On the stroke of midnight, the first thunderclap announced the arrival of a storm with strong winds and heavy rain. It was so strong, that a little while later, I heard running water and on getting out of bed to investigate, I walked through a very soggy piece of carpet in our bedroom, directly under one of the mushroom vents on the cabin roof that I had re-attached after painting the cabin roof a few days ago. Further investigation found rain coming through the exhaust fan and the light in the bathroom ceiling, plus the mushroom vent in the galley. So, for the moment, it was just a case of getting every bucket we had (can’t have too many buckets on a barge!) and placing them strategically, then going back to bed and worrying about it more in the morning.

By morning, the rain and the leaks had stopped without any further drama. I did a temporary fix by taping plastic bags over the mushroom vents, with the intention of having a better look after the Fêtes was finished.

This morning saw more rehearsal with Catherine, followed by a sound check with Stuart as he miked up the band and checked the levels.

Around 1100h, Sergio (the drummer from Zurich) arrived. He was delayed because he was “Lost in Lyon”, an excuse that I can sympatthise with, having been “Lost in Lyon” several times. We did warn him! But now, he was too tired to rehearse, so he went to the house to sleep and promised to see us in the afternoon.

Over lunch I got an SMS from grand-daughter Rhianna saying she had missed her TGV train in Paris, because she had forgot to reset her watch after arriving from Edinburgh. So instead of arriving at 1800h, she would get to Moissac around 2300h. I set an alarm for myself so that I didn’t forget to pick her up from the station.

In the afternoon, Sergio participated in some rehearsals and sound checks; not really enough, but better than nothing.

Having had a pre-pre-party and a pre-party on the previous two evenings, tonight was the real thing as many of us celebrated Evelyn’s 50th at Le Fromage Rit restaurant. The party kicked off around 1930h with about 30 people. I’ve never seen so many barging people so well dressed at the same time!

Lots of conversations around the tables, with Nick and Rita having a heart-to-heart about music and life in general.

The party was still going strong at 2300h when the alarm rang on my phone, and I was reminded to pick up Rhianna from the station. Just as well I set the alarm!

I arrived at the station a few minutes late, and Rhi was just sitting on the step waiting for me - she knew I wouldn’t forget. She had flown in that morning from Edinburgh, where she had attended the Comedy Festival (jealousy, jealousy), and then caught the train to Moissac. I was surprised when she said she was travelling alone; somehow I had got the impression she was travelling with friends from her cafe workplace in Melbourne, and was leaving them in Paris for a while to come to Moissac. But no, she was doing it all on her own, visiting the UK, Scotland, France, Italy, Germany and Belgium over a period of 3 months. I was secretly very proud of her, having the confidence to do such a trip. We got back to the party around 2330h, by which time it was starting to break up (also known as being kicked out of the restaurant by staff who wanted to go home). So we wandered our way back to the barge in the mild night temperatures.