Cherchez la femme

Or rather, cherchez le bibiotheque.  The owner of the restaurant in the French village where we have a hideaway is always keen to suggest outings we might enjoy.  These are usually nothing to our liking, often being things such as car boot sales.  (I wrote a bit about him here.)  On this occasion, he suggested we might like to watch a game peculiar to Haut Anjou, boules de fort.  This, Nicholas assured us, is completely different from petanque, or boules as it is often called.  And so it is, as you can see from this short video clip.


Nicholas told us that this is played in Pouancé, the nearby town, every Sunday at a court behind the library.

Neither the Old Bat nor I could recall ever seeing a library in Pouancé or signs indicating where it might be hidden, so the very next morning, after I had visited the boulangerie, I set off to seek le bibliotheque.  It was not marked on the street plan in the centre of town, although seemingly every other vaguely public building was indicated, so I drove the streets looking for clues.  I had no luck whatsoever.  However, I did spot a red English telephone kiosk like this

in somebody's back garden.  I also found this impressive drive leading to what appears to be a pretty large residence.  Impressive, no?