Monday, May 14, 2012

Bonne Chance Monsieur!


I discovered the pétanque gentlemen for the first time at Luxembourg Gardens, the summer of 2009.  That day I pulled up a chair and got friendly with a group of men, some of whom I see over and over when I return.  They were a mix of nationalities and only one spoke any English at all. They were very friendly and tried as best they could to explain the game.  One thing I've noticed, is that a cloth to wipe the dust off the metal balls seems to be obligatory.  I have never seen one quite this worn and tattered. I'm thinking it might bring bonne chance!

Update: Merci to my blog friend Herm who has kindly written a little poem explaining the tradition of La Fanny in pétanque right here!

16 comments:

martinealison said...

Ah les joueurs de pétanques !...
Ici dans ma région lyonnaise, le jeu a son importance. Lorsque je vivais dans le sud de la France à Port-Grimaud, tout près de Saint-Tropez, la pétanque était aussi à l'ordre du jour. La Fanny aussi!...
Une très belle photo.
Gros bisous

Joe said...

Like the black and white and the depth of field. I hope the worn out duster brought him good luck.

Janey and Co. said...

Great shot. I suspect you are correct and it is his good luck charm. I have seen "loveys" in almost the same shape!

Daryl said...

love this peek into the game

Anonymous said...

Sounds like an interesting game. I believe that rag might be his "lucky charm"! HA

Herm said...

It’s sure an interesting tradition “La Fanny” for the Boules player that don’t score any points in a game

http://www.laboulebleue.fr/la-fanny-s36

Herm

Anonymous said...

Excellent capture!

Virginia said...

Herm, thanks for the explanation. I was going to email Martine and ask for a little more help on that one! :)
V

Alexa said...

Was going to say what Janey said—we had a "blankie" that looked almost that ragged before its owner was finally talked into tossing it. :~}
Hope it brought him luck!

AL said...

Great pic V...I used to play it very badly when I lived there and never really got to grips with rules.

Jack said...

The light along his backside, the blurring of the background, and the man on the right checking out the action all make this a fine image. Nice one, Virginia.

This is Belgium said...

worn like that, it must bring bonne chance ..
reminds me of baby blankets, worn to the thread ! same principle.. or maybe not?

LA VIE EN ROSE said...

Yes, lucky charm I'd say!! Love petanque, we got a set and usually bring them out every Summer - it's good fun with a little 'vin'!!

Sharon
xxxx

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Stunning composition in B&W Virginia, j'adore!

Jilly said...

V, adore the photo and yes, I've never seen a cleaning rag as old as this. I suspect it's a supersttion - it brings him luck. This is the sort of photo I wanted to get yesterday and it rained!

Esme said...

You are right the men are all from all nationalities. I noticed that also. Did you ever see the rack for their coats? Only in Paris.