LAST weekend the Tweed Valley Club welcomed visitors from Mirfield Pétanque Club, North Yorkshire to their pistes within Kailzie Gardens.

This was a new fixture for the club and it gave the members a chance to meet and test their skills against players they had never had the chance to play before.

For a while it seemed very unlikely that any games would be played as the rain arrived in the morning and looked to be set for the day.

Undaunted, the Tweed Valley members turned out to meet the new visitors and make them welcome with hot drinks and something to eat.

Before the visitors arrived the rain eased slightly and someone asked if they would use a shovel to move the water from the flooded piste.

Within minutes there were four men on hand equipped with a shovel, a small scuttle, mop and bucket and even the lid from a boule case.

By the time the visitors arrived the water was cleared away and the pistes were all fit for use.

Following introductions, teams were drawn up and the games got under way as scheduled at 2pm.

As usual there was a break for refreshments after the second round of games.

The third round got under way with the threat of rain looming but luckily it remained mostly dry till the end of the afternoon.

Mirfield emerged as the winners by nine games to six.