Lunch at the Boule de Fort

Bon Accord

Chinon is full of surprises. We've got to know the town steadily over a number of years and particularly since we moved here full-time in 2013. But there is always something new to be discovered. Which is what happened earlier this year and how we ended up cooking lunch for 45 people this week.

We've a lot of French friends who are always introducing us or involving us in hitherto unknown events and organisations. One of these is the Boule de Forte Club in Chinon - Cercle de Bon Accord, which our friends and long-time members Gilles et Marie-Lou invited us to visit for lunch, in November last year. The lunches take place once a month. Someone plans the menu - there's a rota, others look after the apéros, and there are plenty of hands to help serve the meal on the day. We've been to five lunches now, including our own this last week!

The Bon Accord is a great place, but well hidden. We've driven past it at least once a week probably, over the last seven years and not realised it was there. The building is set well back from the road and when the full-size wooden front gates are closed, it is invisible, even to someone walking by.  So the fact that the club was there at all was the first surprise.

Inside there's the main room with a bar at the end. Usually the tables are together in small groups, but for a lunch the space is re-organised. If there's around 25 people, the tables are laid out width ways on. For our lunch, they were set up length ways from the far end to just in front of the bar. It's a good space and very practical.

The welcome we got the first time we went was just lovely. The members are great and very friendly. That's how it's been ever since.  We took to it straight away and said we'd like to sign up. So from January this year we've been going once a month, for lunch with other members. We've have tried the game once and hopefully will be able to sort out a bit of tuition, so we understand the rules and technique a bit better. There are differences between boule and English bowls. It's difficult to see in the photo, but the rink is curved, which requires a different technique to play, more like placing the boule rather than launching it.

Ready to go

A couple of months ago at another lunch, Gilles suggested we organise an English lunch. Thinking that the usual number of members booking was manageable, we said yes.  Given the reputation English cooking has generally in France, I convinced myself that only about a dozen or so would sign up rather than the usual 25. So I sorted out a menu which was posted up a month in advance. 

What neither we or anyone else had remembered was that Easter was the weekend immediately before. Allowing for preparation time, meant that the shopping had to be done on the Saturday. 

Marie-Christine

Just before the Easter weekend we had a meeting at the club to run through everything with our helpers, which is when we discovered there were 45 coming, the largest number there'd ever been for lunch, some of whom were chefs. Mike was in origami-chef mode, so was making all the apéros. I had a shopping list sorted out, but now needed to adjust the quantities. We'd also been in touch with our regular music pals, so our two French friends Christine and Patrick were coming so we could sing together during the apéros. The songs were half and half in French and English and completely English.  We'd hoped they could both stay for lunch, but in the end Patrick had to get back to work.

Anyway come the day we got there for 10am and basically everything went like clockwork, except for the ovens, which cooked differently. Fortunately everything was fine. The singing went down well as did Mike's apéros. Everyone was very complimentary about the meal, which given all the clean plates was very satisfying. Huge relief truly. Most grateful to all our helpers at the club, particularly Marie-Christine, Janine, Gilles.

So we did ok - phew!!