Saturday was my first day in Villeneuve on this trip and I'd had no time to prepare, apart from giving my boules a quick rub-down with a bit of sandpaper.
The day was one of highs and lows. The low was that on game 4, I was fannied. The game is played to 13 points - the first team to get to 13 wins the game. A fanny is when one pair beats the other by 13 points to 0. So that was the low - and a first. I have never been fannied before.
The high, and much more significant, was that I beat my arch-rival for the first time since I've been coming here - probably 15 years or so.
The fact that she is 86 years of age has nothing to do with it. La Mamie, as she is known, is a fearsome player. She uses little effort but always seems to get close to the cochonet. Anyway, on Saturday I beat her.
As I said, petanque is not a matter of life and death, it's much more important than that.
Once I've worked out how to do this bloggy stuff, I'll post a photograph.
