Saturday morning began at the civilised hour of 1000h with the Barge Arts pétanque tournament. Defending champions (from 2014) Nigel and Jen put their trophy on the line as a challenge for all eight pairs who entered for the event. The competition was fierce, with Steve and Lynne (from Lyneve) trying to use British patriotic fervour to spur them on.

However, the knockout format had reduced the competition to just two pairs by 1100h - Mike and Gill (from Carolyn) against defending champions Nigel and Jen (from Pomme de Mer).

At the end of the day, the finals experience of the defending champions won out as they took back-to-back championships. Will they return to attempt a three-peat, if and when the next Moissac Barge Festival takes place?

After lunch, held on various barge decks, the fleet made ready for the afternoon cruise up the River Tarn.

The flotilla made a grand sight as they moved in line away from the quai, with the icons of Moissac in the background.

As we reached the chateau at Ste Livrade, we had to stop and turn back, for the channel narrowed and the depth reduced as we reached the end of the navigable section near the weir.

So, after a 3-hour cruise we arrived back in port and moored up. While everyone else was relaxing on their boats, Rita, Stuart and Bernard (a local Moissacian) got together to do a little music in the Uvarium Parc to see whether steel pan, violin and electric guitar could marry Celtic music styles from England and France. They seemed to do so OK, and promised to play again tomorrow at the final event of Barge Arts.

We then took our time getting ready for the final function of the day, dinner in the Abbey Square (le Parvis). Most people went in small groups and chose a restaurant of their preference around the square, with a view of the concert that was to begin at 2100h. A larger group had pre-booked tables at L’Abbaye in the shadows of the Abbey walls, and enjoyed a delicious meal before settling down for the music. A great way to finish the day.

When I got back to the barge after dinner, I checked the results of the Cardiff SGP (Speedway Grand Prix) and was pleased to see that, while no Australian featured in the finals, it was taken out by Antonio Lindback, a Swede of Brazilian background, who had battled several years ago against crippling depression that meant he could hardly ride a bike, let alone be competitive. This year has seen a major change in fortune for him, and he became the fifth different rider to win one of the five SGP events this year.