saturday, so you can practice them in the after-dinner session on Saturday. The last two sessions are defence-oriented.

16th November 2025

·   7am-9am Breakfast (for residents)

·   09.40am-11.00am Session Six: When to lead a trump

It is so very often right to lead a trump on defence – and we’ll explore when and why.

·   11.20am-12.40pm Session Seven: Defence – Working out declarer’s hand

I won’t pretend that this session will be an easy end to the weekend but trying to work out declarer’s (in particular) shape – from the bidding and play to date – really is the key to improving your Bridge, perhaps more than any other.

·   Depart at your leisure

HANBURY MANOR:

Set in 200 acres of Hertfordshire parkland, the historic Hanbury Manor, Marriott Hotel & Country Club is a four-star hotel within an hour’s drive from London. Dating from the 16th century, this English country estate is the perfect place to relax.

DELUXE HOTEL:

Stay at the four-star Hanbury Manor Hotel, with breakfast and dinner included in your stay. The hotel is furnished to a high standard: all rooms are en suite, with television, mini-bar, tea and coffee-making facilities. You'll have complimentary use of Hanbury Manor’s leisure facilities, including its gym, swimming pool, steam room and sauna. The hotel also has an 18-hole championship golf course.