Not content with ravaging all our box hedges and trees the "pyrale du buis" caterpillars are risking the heart of French culture and sporting life.
It appears that practically all the "cochonnets" used by petanque players are made from box wood. The wood turners based in the Jura who manufacture almost all the "buts" or "petits" used in France, around a million a year, are afraid that within a few years there will be no more wood supplies in the country.
So it is not inconcevable that in a few years when a bouliste asks you "have you got a petit" (practically every "amical" your correspondent has played in seems to be against teams who have forgotten to bring one), you will reply, "yes, but made in China".
The manufacturers are trying to source imports of the vital material.
