Category: Fourre-tout

“Life is a banquet. Arrive early and stay late.”
Carolina Jones

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Yesterday morning at 9:00 a.m. the weather was cool and it augured well for the remainder of the day, for there is nothing worse (for me anyway) than playing in subtropical heat.

Charlie Davantes, Liv Kraft, and Ken Lee showed up early and started immediately to scrub the courts since (due to a mix-up) our gardener failed to do so.
Charlie worked especially hard bagging up all the dead leaves. He is in my opinion one of the club’s most prized assets.

Ken Lee also brought coffee and croissants. Thank you Ken.

Later on, Alain Marchand found out that Verena had chosen the two “graveled” courts (the Bermuda Triangle) for the Concours’ finals.
Without asking anybody he immediately went to work and with dogged determination, almost singlehandedly he groomed those courts.

Liv Kraft and Sabine Mattei assisted Verena with her job as sports’ coordinator. This allowed Verena to participate in the tournament.

The contestants were as follows:

1. Alain Efron, Henry Wessel, Calvert Barron
2. Etienne Rijkheer, Carlos Couto, Beth Lysten
3. Alain Marchand, Francois Moser, Evelyne Marchand
4. Ken Lee, Marcia, Noel Marcovecchio
5. Charlie Davantes, Herb Moran, Brigitte Moran
6. PJ Malette, Holly Sammons, Kevin Evoy
7. Antoine Lofaro, Jacques Gautier, Eva Lofaro
8. Ed Porto, Carolina Jones, Wolfie Kurz
9. Bernard Passmar, Jean-Michel Poulnot, Verena Rytter
10. Patrick Vaslet, Shannon Bowman, Jean-Claude Bunand
11. Bleys Rose, Teri Sirico, Hans Kurz
12. Jean-Claude Etallaz, Vincent Sanner, Helga Facchini

For the record, JC Etallaz and Vincent Sanner showed up without a female player. They were fated to sit out the tournament when Helga Facchini innocently strolled in. She was immediately shanghaied into playing with them.

The games started shortly after 10:00 a.m.

There were 3 timed games to be played before lunch. In those games by the way, time is the essence. There should not be long strategy debates to decide what to do next.

Concours and Consolante would take place after lunch.

In this contest, I teamed up with Henry Wessel and Calvert Barron.
We did fairly well.
In our first game, we faced the Lofaro team. We managed a 12/12 tie.
In our second game we defeated Bleys Rose, Teri Sirico, Hans Kurz by a score of 13/5.
In our third game we faced, Bernard Passmar, Le Facteur and Verena Rytter.
They shamelessly crushed us 13/0. I will never speak to them again!

By the way, Verena has told me that — Jean Michel was extremely considerate and actually very nice to play with and she will consider playing with him again.
Good to hear.

My team and I qualified to play in the Concours and on our first game we faced the Lofaro team once more.
This time they beat us 13/5 and kicked us out of the competition.

CONSOLANTE

1^st place: Etienne Rijkheer, Carlos Couto, Beth Lysten, $15.00 each
2^nd place: Charlie Davantes, Herb Moran, Brigitte Moran, $5.00 each

CONCOURS

In the semi finals PJ Malette, Holly Sammons, Kevin Evoy defeated Ed Porto, Carolina Jones, Wolfie Kurz in an extremely tight contest.
The Porto team was leading 12/10 but was ultimately defeated by a score of 13/12.
This game was by the way much more thrilling than the final game.

In the finals, Antoine Lofaro, Jacques Gautier, Eva Lofaro faced PJ Malette, Holly Sammons, Kevin Evoy.
It was an uneven contest.
The more experienced Malette team easily defeated the Lofaro team by a final and dismal score of 13/2.

1^st place: PJ Malette, Holly Sammons, Kevin Evoy, $35.00 each
2^nd place: Antoine Lofaro, Jacques Gautier, Eva Lofaro, $25.00 each
3^rd place: Ed Porto, Carolina Jones, Wolfie Kurz, $20.00 each

The Concours winners also received a special “Champion” T-Shirt donated by Brigitte and Herb Moran (Charlie’s daughter and son in law).

