Kaz and Iain Noble (the port capitainerie) awoke to a rude surprise this morning, when they found that their training boat (Orca) had been cast adrift during the night, and had slowly drifted down the canal until it reached the swing bridge. Luckily, it was going sideways when it got there and wedged itself against the canal and bridge stonework. If it had tried going under the bridge, it could have resulted in severe damage to the wheelhouse. The culprits (two guys with a white dog) were caught on CCTV, but it remains to be seen whether the police will be able to apprehend them. Unfortunately, at this time of year there are a lot of itinerant workers in town for the fruit harvesting, and they can get a bit irresponsible after they’ve had a few drinks. A good lesson, however, was learnt about using chains on boats to secure them to the quai. Orca had a chain, but it was tied off with a D-shackle. The culprits had taken the time to remove the shackle, and then the chain and ropes, before casting it adrift. On Kanumbra, we use a padlock on both ends of the chain to secure the chain to the boat and the shore bollard - these are impossible to remove (without a strong bolt cutter) and so give us greater peace of mind at night and when we are not on board.

After our couple of weeks away, we spent the morning catching up on washing, and then doing some shopping to re-stock the pantry. We also went up to the train station to get train tickets for me to get to Paris CDG next week to catch the flight home. This trip will take me to Montauban on a local TER train, then TGV to Bordeaux, and another TGV to the Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris.

On the way back to the house from the station, I noticed that our local boulangerie (just 50 metres from the house) had undergone a paint job, and they had chosen the Hawthorn AFL club colours of brown and gold stripes - how very nice of them!

As we were working in the garden at the house, I heard a sound overhead and looked up to see a very familiar sight in Moissac, with a glider being given a tow by a light plane to get the glider up to altitude. A few seconds after this photo, the glider disengaged, and then began its spiralling glide path back over Moissac to the airport at the east end of town.

That evening, we decided to have dinner at the Uvarium Kiosk cafe. This year, the cafe is under new management and they have installed a kitchen on-site in a shipping container. That has given them a much wider variety of available meals, and every time we have gone past at night, they have been packed with customers. So we got in early this evening and got a table, where we enjoyed a very enjoyable meal and soaked up the scenery along the River Tarn.