For the past few years, our SFR mobile phones have been part of a package deal with the phone, internet and TV at la Maison, giving us each phones and 4Gb/month data for about 30euro/month. However, with Dr. Raph living there this year with his family, he decided that he needed to keep his old phone number in case he was needed out of hours for a medical emergency. So he discontinued the package at the house and had a new one installed with his own numbers. But he arranged for our SFR mobiles to be continued on a cheaper rate until we got back, so that we could also keep our existing numbers. I was somewhat surprised that my old SIM seemed to work OK immediately, but Rita needed a new one, because her new iPhone7 needed to use a nano-SIM. So at the stroke of 10am we were on the doorstep of SFR to sort things out.

It turned out that the reduced package only had 1Gb/month data, which would be far less than we would need. However, they had a special Promo running where we could upgrade to 100Gb/month for 25euro/month on a 12 month contract. That’s right, 25 times more data than our old plan for slightly less than what we had been paying (talk about technological progress!!). However, just as we were about to sign up, we realised that today was June 24, and our contract updates every 23rd of the month. So we could not change until 23 July, by which time the Promo was over! So the sales guy searched for alternatives and finally suggested that we leave our phones on the reduced rates to retain our old phone numbers, and for data we get a wifi hub (an STF Web Trotter) which we could connect to 5 devices at a time (say 2 phones, 2 laptops and 1 iPad) and have 30Gb data per month between us, for about 30euro/month (about 4 times the data for half the price of our old plans). One major advantage of this arrangement, which suits our needs perfectly, is that we can disconnect anytime (like when we leave France each year) with a single phone call, and then reconnect when we come back next year without paying anything in the meantime. Sounds good to us. One thing we have learned from this experience is that each time we come back we should check for the best deal available at that time, because it was probably not around in the previous year. Another good thing about the wifi hub is that we can leave it up in the wheelhouse (where phone reception is better) while we sit down below in the steel enclosed salon, but get good reception with a clear line of sight to the hub in the wheelhouse.

Feeling very pleased with ourselves, we headed around the corner to Le Compostelle for coffee and croissants, to signify to ourselves that we really have arrived in Moissac for the year.

After a quick trip to the little Intermarche in town to get some basic supplies, we then went shopping in the Market for fresh fruit and vegetables. While Rita was buying some lettuce, I couldn’t resist taking this photo of the guy in the adjacent stall, who was selling bread, all the while with a tiny kitten tucked under his elbow. Only in France!

Soon after we got back to the barge, I heard a knock on the door and on looking outside I saw a face which I vaguely recognised, but could not exactly place. Geoff put me out of my misery by reminding me that we had spoken in almost exactly the same position as when he and Ginny had knocked on the door of Kanumbra when they were in Moissac for the Festival of the Voice in 2013. We had a long chat again and learned of their camping trip plans this time around on their way to Italy. We promised to keep an eye out for each other at concerts this weekend.

After lunch, we decided we would have to get serious about getting the car started. We had been rescued at one of our steelband gigs last year by someone who used a portable jump starter battery to start one of the player's vehicles that had a dead battery. These units are about the size of a large mobile phone, but have a charge of about 20000MAh. They are often used for recharging mobile phones and other devices in the field, but they also have sufficient charge to start a car about 20 times before they themselves need recharging (see below). This seemed to be exactly what we needed to start the Scenic before moving it out of the garage. So, given Rita’s better French, she went up to the motor mechanics shop near the port, where we had previously bought batteries, to see if they had one. I was surprised when she returned 30 minutes later with a bag carrying what looked to be exactly what we needed. However, closer inspection showed it to be a battery charger, rather than a battery jump-starter (which is hard to translate into French). But not to worry, we needed a good battery charger for the barge anyway!

