Fête de la Pétanque

David and I played as partners in the Fête de la Pétanque on the Saturday after we arrived in Villeneuve. Although I have played in Club challenges back at The Napier Pétanque Club to which I belong in New Zealand I've never played in a full-blown tournament before. It was very enjoyable. Mind you David and I were fannied (which will be the subject of a separate post) in the first game which did not look like an auspicious start. In fact it definitely was not an auspicious start. However things got better and we managed into the final 8 (out of perhaps 40 plus pairs of mostly dedicated players). However despite winning the first end we were outclassed in the final game by a serious pair of tirers (shooters).

The notice in the village boulangerie

The two men who beat us in the first game were then called to task by friends in the second game

who beat them and avenged us!

A moment to take stock David (aka Marcel du Marche) in black second from the camera and John nearest the camera

The command post

David playing a winning end

Villeneuve-de-Duras

Villeneuve-de-Duras is a smallish (population 257) commune in the Lot-et-Garonne Department of South-West France. It has quite a significant British population, a Restaurant - Le Jardin - a Post Office, a Boulangerie (which makes the finest chocolatines in the region) and a Quincillerie (hardware store which, in this case, also sells some groceries). I am told that the church has one service a year. Very importantly it has a Pétanque club. One of my reasons for visiting at the time I did was to play in the Fête de Pétanque (of which more later).

The main road through Villeneuve looking North (from a little slip road into the Village)

The Boulangerie - without which no French village can hold up its head

A curious ornament in front of the Boulangerie

Le Jardin restaurant

Chez John

The Quincaillerie with the 'Forum' a local community facility being built with lottery money

Just a brief view of the Church and an old house from under the arches

The View At Breakfast

Breakfast on our first morning at John's was taken with the view through the French windows:

 

 

The Story So Far

It's 1615. Lunch is finished. Sue is reading in the sun. I think John's doing the same. I'm making the most of the next three hours before dinner to try and do this post and catch up with some of my Blogland friends.

David and I spent the first 6 nights in France in Villeneuve-de-Duras in the Lot et Garonne Department in the South West of the country with a friend called John who lives there all summer. On Monday we borrowed one of John's cars and made our way north to the centre of the country to our friends John and Sue (whom we've both known for 35 years) in the Poitou Charante near the small town of Charroux.

It's been a roller coaster of a week since David and I left West Wemyss and I have enough material to keep the Blog going for months. All I need is the time to post it at the same time as learning the new software with the Mac and indexing and editing the hundreds of photos I've already taken.

In brief we've visited street markets (which are so much a part of French culture), played in a Fête de Pétanque, dined and danced at the Fête de Pétanque evening in the Commune Hall, we've socialised and dined out and we've generally lived life to the full.

David left here at lunchtime today and will be back at Villeneuve for dinner. I will leave here on Friday 10th September with John and Sue taking me half way down towards Villeneuve where I will be handed over like a spy on the Glienicke Bridge in Berlin.