My brother Bernie would have been 69 today - I can hear him telling all sorts of lewd jokes about his age!

Up early to follow the AFL game between the Hawks and the Melbourne Demons. It was a relatively tight game with the Demons just ahead for most of the match, but 10 minutes into the final quarter the Hawks kicked a goal to lead by 1 point. The Demons then kicked the next 5 goals to run out comfortable 29 point winners. Hawthorn never really looked comfortable all day.

In late morning, we departed Agen, headed across the Garonne Aqueduct and down the set of four locks to begin a long cruise with no more locks for quite a while. In mid-afternoon, we arrived at our favourite wild mooring site at Phillipot Parc. After relaxing for a while, we jumped onto our bikes for a long ride to Barbaste where we heard there would be a Night Market with a band and Flamenco dancers. The parkland setting for the market alongside the river in the shadows of Barbaste Castle was idyllic.

We got there early to ensure we got a spot near the stage, and were one of the first to buy food from the vendors. A Spanish singer and guitarist came up on stage and did a sound check and a couple of songs around 7pm, and by 7.30pm most of the tables were full as the local crowd arrived. And then nothing. People had finished eating and were sitting around drinking, or talking or just aimlessly looking at the sky or the ground. A Spanish-speaking family next to us with 3 kids had been very excited early in the evening, but were now getting fidgety. By 9pm, when nothing had happened, they got up and left. Since we had to still ride home on our bikes after the concert, we were starting to get a bit worried about riding home in the dark on the main road, so Rita went and talked to someone who looked authoritative. They said that the “show” would start in about 15 minutes. But when the “show” started it turned out to be a bunch of people from the local Flamenco dancing club, none of whom were good or professional dancers. After 10 minutes, and with the sun rapidly setting, we decided to cut our losses and started the long ride home in the growing gloom. After a long, dark and cold ride, we were glad to arrive at the barge, and have a warm cuppa to thaw out.