Boules by Phile Burns
AnElephantCant pretend to understand boules
He is not yet quite French enough for that
He is probably better
If he takes off his sweater
And wears a beret instead of a hat
The rules of the game seem to be very simple
You find a tree to provide much needed shade
Then if you please
A glass of Pastis
To which you add iced water and never lemonade
The game is played on what they incredibly but happily call a court
Which to the untrained eye appears to be a totally randomly sized area of dirt
People play on all sides
There is nowhere to hide
It is a miracle that more chaps don’t get hurt
They give him a wee metal round thingy
That is the boule or what he calls a ball
He ponders a while
Over this spherical missile
And isn’t sure that he grasps it at all
They explain that it really is not really so complicated
There are only two things you can do
You can roll it or tire*
Which means hurl it through the air
AnElephant thinks that this is more fun than the zoo
But it is actually amazingly civilised
Even AnElephant can have a bash at Pétanque
All the friendly messieurs
Give him three hearty cheers
When he flaps his ears and fires the boule out of his trunk
*Rhymes with fear, especially when applied to AnElephant!
anelephantcant 
I guess I’d have enjoyed actually watching this, although your descriptions are wonderful! 🙂
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C’est une image ecroulante de voir UnElephant tirer une boule avec sa trunk!
I have a visual of AnElephant’s trunk shaped like a twisty straw
Qui tire une boule de petanque
And of course wins the game, duh!
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AnElephantCant win at petanque
Although he is nobody’s fool
He can’t use his trunk
To do a ker-plunk
Evidemment that is contre les rules
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This was fun..and Phi has really outdone himself. enjoyed the imagintive illustration
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Thank you, Nightlake, AnElephant forwards your lovely comments as always.
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You didn’t catch exactly the terms of the game . When people try to send their bowls the closest possible to the jack, their act is called ” pointer” . This can be done by rolling or throwing the ball up . The act of “tirer” ( shoot ) is made when a player wants to eject an opponent’s bowl which is too close to the jack . This is allowed . When pétanque is played by teams, there’s always a specialised “pointeur” and a specialised ” tireur” .
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AnElephant tries here to provide a touch of humour rather than a coaching session!
His lack of skill as a rhymer prevents the detailed analysis of the game which you have so kindly furnished.
Thank you.
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I’d never heard of this activity, and I’m in physical education! Oh well. I was entertained and learned something new. Not bad for a post!
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Boules is cools!
Glad you enjoyed it!
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I love this. It is very good.
I like the way you gave the report
Thanks for the rules
On playing boules
A very peculiar sport.
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A sport for everyone
No need to run
With even a tree
Behind which one can pee!
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😀
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