While we missed seeing Jan and Mareyne off before they left on their very early train this morning, we did get up to the house from the barge in time to welcome Lothar’s son Janek, and his girlfriend Steph, as they arrived by train from Paris a little bit later. They were meant to arrive yesterday, but missed their TGV from Paris when they arrived at the platform one minute late to see the doors closing and the train departing.

In the morning, Rita went up to the Mairie for a meeting with the Urbanisme department about the facade works at the house. So far, all looks promising for the work to be done next year with a subsidy from the Mairie as part of their heritage renovation project OPAH.

In the afternoon, Sarah and Albon left with the two boys to return to their farm in the French Jura.

While everyone was pre-occupied with touristy activities, I thought I would take the opportunity to properly fix the bimini on the barge, having earlier made a temporary fix with zip ties and gaffer tape, but now having bought a pop-riveter. Since everyone else was busy, I decided to do it by myself. This was OK as I replaced the rivets connecting the rear poles to the bimini frame. However, as I loosened the struts connecting the frame to the wheelhouse roof, everything went haywire. The bimini slewed to the left and dropped, trapping my hand between the bimini frame and the wheelhouse roof. So here I was, standing on a chair on the rear deck with my hand stuck under the bimini frame, which was too heavy and awkward to lift with the other hand, and no one around to lend me a hand.

Before getting on the chair, I had put my phone on the table in the middle of the rear deck, now too far away to reach. But I realised that if I stretched out my foot, while still standing on the chair, I could just reach the table. So I spent the next hour slowly moving the table, and the phone, slightly closer, minute by minute. Eventually, I was able to reach the phone with my hand, and called Rita. She was out at St Nicolas de Grave having a swim, and couldn’t get back for about an hour. So I spent the hour standing on a chair with my left hand caught under the bimini frame and checking emails and Facebook on my phone in my right hand. Some people on the far side of the canal gave me a strange look, but obviously my dilemma was not unusual enough to provoke intervention! After an hour, Rita arrived and helped lift the bimini off my hand. After I got circulation back in my hand, I proceeded to finish the bimini repair, with Rita’s help, in about 10 minutes.

So, all’s well that ends well, but it did mean that we missed the surprise birthday party for Rosie O'Dwyer at a Night Market in nearby Saint Maurin. So, after dinner on board it was time for an early night - enough excitement for one day!