The Bali Boules Club began over a year ago, on the beach, as a relaxed afternoon of sport, food and drink, playing the traditional French game boule similar to Lawn Bowls but played on sand with metal balls.

The idea is that each team has to try to land the metal ball closest to the little red ball, often affectionately referred to as Fanny, with a subtle Mediterranean underarm throwing action and points are scored through a succession of games.

The pastis, the snacks from Kaima and the irreverence of the participants, always adds up to a very interesting afternoon’s entertainment for the eight fulltime members and many regular guests.

The location for the club has now moved to a specially prepared sand arena in a backyard in Oberoi and last week the inaugural awards for the first year’s competition were presented to club members, Grant, season’s champ and runners-up, Driss and Richard (not pictured) for their excellence in the sport.