We woke early, realising that this was our last full day in Moissac for quite a while. One thing we also realised was that this was also going to be a day of logistics, with many tasks required to be done, but in a specific order.

My first job was to remove the plastic bags I put over the mushroom domes after the last storm. However, when I removed them, I realised that the tape I used had left a sticky residue on the cabin paintwork. Oh well, removal of that residue will be a job for later when we are on the road.

Rather than trying to do washing on the boat, we took all the washing to Ruth at Irene’s house to use her bigger washing machine, while we were doing other things. We then used the camion to return all the hired musical equipment to MusicenZone, and then went to the nearby Intermarche to do some last minute shopping for the trip to Toulouse and to top up the diesel for the hired camion. We then returned to Irene’s to pick up Ruth and the washing, and then took the washing (for drying) and the bass pans to La Maison (for storage). While we were checking the rooms as we left, we found Ginger on the bed in the main bedroom - apparently his favourite position!

Now that we had finished all the main moving, we then took the camion back to Renault. We then returned to the barge and moved it from the river up to the canal, where we pulled into the main quai to buy diesel (378L in total). While we were there, Rita ducked down to the Gallery to retrieve our photo canvases and we gave the battery charger back to Iain, who met us at the quai. We had offered to return it to his house later in the day, but he said that they would not be home during the afternoon.

We then backed up the canal a little ways and did a u-turn to move into our mooring for our last night in Moissac. We then brought the car up to the port and parked near the barge, where we transferred the Buzet booze and groceries from car to barge. We then settled in and got some things prepared for the Toulouse trip, while Rita went to pay Nigel for house cleaning at Irene’s. After connecting to shorepower, I noticed an "Error 6 inverter overload” message on the control panel!!! This was the last thing we needed to see before heading off. But another commitment was looming so I just hoped the inverter would sort itself out before the morning!

At 6pm, we had agreed to meet Kaz and Iain (our longest friends in Moissac) at the Sunbeam for a couple of farewell drinks. But when we got there, we were shocked to find a bit more than Kaz and Iain, with about 20 friends gathered together (now we know what Kaz and Iain were doing that afternoon!). We were humbled that so many friends would gather to say farewell (but it doesn’t take much to get 20 Moissac barge people down to the Sunbeam for a drink!).

We both tried to put our feelings at leaving Moissac into words, but failed miserably. Just looking at the photo below (a few weeks after leaving Moissac) makes me realise how much these people and Moissac mean to us. Thank you.

The quantity of (empty) glassware on the table says a lot about the nature and spirit of Sunbeam gatherings!

But Bella (the Capitainerie dog) seems to have seen and heard it all before.

After leaving the Sunbeam, we returned to the barge and spent some time reflecting on our time in Moissac, looking at the reflections of the bridge over the lock and the water cascading over the lock doors, until it was time to hit the sack.