Toady, we welcomed to our club, a party of 15 friends from Royal Wootton Bassett PC. The occasion was the the 1st leg of the annual competition between the clubs. The 2nd leg will be played at RWB PC on 18 September 2025.
Our guests were welcomed in typical Monkstone sunny weather and were treated to tea/coffee and Welsh cakes after their journey across the bridge.
The match was in the usual format of 2 rounds of 6 doubles followed by 2 rounds of 4 triples.
When play got under way Monkstone took an early lead in the first round of doubles and finally won the round by 4-2 (games) and 62-43 (points). The pattern continued the second round of doubles with Monkstone again edging it by 4-2 and 56-41.
A break was then taken for a sumptuous lunch provided by the MPC members with a trip to the bar for those who wanted to slake their thirst in the hot weather. The deserts provided included, what else in Wimbledon fortnight, strawberries and cream.
So, after the repast, play recommenced with round one of the triples. Monkstone proved they hadn’t overeaten or drunk by continuing in their fine form to take the round 3-1 and 50-26.
On to the final round of triples but Monkstone took their foot of the gas a bit and RWB earned a draw with 2-2 and 45-36.
So the final score was a 1st Leg win by 13-7 and 213-146. They may “think its all over ……….” but it’s not. Monkstone can expect a tough fight from RWB in the return fixture in September as they try to overcome the deficit.
Many thanks to those who played and those who provided the lunch and a special “Well Done” to Ros Goddard, supervising her first event in her new role as MPC Fixture Secretary.
Last Thursday, a small group from the Club were invited by, Tomas Martin who works for Disability Sport Wales as Boccia Coordinator, to a Welsh Paralympic Performance Session for Boccia – a game very similar to petanque in many ways but with some notable differences, amongst them:
the jack is as big as the boccia balls
the balls are like mini stuffed footballs that range from squidgy to very hard and each player can have a selection of balls of differing hardness – unlike petanque where, in a set, each boule is identical
the players sit in a line alternating each team so that each player from a team has a different view of the game which often determines who plays the next ball
players who are unable to throw a ball use a ramp similar to the one we used to roll pennies down at the funfair – but much larger. (these players are known as “rampers”). Normally “rampers” would not play against “throwers”
the winner is determined after a fixed number of ends not by reaching a certain score
as in petanque there is a plethora of minor rules which were explained to us but would take too long to repeat here
The evening started with introductions and a chat about boccia. Tomas, who has competed for Wales in various international events, is the grandson of our own club member, Tony Martin who took most of the photos in this article.
Then it was down to the Sports Hall where we split up into 2 teams to play a couple of sessions each against the “throwers” and the “rampers”. By the end we were beginning to get the hang of it, getting balls relatively near to the jack and even shooting.
Tomas Martin with the Monkstone Team
I am not sure if anyone knew the final result but it didn’t matter – everyone had a great time and an evening to remember and Inclusivity in Sport was the winner!
A big thank-you from Monkstone Petanque Club to Tomas and all the other players and volunteers who made the evening such a success and good luck to Wales Paralympic Boccia team in the future.
18 Club members were at Thornhill Crematorium today to pay their respects and say a final farewell to club member, Lynda Hodges, who died last month at the age of 84. Lynda, who had not been seen around the club very much over the last 2 years and not at all over the last year, due to ill health, was a very popular member of the club and a talented player.
She will be remembered by those who knew her for her friendly disposition, her “belly” laugh and, not least for the excellent homemade savouries and cakes that she would turn up at the club with almost every week to complement our morning coffee.
Our friendly match with Wilton Bridge took place under sunny spring skies in Ross-on-Wye. Both teams were fielding 14 players apiece, with three rounds of play ahead.
The first round comprised four triples and one double. The results of the five games were pretty close, with MPC edging Wilton Bridge 3 wins to 2 (60-48). It was good to see some of our less-experienced players, such as Keith Miller and Linda Lippett, playing well.
