Tennis at last!

Some of you will have already discovered the wonder that is Decathlon - for those who haven’t, share with me for a moment the rosy athletic glow it gives.  The first thing that strikes you about the stores are rows and rows of brightly coloured sports ‘things’, nearly every activity with its own area, each changing according to the season . Best of all, if you buy something that’s the wrong size or faulty, they’ll actually give an immediate cash or credit card refund; everywhere else you go, this always involves a long wait and an even longer argument. And when it was offered, I had to ask a few times if I’d understood correctly – and I had. Love at first shop!

You have to spend a while getting familiar with the layout, but once you have you can find just about every sport represented. And the camping section is one of my favourite bits. I LOVE tents and all the paraphernalia that goes with them - but have no interest in actually going camping. It’s just the magic of a polyester bag full of material and rods that you throw into the air - and which then explodes into a 5 bedroom house with kitchen, living room and dining hall. Scrambling in and out of the tents and figuring out where the blow up mattresses, fold away tables and gas fired thingys could go is an innocent enough pastime – and lot less uncomfortable than doing it all in the middle of a soggy field. Bikes are fun too. Having recently gone in just to have my buckled wheel straightened , I came out with a new sparkly velo, complete with lights, bell, 2 padded seat covers and a rather striking pink water bottle and holder. Slightly difficult to explain how this had happened, but it might have been something to do with the extremely nice (and rather gorgeous) young man helping me. So worth every penny then.

We’re a sporty family, so there’s always pleasure in exploring the fishing, riding, rugby, football, body building, running, swimming, archery, golf, judo and badminton sections too. And in the winter the need for gloves and hats takes me happily into the skiing aisle – where, of course, I try on various outfits, all the while having zero intention of doing any actual skiing. Tennis though was the one section I’d never ventured into, so imagine my joy when our youngest son told me he wanted to start lessons. A perfect excuse to speed to Bergerac Decathalon, there to spend a happy hour giving a previously undiscovered aisle a thorough going over!
Sadly, with two boys, the pink ballet corner will always remain a mystery to me - but am hopeful that the rock climbing one (with boots, ropes & fabulously complicated metally stuff) will be my next mission!