Sun Shines on Roger’s Rural Revelry

Social Event of the season - Roger’s Crazy Pétanque and he and Sarah threw open their home and garden for a Barbecue and “Crazy” Pétanque.

Why crazy?  Because with Roger’s lawn, when the “boule” lands, there is no way of knowing in which direction it will bounce.  If you’re lucky, towards the “jack”, if not, it’s anybody’s guess.

Guests started arriving at about 2 pm, mainly club members and wives, but also guests Peter Townsend from Rotary Club of Basildon, and Denise and Keith Butler, and Ron Atkinson.

Hidden Hero(ine)s

Peter had delivered the wine on Friday, and Patrick delivered the Club Gazebos and helped erect them on the Saturday, so by Sunday, all was ready!

All was ready?  Well it would not have been without all the unsung work by Sarah Kettle in shopping for the food, preparing and marinating the meat, preparing the salads, coleslaw and desserts, organising crockery, wrapping utensils, and preparing napkins and glasses.  Carol and Sue were there early with desserts including a new one to us, Karpatka - a very tasty polish speciality and they helped set up, and MIchael Ginn had again provided the delicious rolls, freshly baked by him that morning,

Brilliant Barbecue

Roger had skilfully delegated the BBQ cooking to Malcom Acors, Patrick Rothon and Peter Strong.  Roger’s no fool!  And they were soon hard at work slaving over three hot grills - Malcolm in his Chef’s “toque” (Who are you kidding, Malcolm?).  This left Roger free for host’s duties - ensuring everybody’s glass was full of wine, beer or soft drinks, and “gently guiding” us to the tables to select our food.

And what food! What a Barbecue! Burgers, sausages and chicken all cooked to perfection by our three skilful chefs.  Thank you Malcolm, Pat and Peter.
The food was delicious, everybody quickly queued up, filled their plates and repaired to the tables and chairs round the edge of the lawn to enjoy their food.   

The Crazy Gang

Well, not a crazy gang, but the lawn lived up to expectations.  Maybe that’s why Roger held back and let others “risk” the very variable trajectory of the “boules”.

First up were Patrick, Brian, Gill and Peter Greene.  No problems at all ... until the boules hit the ground, and then it was anybody’s guess where they might end up.  But our gallant players soldiered on and had a really enjoyable time.  The winner ... who cares!

Then they were joined by another foursome - Trevor, Bob, Rose and Peter Strong, with Jan cheering them on from a safe distance.  In the far corner of the garden, it was time for Stephen, Mary, David Ron, Keith and Denise, to have a go.  They impressed by the close control they kept on the boules and the speed of each game.
Finally, Michael Ginn, Les and Val took up position in the centre of the ground for their own “threesome”.

Over £1000

All too soon the afternoon was over, and Patrick Rothon expressed the thoughts of us all when he thanked Roger and Sarah for all their hospitality, organisation, time and effort in running such an enjoyable afternoon.

Everything good has to end, and it was time for the guests to repair home.  As one guest put it “A most enjoyable day, scoffing sausages and Burgers and playing very crazy Petanque at Roger and Sarah’s home”. 

All was not over, and our thanks to Patrick for dismantling the gazebos, and to Mary, Val, Christabel and Carol who made a major contribution in clearing up and washing up.

But it was not just a social event, but also a fundraiser, with voluntary donations for charities supported by our Rotary Club.  A total of £805 was raised, which with Gift Aid of £201.25 that is a total of £1001.25.  Not bad from an ad-hoc fundraiser!!

Our thanks again to Roger and Sarah for their hospitality, hard work, cooking and food, and to all who contributed to cooking, supplies and food for the afternoon.