Diss says “bonjour!” to boules Hidden away on the outskirts of town,
(cochonette). In the original version, a
there’s a little bit of France. Tucked away
player was allowed to take one or two steps
discreetly behind Diss Town’s football
before throwing. In the more recent
ground, look carefully and you’ll find a
version, each player must stand and throw
small hut, a shelter with five chairs, an
from inside a circle scratched in the dirt.
array of unusual wooden objects on a
There’s no difference between petanque
table, and some intriguing red, white and
and boules, other than the name. In
blue stakes with numbers on them
France, they call it boules. In England, the
marking the edge of a gravel pit.
game is called petanque but it is played
Welcome to the Diss Waveney
using boules.
Petanque Club. National champions The club regularly competes against others in the area. “Most other teams are in mid-Norfolk,” says club member Malcom Butcher. “We’re currently in Division 2 of the Norfolk League, but we have previously played in Division 1. We have some very good players, some of them even compete at national level. Les and Di Shilling, for example, won in the 2021 Inter-Regional Championship and Challenge at Melton Mowbray. We’ve also recruited a few more county players to add to the two we Affiliated to the national petanque
already have, so this year we’re hoping for
association, Petanque England, the Diss
promotion again.”
club was formed in the late 1990s, and moved to Diss Town Football Club in 2004. Here, they built a 'piste' (the name of the terrain on which petanque is played) and
Diss Petanque Club practices on Monday
have been playing there ever since. Some
evenings, Wednesday afternoons and
of the original players are still in action at
Saturday mornings at Diss Town FC,
the club!
Brewers Lane, Diss IP22 4QP. Match
Petanque or boules? Whatever goes Petanque was devised in 1910 in a French town called La Ciotat. It was originally called jeu Provencal and involved players
nights are on Thursdays. Everyone is welcome. For more information, call Malcolm Butcher on 01379 740494 or email: hbutcherdell@gmail.com
throwing a ball (boule) at a target ball Diss Matters Summer 2022 31
