Mothers' Day 2009

We had a great crowd turn out for Mothers' Day at Miller Park. Carol even brought her Mother along! We were glad to have Faye, and Carol's Dad, Ronnie, join the group. We even talked Ronnie into playing this time, and he did very well indeed.

Shirley brought a cake to honor the Moms in the group. Along with Faye, Carol, and Shirley, we had Marly make the trip up from Spartanburg, SC, for the first time in a few weeks. It was good to see her (and Tom) again.

Walt Elder rejoined our group after having spent his time at his home in Granada, Spain, for the past year. He had hoped to bring his Mom, Maggie, along too, but it didn't work out this time. Maybe she'll be able to join us soon? She's an excellent lawn bowler and makes her home in Pinehurst, NC. She does a great job of switching over to petanque whenever Walt visits.

We hope to see a lot more of Walt and hope that Maggie and Walt's friend Stephanie will join us soon as well.

Augustine, Tom C., Wesley, Bob, and Josh filled out the group. It's great that they have been able to make time for petanque more often lately. We were all happy to see that Bob was able to play without his crutches for the first time in quite a while. He'll be back in top form in no time.

Shirley talked with Khalid via phone on Saturday. He hopes to rejoin us soon. His work schedule is a conflict. By the way, he has a daughter sick with flu-like symptoms. I'm sure you all join me in wishing her a speedy recovery.

And our condolences to Augustine's wife, Susanne, on the recent passing of her sister. Our thoughts are with you, Susanne.

More new players

We had three new players this past Sunday. We were glad to welcome Jean-Yves, Stephen, and Julian.

Jean-Yves, from Summerfield, NC, originally made contact with CarolinaPetanque via Philippe Boets, owner/operator of Petanque America, when purchasing boules. Philippe then asked me to add Jean-Yves to our e-mailing list.

Jean-Yves is going to explore playing somewhere in the Summerfield area. We look forward to making the trip.

That's Stephen and Jean with Philippe in picture #2 above. Jean points in photo #3. Stephen and Gary study the situation in photo #4. Julian watches the roll of his boule in photo #5.

Our three "newcomers" proved to be very competitive in a good match against Josh, Michel, and Gary.

We look forward to seeing them often, either in Winston-Salem or Summerfield.

Return to the Carolinas!

Sprinkles and a gray sky didn't keep us from having some good games yesterday at Miller Park. There were fifteen of us for afternoon play.

Bob & Pam were back after a long absence due to their travel schedule. They live the RVing life in their beautiful Class A motor home for much of the year. Hope they'll be able to get by again before hitting the road.

Augustine & Mark made the trip over from Hickory. Augustine's a new Grandpa. Susanne and Brian have a new baby girl. Congratulations!

Tom & Wesley showed up from Lincolnton. We were all glad to see them again. Carol (visiting in Texas) was missed.

Terry and Sue returned to the pistes after a recent trip to Hawaii. (Thanks for the new souvenir cap and Shirley's Hawaiian print bag!)

Steve and Martha were new "walk-ups." Glad to have you, guys.

Last but not least, Philippe & Adrian came over from Greensboro while Michel was there representing Winston-Salem. (And Shirley & I made fifteen).

We were all sorry that Bob & Josh were not able to make it. I'm sure we'll see them soon.

As for all you others who don't see your names here, maybe next week?

News from Granada, Spain!

Our friend, Walt Elder (the taller of the guys pictured above) , recently sent us a few pics from Granada. It seems he and a friend, Pepe La Chana, recently won the title of Best Doubles Team in Granada (2nd Category).

Congraulations, Walt and Pepe!!!

I plan to send Walt an e-mail asking if he's going to be able to visit with CarolinaPetanque this summer. I'll keep everyone apprised.

More from Florida

The Florida vacation trip that Shirley and I took in March finally gave me the opportunity to meet with Gilles Canesse (pictured in the foreground of the first photo above) who is president of the Sararsota Petanque Club. Gilles was kind enough to reschedule some of his commitments in order to meet with me concerning my desire to become certified as an official FPUSA umpire. The Club Umpire test was administered by Gilles during a Sunday morning play date at the Lakeview Park site near Sarasota. I'm proud and happy to say that I have since been notified that I did pass.

Of course, in addition to the test, we also wanted to get in some play on the very tough Sarasota terrain. The surface is hard and irregular, in other words, very challenging. Pointing requires a sensitive touch and the ability to "read" the terrain as one would a golf putting green. Shooting, to be very succesful, must usually be done "on the iron."

It was great fun, and the people were extremely nice and welcoming. There was a slight language barrier in some instances; however, lucky for us, most of the French speaking people also had good English skills.

We look forward to returning at the first opportunity. And hope that it may work out for some of the Florida crowd to visit our club when they're in the area.