This Davantes family is priceless. Couldn’t we entice more of them to join our club?

And this was the way I saw and photographed it.

Alain

PS: To look at photos of this event and listen to the accompanying background music, turn your computer’s sound on, and click on the link “My Photos” located on the right side of this page. For best viewing, go Full Screen.

 

I am pretty sure that most people have already been on a cruise ship, one of these large luxurious barges where the main entertainment is eating.
But not too many people are aware of the intricate technical ballet orchestrated by the bridge before the ship’s departure.

A modern cruise ship is a behemoth and it needs to complete complex maneuvers before it can get under way.
It is a delicate and a lengthy operation.

When my wife prepares to go to work, in many ways she reminds me of such an operation.
I am not implying (God forbids) that she is a behemoth, but she often acts like getting out of the house is akin to the casting off of the Queen Mary 2.

I know that I have broached this subject before, but I think that it is worth revisiting.

When I go somewhere, I quickly check the essentials (spectacles, testicles, wallet and watch) and off I go.
When I close the door behind me, it is the point of no return. Alea jacta est!
Damn the torpedoes! Full steam ahead!

With my consort it is a different story.
It seems that she have to go over an elaborate checklist before she can take off.

She has to check the weather, weigh herself, play with the cat, get dressed, pick some shoes, make a smoothie, tease the cat, change outfit, check the value of the rubble, change shoes again, check traffic on her computer, make a few phone calls, water some plants in the garden, have a drink of water and look at herself in the mirror once more.

And when she finally pulls up anchor, she often comes back to make double sure that she didn’t overlook anything.

But once underway, she is a (good) fearless driver. Evel Knievel reincarnated.
Get out of my way punks, make room for Babushka!

The fuzz has not yet stopped her, but her day of reckoning is coming closer every day.
That’s what I keep telling her and as you know, I am never wrong.

I am far from being perfect, but contrarily to the above-mentioned person, I can leave the house in thirty seconds flat!

Alain

PS: If you read an article on WordPress and want to see it in its original format, click once on the title of the article (in blue).

 

If you want to have a festive brunch, by all means go to Le Garage in Sausalito.

This French restaurant is facing the Richardson Bay and on a sunny day it is a real treat to dine outside.

The Sunday brunch menu is not elaborate (among other things: French toasts, eggs Benedict, omelets, croque-Monsieur, croque-Madame, burger, ham sandwich), but you don’t come to Le Garage merely for the food. You come to soak in the atmosphere.
If you have out of town visitors or guests from another country, they will be delighted by the genuine conviviality of the place.
Service is cordial and efficient.

But (there are always buts) the place is fairly difficult to find, parking is becoming increasingly laborious (even with valet parking), and it can be very crowded.
And unfortunately le Garage doesn’t take reservations for lunch or brunch.
If you don’t want to wait, the best time to arrive is around 1:30 p.m.

Le Garage can be very noisy and it is not the place to be if you want to have an intimate conversation with your inamorata.
But this type of ambiance could be very conducive to a clean breakup.
“Sorry Stacy, but I think I’m in love with your mom” or “My cat doesn’t like you.”
And you can get up and leave. Nobody will notice anything, even if Stacy starts crying (or screaming).

If you want a quieter atmosphere and a more elaborate menu, come for dinner.
They take reservations.

If the dining prices are reasonable, watch out for the drinks.
One single glass of Frank Family Vineyards 2013 Chardonnay set me back $15.00.
A little too rich for my blood.
If wine drinking you must, you would be much better off ordering a full bottle for $52.00.

Despite its shortcomings, I am still keen on Le Garage. Must be my French genes.
It is the perfect place to celebrate anything with your chums.

And you can be as loud as you want while munching on Moules Marinière or duck confit.

Alain

The fabulous Freddy Mercury: