A long-forgotten game is being revived in Clare.
It’s called ‘Bois Chat’ and was played decades ago in schoolyards.
The game has three parts: there’s a five-inch deep half-circled hole with two pieces of wood, one six inches and the other longer.
First you slant the small stick in the hole and leave about two inches out, you hit the stick and try to keep it in the air as much as you can.
The second part is flipping the smaller stick with the longer one, and teams try to catch it, then you have to stand where the stick fell and try to toss it in the hole without touching the other stick, which is laid across the hole.
Got all that? Not to worry, there will be a demonstration at the Meteghan Lions Club on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Patrick Duffy says he learned about the game as a child.
“My mother is over 90. She was around 9 or 10 years old when she played it at school, so that was around 80 years ago. It’s a very old game,” said Duffy.
He believes the game could have French or Mi’kmaq roots, but he’s only heard people from Clare who have memories.
“I’ve only had people from Clare who tell me they know what it is. People from Argyle or Pubnico have never heard of it.”
Duffy says he’s heard different interpretations and rules of the game, depending on the region of Clare.
A free meal will follow the demonstration on Sunday.
