Well, today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year; with just over nine hours of daylight at this latitude. Although it’s an unusually balmy 46 degrees outside, I guess we’ll say that play is officially over for the 2011 petanque season.

Now even though I wasn’t there for every game, I did manage to collect data on what was going on (I’ve got a mole on the inside!). Thought I’d share a few tidbits with you.

For one, we enjoyed a longer than usual petanque season this year with over six months of play! Our first “officially sanctioned” outing was on April 9^th and the last one was on October 22^nd. I think we can partially credit the extended season to the membership making an effort to keep Ziggy playing up to the November tournament. Congratulations Ziggy by the way!

June and July were our busiest months with four outings each month, and the July 9^th Bastille Day BBQ atMcGuanePark reeled in a record turnout of eighteen petanquers! We averaged eight people per event otherwise. A perfect number considering 13 of our 20 outings were inForest Park where there are only two terrains.

Perhaps the game at McGuane was the only casualty of the season. We only had five games there and there weren’t enough attendees to keep the Wednesday night games going this year. On the other hand, we did manage to work in a game out inWheatonwith ten people in attendance; christeningIllinois’ only full-blooded petanque terrain.

For next year, we’re already looking at “The Hoedown inHebron” spring road trip, the annual spring picnic, the Bastille Day BBQ and a Labor Day weekend event; seems not everyone is jetting out of town anymore on those holiday weekends.

Winter starts tomorrow, so time to practice shooting with a pair of rolled up socks in your hallway at home. Have a great winter and we’ll see you in the springtime! Thanks for sending in those club dues!

Ian

The terrain is about 10 years old and consists of 6 inches of compacted screened limestone held in place by railroad ties. Billy  says that it can easily handle 2 games at the same time. See photos below..

The really exciting news is that Billy has offered to host a CPC event next spring. I’m thinking “BOULES AND POTLUCK FEAST ON THE FARM”. Think of a PETANQUE WOODSTOCK.
DanD

Site of the Spring 2012 Chicago Petanque Woodstock

Billy's terrain on his farm

PLUS, 15% of all WENDYS public sales between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov 3rd will be donated  to our CHICAGO PETANQUE CLUB. So, be sure to attend this gala event and bring your appetite and all your friends.
Meeting and dinner time 6:30 p.m. at WENDYS at 901 W. North Avenue (at 9th Ave)  in Melrose Park. This is an excellent fundraiser to support petanque in Chicago.

The Chicago Petanque Club giving a demo to the folks attending The French Connection at Cantigny Park on August 14th 2011. Fun time for all, with beautiful weather. Even the “tall dude” was playing.

More action from the terrains in Thailand…Petanque is called “Petong” locally. To point, you say “kao”, literally “to enter”. Shoot is “tii” to hit or to strike. Carreau is “jod” meaning to park (as in a car!). Games are normally played to eleven points instead of thirteen.

Ok I admit it…I played petanque for about six months here before I found out it was a French game. I thought it was some indigenous Southeast Asian thing! However, next to the “Petong” terrains is a Takraw court. Takraw IS an indigenous sport similar to volleyball…same thing, three hits on a side etc. but you can only use your feet and head! The serve is usually answered with the head, set with the instep like in hacky-sack, then for the spike, one does a scissors kick followed by a summersault because you have to land on the same foot you used to kick the ball!

If you’re worried about squirrels running off with the cochonet at McGuane Park, how about a couple of suspicious looking primates tugging at your hubcaps! Watch where you park your car around these terrains!

Play usually wraps up about 8 PM in these parts. The lights are controlled by a huge switch like the one used to bring Frankenstein’s monster to life. I snapped this photo right before calling it a night…

Ok Chicago Petanque Club, how’s this for a retirement plan? We get us a little spot by the water suitable for petanque, and park this old boat in front. We’ll fill the hull with ice and beer. We’ll hire a cashier to sit in the helm and open “Shipwreck Bar, Bier and Boules!” What a way to spend the winter!

Hello Chicago Petanque Club!

Glad to see the weather continues to be so petanque-friendly this summer in Chicago! Same thing here in Thailand. Although it’s the rainy season, we’re only getting some sprinkles in the morning, so daily petanque action rages on!

