We hosted an "away day" here yesterday, for the company that does our accounts. They have been keeping an eye on our project since its inception, and decided it was time to come and give us a try. Their day out included a cycle to the site, followed by activities in the canyon, lunch there, more activities, and a big barbecue at our place to finish off the day.
They had a lot of fun. There was archery, rock climbing, hiking along the footpaths, one group visited Saulges on foot, the other St Pierre sur Erve.
One of the games they played in our courtyard that I have never come across before, was called "Palets", which translates as pucks (as in ice hockey, for example). The games works very like boules, in that you throw a small iron puck onto a board, and then try to throw other pucks as close to it as you can. They had two versions of it, Breton palets, and a version from the Vendée, where everything (the board, the pucks) was a bit smaller. As an aside, you can get palets bretons in the supermarket, but they are puck-shaped biscuits. Very nice they are too, but I'm wondering which came first, the biscuits or the game? Or perhaps they both derive from something else?
Volley ball in the pool was followed by a sizzling barbecue, and after that people relaxed into the night with games of cards in the lodge. We don't know what time they all went home: at half past 11 we gave them a key and told them to put it in the letter box when they left.
That's one helluva barbecue! And who said that accountants were boring...?
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