HSPC, Aoyama toast the end of the year at Charlie's spot

A galaxy of stars from the Tokyo petanque scene drowned out the end of the year with a mega party at Charlie's spot.

The events of the night are a major blur but the photos suggest a great night (and morning) was had by all.

Thanks Charlie, good luck with the bar.

Global appeal ...

A big hello to Scott, Don and Tom in the U.S. who have taken a real 'shining' to petanque, so much so that they have invested in their own boules and Don has even gone to the extreme of building his own piste in his backyard!

A dream for us here in tight Tokyo!

I can see a future trans-Pacific challenge brewing!

All the best guys from the 'Peter Pan' proteges!

Await the pics of the piste Don!

Mon Soleil wins Tokyo Petanque League

Mon Soleil defeated Aoyama 6-2 on Saturday Nov. 29 to lift the Tokyo Petanque League. After joining the competition this year, Mon Soleil finished the season with five wins and one loss, the team's only defeat coming against HSPC in the opening match of the year.

HSPC, which struggled with scheduling and had several key players miss matches, finished joint second with Aoyama.

Congratulations Mon Soleil!

The photo shows HSPC player Rajan presenting the trophy to Hosoda san of Mon Soleil.

HSPC comes third in Japan Cup

The team of Bob, Raj and Bill overcome sloppy terrain conditions to finish third in the Japan Cup on Sunday, Nov. 16. Well done guys!

Heavy early morning rain dampened our enthusiasm before we agreed to play after some encouragement from "twinkle toes" Albert, whose shoes picked a fine day to explode and were only held together by some superb "technical" repair work by Vasili.

The other team of Chris, Vas and Greg finished midtable -- good enough for a box of chocolates! -- but did win a hard-fought clash against Albert's team 11-10.

HSPC knocked out of league title race after drawing with OBA

HSPC drew 4-4 with OBA on Saturday in the Tokyo Petanque League, ending any chance HSPC had of making a playoff.

Despite the disappointment, it was good to see Big Bill team up with Raj for four convincing wins. Well done guys.

Good luck to Aoyama and Mon Soleil.

Mon Soleil shoots past HSPC

HSPC lost to Mon Soleil in the Tokyo Petanque League on Saturday, September 6 at Myoshoji Park. Early morning rain made the ground sticky, with some peculiar turns puzzling the home side.

Playing without the experienced Bob who was in the United States, HSPC struggled from the outset against a hot shooting team. Raj did his best to carry the side, teaming up with Charlie for a nail biting 13-12 win, but it just wasn't our day.

One of the few bright spots for HSPC was "Father Pete" giving a game the ultimate blessing, a 13-0 drubbing with Steve.

Next time, though, I think we may need more "holy water."

Congratulations to Mon Soleil.

Making the most of a lousy weekend

What happened to summer? Lousy weather over the weekend didn't stop a diehard group of enthusiasts from getting together on Sunday.

Thanks to Albert and Yokoyama san for coming down from Aoyama and MPC regulars Charlie and Kato san.

Several good games from under the trees and later from the warmth of the "clubhouse."

Bob's posh umbrella is apparently a reincarnation of Albert's beloved Loius Vitton that sadly was lifted in a brazen attack last year. There have been several rumors of sightings among the faithful at the Stadium of Light ...

The famed Aoyama Petanque clubhouse?

A few years back when I first started hurling the rock, the experienced players from Aoyama Petanque would often come down to Myoshoji and with their fine play, personalized towels, state of the art measuring devices and regular reference to "World Championships," I had thoughts of Aoyama Petanque being like the Wimbledon of the Tokyo boules scene.

Visions of personalized lockers, showers, and a clubhouse serving the freshest croissants and vintage Bordeaux poured through my mind and I looked forward to one day making my debut at the sacred club.

Of these grand expectations, only the warm hospitality, generous food and drink spread, and purist approach to the game proved true.

The "clubhouse" is in the shape of a collapsible table, and a few makeshift chairs. Shelter from the elements is provided by the overhanging trees and for those "extreme" weather conditions, a scrub bunker protects players from heavy downpours.