So later in the day on our way to see Raph and Isolbelle at la Maison, we dropped into the shop again, explained the confusion and tried to clarify things. We must have been partially successful, since the boss disappeared into a back room and came back carrying a much bigger industrial version of what we needed. Apparently that is what they use when they do vehicle rescues instead of using the old-fashioned jumper cables. Alas, they didn’t have any of the smaller versions for sale, and he wouldn’t let us borrow his bigger unit, but he was happy for one of his guys to come out to the garage with us to try starting the Scenic. Unfortunately, however, there was no room in his van for a passenger, so I jumped on Rita’s bike and pedalled out to the garage with 5 minutes headstart. We arrived there at about the same time, and within 5 minutes, the Scenic was running. So he headed back to his shop, while I packed the bike in the back of the Scenic, then picked Rita up at the barge, before going to the shop to pay for their assistance (35euro) and then heading off to la Maison.

We spent a pleasant couple of hours at la Maison, seeing how Raph and Isobelle had furnished the place, then talked about how they enjoyed living there (good, except for a few problems weatherproofing the Lightwell roof, and delays in getting hot water through to the upstairs bathrooms). They seemed to think it was a very comfortable house in winter (which we have never experienced there). Unfortunately, they are still having problems getting a court settlement on the insurance issues on their own house, with the result that work on the repairs has yet to begin. So perhaps they will be staying at la Maison slightly longer than expected. Time will tell!

Our favourite friend from last year, Ginger, has apparently claimed another heart, with Isobelle saying how much she adored him. She has adopted Jackie’s tactic of leaving the bedroom window ajar at night, and Ginger joins her overnight on the foot of the bed! While we were talking, Ginger joined us from next door, rubbed against my leg then promptly fell to the floor on the verandah near my chair.  

In the evening, we went into town to see what free concerts were playing (we had already bought tickets for a paid concert tomorrow, but you’ll have to wait a day to hear about that). Eventually we found the concert up near the old Library by an Italian band and singers by the name of “Orchestra Bailam e Compagnia di Canto Trallalero”. Great sound and good stage presence. Even though they spoke little French they made up enough poor translations to get lots of laughs from the audience. At the end of their show, the crowd kept clapping in time for an encore, but they ignored the clapping and just walked offstage. Many in the crowd were a bit confused/disappointed, until the group came out in front of the stage with the audience, where they waved everyone to come forward. They then selected a young lady from the audience and the group formed a ring around her, and the lead singer sang a serenade with backing from all the musicians. A unique way to perform an encore, which the audience will not forget in a hurry. One thing I learned from the night was the importance of stage presence and the need to “put on a show”; something we should spend some time on in our steelband back home.

As the next group set up on stage (a 2 person R&B), we were joined by Geoff and Ginny, who had just been to a different concert. We got talking and Geoff mentioned that he had recently been made Chair of the Kiama Jazz & Blues Festival (on the south coast of NSW), and wondered whether our steelband was still playing at such festivals! We chatted for a while and then promised to take the suggestion to the band for March 2018. Strange, we came to France this year looking for gigs in France in 2018, and may have found one in NSW in 2018!

As the evening unfolded at the concerts, I was taking sneaky peeks at my iPhone to follow the progress of the Danish Speedway GP, where Australians Chris Holder and Jason Doyle were riding. After the initial 20 heats to determine the finalists, Jason Doyle was leading the pack and then won his semi-final to enter the Final. He selected the inside gate (normally the best choice for getting to the first corner the quickest), but was crowded onto the infield by the rider outside him, and was unable to force his way though. As a result, he dropped back and finished 4th in the Final, but managed to take the lead in the overall GP championship for the year. Not a bad result you might think, but the enormity of his effort can only be fully appreciated by looking at a message Jason posted on Facebook on the following morning.

He had broken 3 metatarsal bones in his right foot in a racing accident the previous Sunday in Poland, when his right foot got caught in the front wheel of a competitor’s bike, and had 3 plates and 14 screws inserted to hold it together. His foot was in plaster until Friday, when he took off the plaster so that he could practice (a requirement to prove his fitness), then raced on Saturday night. He performed amazingly in the early races, despite his injury, but in the Final he wisely decided not to push back against the rider on his outside, for fear of getting his foot entangled again. He knows the season is long, and does not want it to end like it did last year, when an accident not of his making took him out in the second last GP meeting when he was a clear leader in the GP championship. I have always admired Doyley’s grit and determination (to back up his natural skills on a bike). I guess his tattoo says it all: “Pain is Temporary; Quitting lasts Forever”.