Pétanque is an essential activity

“The Board members have discussed the serious situation with the contagious nature of this virus and the unknown spike that might come when the County starts to lighten some of the restrictions.

After much consideration, we have decided to cancel the remainder of the tournaments on our 2020 Calendar.” Christine Cragg (LPM President)

Wolfie Kurz

Holy guacamole! Do I understand that there will be no pétanque until 2021?
It is getting from bad to worse my fellow pétanquistes! The world needs to launch a coordinated effort to eradicate this damn virus that is messing up our lives… otherwise it might be the end of civilization as we know it.

When I was a child, the old folks used an ancestral remedy to fight just about any kind of illness. This magic potion was called “gnôle” and it was way more potent than the “wonder drug” touted by the President. It would put you in a temporary coma, and you would wake up (or not) later rejuvenated. We ought to give it a try… before injecting ourselves with Lysol.
By the way, I just forgot to tell you that gnôle translates as « booze » in English.

 But let’s come back to our sheep!

Pétanque is not a high energy activity, but it still gets you out of the house and compels you to run the old human machine. When you play pétanque, you do it for at least 3 or 4 hours at a time, and close to 6 hours, when you compete in a tournament.

Some people not familiar with this discipline don’t realize what huge mental and health benefits it provides. This important social activity relieves stress and provides healthy cardio to all the participants.

Believe it or not, but you are burning a significant number of calories. I could not get the exact figures, but by comparison bowling burns between 219 and 273 calories/hour. I will let you do the math.

So, both our minds and bodies badly need this activity, and both will significantly suffer if deprived of it for a long period of time. In my eyes this pastime (much more than religious practices) is “essential” and should be allowed to restart within the shortest delay.

Now (please don’t laugh) I long to hear Le Facteur’s legendary battle cry Jean-Michel”.

I understand that a vaccine (our only saving grace) is going through some accelerated trials in different parts of the world. If it succeeds, it will be the penicillin of our century and will prove one more time that science is far better medicine than politics.

Remember this in November!

Alain