In other words, not that different to our beloved Myoshoji Park.





Thanks for a great day on Saturday Aoyama. Some fine play and a lot of laughs.

Greg

44 beers and a 4 kilo steak for Steve's 44th birthday!

A great day down the park on Sunday with plenty of beers sunk to celebrate Steve's 44th birthday. Some competitive games too that stretched well into the balmy night.

The four-day party ended on Monday night with a family feast fit for the whole team, a certified Prime Angus Cow!

Hope the next year's a cracker, Steve!

Feeling the heat ...

A big weekend for visitors to the HSPC club with Neil from England dropping by on Saturday and Frenchman Bernard and Adrian from Switzerland joining us on Sunday.

Neil, a former power lifter, took to shooting very quickly and after teaming up with Raj and Greg was inspirational in a 2-1 game victory over Mike, Vas and Yutaka.

Bernard and Raj took on Bob and Greg in the first game on Sunday and rallied from 5-0 down to win 13-10 in a marathon. Next game saw Adrian, Bernard and Greg take on Bob, Raj and Yutaka and after playing over some rocky terrain not often visited by the home club, Adrian, Bernard and Greg emerged winners before Steve stepped in for Yutaka and the home side won the revenge match.

A loud storm threatened to wash out our fun but apart from a few drops held off. The only answer to the stifling heat was plenty of ice-cold beer and a lovely bottle of French white wine.

Thanks to all those who dropped by. Not too many photos of the action though we did capture one of the red skies at sunset.

Scott sighting ...

Scott's been secretly training in the Himalayas for the Petanque World Championships and the intrepid traveler looks to have recruited some new team mates.

Way to go dude!

Still drying out after Scott and Rick's visit ...

The rain fell in buckets -- as did the beers!!! -- when Bob's friend Scott and his pal Rick visted from the US on their way to the sacred Himalayan Homelands.

Thanks for playing in the league Scott, you did well mate.




The mini barbie was a beauty! Got to get some more of those sausages.

Great seeing you guys and some memorable games from under "The Clubhouse."

Stay in touch.

Greg

Red-hot Aoyama trounces HSPC in league

Legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus once said, "you don't judge a champion by the way he celebrates winning, you judge him by how he takes defeat."

After getting trounced 7-1 at Aoyama on Saturday in the Tokyo Petanque League (TPL), the Myoshoji boys took the loss very well, so well in fact, they "celebrated" until 11:30 p.m. at the ground!

Aoyama's Adrian Buehler is one of the best players in Japan and if he brings his "A Game" to the piste, you certainly better have yours. Bob and Raj did on Saturday and that still wasn’t enough. Adrian and the ever steady Yokoyama san combined for a very convincing 13-3 win in the opening game.

On court 2 Steve and Greg were on cruise control, rushing out to a 10-0 lead before Albert, whose game has matured tremendously in recent years, anchored a steady revival with Ogawa san to lock it all up at 11-11. From there Steve had a chance to win – or possibly lose! – the game and after flirting with danger by hitting the top of the bit, HSPC moved to 12-11 before Aoyama seized the game with two points.

HSPC then shuffled their teams and introduced Scott, Bob's good friend from the US, and even though he hadn't played for two years, he soon found his touch. Teamed with the experienced Bob, they came close to stealing victory before Takahashi san won the game in style, shooting out two boules for the win.

In the fourth game, Raj and Vas got out to a rough start against the red-hot Adrian and Yokoyama san and were trailing early before rallying to make it a good contest, though they two eventually succumbed, falling 13-8.

HSPC then introduced two fresh faces into its line-up, baseball players Big Bill and Chris, who also performed admirably considering they hadn't played in years, but once again victory proved elusive.

It was left to Steve and Greg to salvage some pride for the day, defeating Albert and Ogawa 13-6 san in a replay of their opening game, but the damage was done.

Congratulations Aoyama, you played great.

So at the halfway point in the TPL, three teams sit atop the standings, HSPC, Aoyama and Mon Soleil.

Full results can be seen on the TPL website.