The boules obsession

On a list of strange Ghetto pursuits this year we've already had plastic duck shooting, indoor cricket (with tish-tennis ball) and table olympics. Now we've taken a tentative step into the strange world of indoor french boules.













Truth is, the game's normally played in a sandy, pebbled pit. Quite a long way from our relatively fresh carpet and kitchen lino. Few things have dented the enthusiasm of George, Zhao and myself though, and formulating a competitive game from relatively coarse surrounds is becoming something of a forte.

























Over three or four tournaments, it's pretty safe to say that Zhao has been the overall victor, however, last night I managed to win two games of conventional boules. However, at the new 'golf boules' strand, involving play across three rooms, Zhao once again emerged the victor. So I'm catching up, albeit slowly.

That's not to say George never wins. He does. Just not very often! Harsh, but true.






















Strange quirks of the rules are that if anyone knocks any boules down the stairs, they are disqualified. No arguments. That's about the only quirk, actually... although you could well say that the whole concept of indoor boules is one massive quirk all of its own.