In round 2 there were seven straight doubles to play and the best result came from the two Lindas, Lippett and Thomas, who won their game 13- 2. There were also wins for Bernard & Mike, John Maroney & Keith Thomas and Keith Miller & Peter Lippett. Overall we won the round by 4 games to 3, but the points difference of 72-68 shows how close the games had been.
So, with a lead of 7 games to 5, it was all to play for in the final round of two triples and four doubles. Wilton Bridge still had a chance to come good. But it wasn’t to be. We took four of the six games, giving us a final result in the match of 11 games to 7 (202-164). Congratulations to all our players and especially to three players who completed a hat trick of winning games: Bernard, Linda Lippett and Keith Miller. Well done to them and to all our players for giving up a day to play for our club.
Wilton Bridge are a developing club and they want to improve. Their performance in this first match shows that they are on the right track and we look forward to hosting them in the next leg.
Sunday 15 December 2024 was a busy day down at the Club. It started with the Christmas Melee which was followed later by the first Monkstone Christmas Dinner at which the December Club 100 Draw was made.
Christmas Melee
The melee started almost on time at 11:00am after it transpired that the Organiser had set up the teams for the 40 people he was told were there when in fact there were 42! This little hiccup resolved, play commenced.
After Round 1, as might have been expected , there were 21 players on 1 win. The early leaders were Lindsay Christian & Claude le Razavet (+12) followed by Mike Jones & Tony Cooper (+11).
Round 2 is where the real contenders for the title begin to emerge if they can follow up their Round 1 win with another victory. When the dust had settled there were 13 players on 2 wins. Of the Round 1 leaders only Lindsay & Claude had managed a second win but some of the lower winners had good Round 2 wins to bring them up into convention. So, leading the field were Lindsay (+18), Peter David (+16), Claude (+14) and Alex Skibinski (+14).
Onto the 3rd and final round – could Lindsay maintain her lead and take the trophy or would someone out of the top 4 have a big win and propel themselves to the top. When the scores were in and checked Claude & Peter had fallen at the final hurdle but Lindsay & Alex were still up there. The final results were in and the top 4 on 3 wins were:
1st
Alex Skibinski
+25
2nd
Lindsay Christian
+24
3rd
Lloyd Kinsey
+23
4th
Keith Thomas
+15
Congratulations to Alex and thanks to all who took part.
Melee 1
Melee 2
Melee 3
Melee 5
Melee 4
Christmas Dinner
After the Melee some of the players repaired to the clubhouse, where they were joined by other Club members and families along with one or two friends, for the first (annual?) Monkstone PC Christmas Dinner.
The meal of Christmas Dinner or Vegan Wellington followed by Christmas Pudding or Gateaux was served amongst the sounds of everyone having a good time. The meal was rounded off with coffee and a chocolate.
A very enjoyable occasion and, from appearances, a good time was had by all.
Huge thanks are due to Judith Smith (who had decided that Madeira was a better option!) for organising the event, Katrina Munro & Richard King for setting up the room on the day and making sure everything went well with the serving and Katrina, Richard, Vickie Adshead & Sandy Warner for clearing up. Apologies if I have missed any one who was involved in any way in putting on the event.
Meal 1
Meal 6
Meal 2
Melee 6
Meal 4
Club 100 Draw
The December draw was made at the Christmas Dinner. This was the big one with the Christmas Bonus draw – “El Gordo”. The lucky winners were:
Bonus
Roger “Ben” Bennett
£200
1
Spencer Bartlett
£100
2
Del Axon
£40
3
Keith Thomas
£20
The Club 100 has 69 members which means the total monthly prize pot is approximately £155. In addition there is a bonus draw in December for a prize of around £200 (depending on the number of members). Grateful thanks to all those Monkstone Club members and others who support the petanque club through the Club 100. If you are not a member please consider joining. The more people that join the bigger the prizes and the more improvements we can make to YOUR Club.