Annual Boules match 2017

Weds July 26^th. My first engagement as Immediate Past President was the annual boules match between the two local Rotary clubs, which was a particularly tense affair this year. The competition is eight years old, and each club has won it 4 times, so the pressure was on to become the leading Rotary club in the noble art of petanque, to give the sport its correct name. The war of words had begun a few weeks earlier, when a member of Shepperton & Sunbury Rotary club suggested that his club had a ‘good chance’ of winning the match. This led to a cutting riposte from a member of Shepperton Aurora, to the effect that ‘we are also hoping to win’. I felt I should step in before things got out of hand, pointing out that we didn’t want to say anything that our opponents could put up on their notice board, to give them added motivation.

The coveted boules trophy, which we won last year

The venue, as usual, was The Bell pub in Old Charlton Road. I have known this pub for many years, having walked past it for 15 years on my way to work, and having spent a few evenings drinking in there, but until we started this tournament eight years ago, I had no idea there was an extensive garden behind the pub with a boules court. It also boasts a fine view  across farmland, and you could imagine yourself to be deep in the countryside if you ignored the roar of the M3 Motorway about a quarter of a mile away.

I give a masterclass in the noble art of petanque

For the uninitiated, Petanque is a game which originated in France, and is quite simple to play. Somebody throws a small, golf-ball sized ball, called a jack and then he and his opponents try and throw heavy metal balls, called  boules as near to the jack as possible. Actually, it’s a bit like bowls, only players tend to throw the balls rather than roll them. If your boule ends up nearest to the jack you win a point. If you have two balls nearest to the jack, you get two points, and so on. Our competition was played as a series of doubles matches, with each team member getting two boules. Games were decided by the first team to 5 points. As you can imagine, they didn’t last long, which gave everyone the opportunity to play several games.

Peter 'Monsoon' McDonough takes aim

On the day of the match, the two clubs seemed fairly evenly matched at around 16 players on each side, but I was pleased to see some key personnel on our team. ‘Iron Man’ David Courtney was raring to go, as was ‘Gladiator’ Gill Fawcett and ‘Dead-Eye’ Lyn Derrington. And, of course there was me, the Crafty Consort. Looking across to the opposition, I refused to be intimidated by Geoff ‘Wolf Man’ Williams and Eric ‘Predator’ Painter as they glared balefully across the garden towards me. By the time of my first match, I was so pumped up that I virtually tore off my cardigan in my haste to let battle commence. There was then a slight delay whilst we sorted out our boules from all those available. The way you tell them apart is through different patterns appearing on different sets of boules, so each player had to ensure nobody else had the same pattern as he, or she, did.

Has anyone got a measuring stick?

The key to petanque is to own the court, and not give any quarter to your opponents. You have to be strong and aggressive, and leave everything out there at the end of the game. It also helps if you can get your boule close to the little jack.

Tension mounts as teams await their turn on court

I won my first two games, when partnered by Gill and then by Jean,  but I must have tired during the third game, as David and I were beaten by some superb boule throwing from Richard Wilson. I wasn’t too disappointed with this result, as I had won two of my three games and had therefore played a major contribution towards our team effort. Whatever happens tonight, I thought, the IPP hasn’t let his side down.

The PDG gives some tactical tips

As adjudicator Ken Howe added up the scores, refreshments in the form of sandwiches and chips came out, and previous enmity was forgotten as we all sat together to enjoy the repast. There was more than enough for everyone, and whenever plates started to look empty, more sandwiches and chips were brought out. Particular mention should be made of the chips which were quite the best I have had in a long time, having the perfect crispness, and also scalding hot. I couldn’t help wondering how they achieved this, because when you go to a fish and chip shop, the chips are seldom very hot, even when they have just come out of the fryer.

Competition is forgotten as food comes out

After a while, Ken announced the result, which was a narrow win for Aurora! Vivienne Leighton, the Mayor of Spelthorne, officially handed over the Bell Trophy to our very proud President Lyn. The trophy will remain in our crowded trophy cabinet and we will have bragging rights whenever the subject of boules is mentioned around Shepperton, which I will endeavour to do as often as I can.

Mayor Vivienne Leighton presents trophy to a proud Lyn Derrington