Yes it was hot indeed in Sonoma last Saturday; 100 degrees Fahrenheit according to the weather bureau. It was so hot that ‘the best parking places were determined by shade instead of distance.”
Despite this inauspicious condition, between 80 and 100 people attended this traditional Bastille Day picnic/tournament sponsored by The Valley of Moon Pétanque Club.
Granted, everybody did not play but many did in spite of the tropical heat. The VOMPC wisely set up 4 large tents throughout the field to provide some cooling spaces for players and guests alike.
Due to a persistent back problem, I declined to play.
The “mèlée » tournament was organized by Peter Mathis, assisted by Shannon Bowman. Two 11 points games were played in the morning and two in the afternoon. Despite these supposedly short games, some contests lingered and lunch (prepared by chef Marco) was only served around 1:00 pm.
To avoid long waiting lines, tables had been numbered and were called 3 at a time at separate intervals. An excellent idea that worked out very well.
All the attendants were too numerous to be mentioned but I spotted Brendan Cohen, Antonia Paulsen, Patrick Vaslet, Mike Cooper, John Morrison and his wife Linda, Bernard Passemar and his son Robert, Jean-Claude Etallaz and Minette, Gustave Foucher, Bleys Rose, Teri Sirico, Holly Sammons, and a bunch of people whose names I don’t know or escaped me.
Talking about Gustave Foucher, this sturdy gentleman is 90 years old and still going strong. Wish him well.
Jean-Michel Poulnot a.k.a Le Facteur donned his tricolor outfit and (entre la poire et le fromage) sang La Marseillaise with his usual enthusiasm. His fiery call to arms was fortunately ignored.
I don’t know what happened after lunch. Around 2:30 pm, to escape the heat, my wife and I boarded our sweltering batmobile and headed back to the relative coolness of Marin.
If you are curious, you can probably find the results of this tournament on Facebook. Congratulations to the “hot” winners whoever they are.
In the meantime, enjoy my pictures.
Au revoir et a bientôt!
Alain
PS: The winners of the tournament
To look at photos of this event, click on the “My Photos” link located on the right side of this page. For best viewing, go Full Screen.