'The Boules Player'

As the world moved past the millennium, sculptor Roger Burnett created a work of art to mark the annual Northern Pétanque Colliers CRE Cup. The sculpture was unveiled by the Lord Mayor of Leed’s twin city Lille.

The bronze sculpture itself showcases a flat-capped, French boules player in the midst of a throw, while a family of three overlooks the game.

It appears that the sculpture was a difficult assignment for Burnett, especially when it came to designing the family as he noted in his diary, 

“I’ve moved them through every position imaginable: standing, sitting, leaning, squatting, huddled together, set apart. I’ve added figures and switched males for females. My couple - for that’s what I finished up with - then gave birth to a child.”

Next to the statues is a full-sized pétanque (boules) court. There is an information board providing the basic rules of pétanque.