Albert celebrates the big Five Ohhh!!!

A belated post on Albert's 50th birthday a few weeks ago. Some fun games of Petanque in the afternoon followed by a wild night of festivities. Congrats Al!

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.