I’m in a small seaside University town where there are six lighted terrains on the University campus. Mature Teak trees line the south and west sides of the terrains providing ample shade. The University and High School petanque teams play here as well as the general public. This is where I first began playing petanque and it’s interesting to go back after several years away.

The level of play here is incredible. Not only have people here been playing since they were young, but they have been schooled in petanque as well. The shooting is unbelievable. Ninety-some percent accuracy. And, although not usually a perfect carreau, the thrown boule only ends up about 18 inches from where it landed. Changes the strategy of the game completely.

Basically, each team points a boule within 2 feet of the cochonet and then the fireworks begin. The next ten balls are all shots. The shots don’t end up far from where they hit the ball out so these act doubly as “points”. It’s useless to simply point because your ball will be shot away and theirs will remain within scoring range. You must do a combination of hitting their ball out and taking the point in one fell swoop, or else they’ll end up with five or six of their balls around the cochonet and yours will all be on the sidelines. Another neat thing is that flint is a local rock around here and is mixed with the gravel on the terrain. When steely boules come crashing down on
the terrain, literally sparks fly!

A dozen or more people show up to play every day after five these days. Three times as many during the winter months. Delicious Singh beers are only about a buck here and taste great in this hot weather. People are friendly and happy to play with foreigners (meaning non Thais). Seafood dinner and beer for five comes out to about $25-$30! Short term rentals of a new, air conditioned, cable TV, internet ready apartment with a refrigerator is about $240 a MONTH. And, it’s such a privilege (and an education!) to play “pick up” petanque at this level of play. If you can’t afford a petanqe vacation in the South of France, maybe your next vacation ought to be in Thailand!!!

                                                                        PRATHET THAI CHAIYO!!!

Ten players came out to showcase over 600 years of combined human experience on the terrains in Wheaton’s Memorial Park last Saturday!

Steve points. Henry takes poison tipped blow dart to the jugular from hidden Cubs loathing ninja…

The “Terror of Togo” strikes again…

HAVE A BLAST AND BLAST A BOULE WITH THE CHICAGO PETANQUE CLUB EVERY SATURDAY DURING THE SEASON!!! Stay tuned to our website for dates and locations…

Festive Mayhem erupts at the Chicago Petanque Club’s Bastille Day BBQ! Eighteen players came out to enjoy a lovely Saturday afternoon for seven hours of petanque, food and fun!

The result of Mike’s toss hits him like a left hook across the jaw! Meanwhile Stella points in the adjacent terrain…

Loic, always in form, points…

CPC members chow down! Did you know? According to the data I received; the girth of our club member’s midsections, if laid out in a straight line, would exceed 15 meters! At 45 tons, this would equal the dimensions of a large Sperm whale! Perhaps we should grill a giant squid next time?

Entering the final round by default, then coming back from behind to score a basket, The Baron Von Fritzen and the Kaiser of Petanque are crowned champions of the day’s loosely organized “tournament” of sorts…

 DON’T GET LEFT IN THE DUST! COME OUT AND PLAY PETANQUE!

The only thing more skewered than my knowledge of FPUSA playoff brackets is the *succulent beef kabob I plan to make at our annual Bastille Day BBQ this Saturday! Come by to toss some boules, down some suds and gnaw on layer after layer of flame-broiled beef and Italian sausage interspaced with roasted chunks of pineapple, onions, tomatoes and fiery jalapeno peppers! Bring a side dish to share…baked beans, cole slaw, corn, potato salad, watermelon, Christmas fruitcake, it’s up to you! We’ll get started around 11 AM under the cool shade of the Locust trees in McGuane Park…Please respond to this ad if you plan to attend. Be sure to include your height, weight and the girth of your midsection so we can upload the data into our grocer’s computerized flow chart and calculate the ideal amount of food to buy without wonton waste. See you there!

*Succulent. Adj. 2. botany. Having thick,fleshy leaves or stems that conserve moisture. (American Heritage Dictionary)

Here’s a photo of last year’s succulent beef kabob…succulent isn’t it?

Ian, the club’s official top gourmet chef, will fire up the grill and present another delicious main course that will certainly please the most discerning palate.

To complete the feast, everyone should bring a side dish to share. Salads, vegetables, pasta, whatever culinary dish you can imagine.

Please RSVP and let us know what you will be bringing so that we have a nice variety on the menu.
We will eat and petanque till we drop.