ABC

The 2009 Guernsey Open

The ABC Guernsey Team 2009

Christine Kateley reported:
For some time now I have wanted to return to Guernsey and play in their ‘open’. So this year I put it to the club and 12 of us signed up and off we went for 5 lovely days.

We checked in at Gatwick and boarded our FLYBE flight and an hour later we were being met by the Hertz rep. at Guernsey Airport.

The hotel ‘La Villette’ was only a 10 minute drive from the airport also only 10mins from St. Peter Port and 5 minutes from the Guernsey Club de Petanque – ( once we had found it in the maze of little lanes) very convenient - location. Location, location!

A nice Hotel,which had just been refurbished, with a spa and indoor and outdoor swimming pools and friendly obliging staff, plus a Boules terrain for the enthusiastic to practice on !

That evening we eventually ‘found’ our way to the Club de Petanque to register and socialise with a glass of wine (or two! ) and Saturday morning we were back on the piste by 09.00hrs to start the doubles competition.

The weather was beautiful although quite windy but with indoor & outdoor terrains one could choose where to play. The indoor terrains are old converted rose growing green houses which are brilliant, they also house all the club facilities including a small kitchen and eating area.

The Guernsey Ladies worked hard to keep the many teams supplied with tea & coffee and delicious homemade cakes.

That evening, after a strenuous day’s play, we went to the Presentation dinner at the Peninsular Hotel at the top end of the Island, having first navigated the maze of unmarked, unsigned lanes. We had a fun evening although we didn’t win the Cup or the Plate, but some managed to get recognition in other ways!! As I always say ‘you either have to win or be Fannied, as there is no recognition in the middle!’

Sunday we played the triples completion, another great day all round, playing against old and new friends and a few England players!! We all enjoyed our matches and the scores did not always reflect the standard of play.

That evening we went to the farewell dinner this time at an Hotel only a 5 minute walk from our Hotel so no one had to drive, just stagger home later! Monday was a free day so everyone did their own thing... the Island is very pretty with a lot of things to do and see and the shopping is duty free!

There are also some excellent eating places as we discovered and that brings us to our last evening, which we spent together in the Hotel and as one can see from the pictures, we had a crab feast, which the hotel management arranged especially for us by request.....a meal NEVER to be forgotten!! Fabulous.

We returned to Gatwick on Tuesday evening again by FLYBE/wasp/hornet exhausted but a jolly good time was had by all....Christine, Mike, Mavis, Peter, Ian, Margaret, Benny, Margaretha, Carolyn, Sonia, Bobby & Sue.