Before I begin my education in kissing I must first explain a little about one of France’s most popular pastimes…..no, not drinking! We’re talking about boules, or to be more specific pétanque.
Pétanque is played throughout Southern France and almost every village has a special court, often shaded by ancient plane trees, where the local menfolk will spend the long hours between lunch and apéro playing and talking. The aim is to throw steel balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet (piglet) from a standing position with both feet planted firmly on the ground. This is where pétanque differs from boules. Almost a century ago, in La Ciotat, one of the players decided not to administer the usual running throw to launch his boule, instead he stood still with his feet together, or pieds tanques. The technique caught on and was soon adopted by others, pétanque was born. Points are awarded to the players who can land closest to the cochonnet and the first to reach a score of 13 wins. “But how is this going to stop my man kissing like a Saint Bernard!?” Allow me to introduce Fanny…
The original Fanny was a kind-hearted young lady who worked in a café near a pétanque court in the mid 1800s. Whenever a team suffered the humiliation of losing a game 13 to 0 (meaning that they had scored no points during the entire game) her heart would go out to them and to ease their pain, she would allow each of them to kiss her….on the cheek.
Legend has it that one day the local Mayor, who Fanny had taken a dislike to, was having a run of bad luck and was beaten 13-0. When he entered the café to claim his consolation prize Fanny promptly jumped up on a chair, hoisted her skirt and offered her ‘cheeks’ for the Mayor to kiss. The Mayor was surprised but he was up to the challenge and, to the amusement of everyone, two loud kisses rang out through the café.
The new technique caught on and soon every loser wanted to plant a kiss on Fanny’s ‘cheeks’. This new ceremony quickly spread throughout the world of pétanque and women all over the south of France carried on the tradition established by the first sympathetic young pétanque supporter called Fanny.
As time passed by there became a shortage of willing ‘Fannys’ so clubs had to resort to using posters and sculptures of Fanny for the lads to kiss. Often a bell was rung to announce the ceremony and draw a crowd.
So now you know how to kiss like a Frenchman! Well, a disliked French Mayor from the 1800s at least. Sorry ladies!
Have you ever kissed a Fanny? Oh come on!!! You know what I mean! We want to hear your Fanny stories – keep it clean please! (The story, not the….Ah Putain!!!)