Hartley marks 10 years with Cauchy

20 October 2007

On Saturday 20th October 2007 45 Hartley pétanquers left the club before sunrise, an unearthly hour known to very few of them these days, and travelled to Cauchy via the Shuttle. This was the first time we had made the crossing via the shuttle and it is yet to be determined whether the ferry or the Shuttle is best.
 
A terrific lunch was laid on by our French friends, hot starter and main, cheese and sweet followed by coffee and pastries. All gulped down with lashings of wine. The speeches followed during which John Robert d'Holland the Cauchy president called for a minutes silence in memory of Les Pearson in particular who was such an advocate and leader of the twinning.  A notable absentee from the occasion this year was the mayor of Cauchy and his wife. Sadly he is not well and in hospital. His wife is not a whole lot better.
 
Four games of pétanque followed, but as we hadn't stared playing until around 3pm (well who wanted to leave that feast) we were against the clock when it came to the final matches. In actual fact two Cauchy teams were equal and had to play off for the honour of meeting the Hartley best triple in the final. They played a game to 5 points, and the winners, sporting Pas de Calais shirts as they are the current Over 50 champions of the Pas de Calais met Colin Senneck, Vanessa Leyton and Ron Yates of Hartley in the final. This was also played to 5 points and despite its shortness actually swung both ways before Cauchy sat on a 4-3 lead with game a-plenty on the ground. However Colin's last boule did the trick and with a deft move of the cochonnet they gained the requisite 2 points and a win for Hartley.
 
Prize giving was to follow, which started about the same time as Hartley were due to leave for the Shuttle. Reassurance from our intrepid coach drivers allowed us to enjoy a further grand meal, principally cold meats and salad with wine again. The usual prizes and mementoes were offered from both Hartley and Cauchy but there was a special gift of a trophy to Gill Pearson which naturally brought tears to her eyes and those of many of us.
 
Eventually we left for the Shuttle and naturally we missed it. We had a wait of around an hour for the next train, but not to worry, the French committee together with French Television were able to put on the last 30 minutes of the Rugby World Cup final between England and South Africa (live) to help us while away the time. Sadly a loss but a fitting end to the day.

Photos

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