I'd put this off for long enough; today was the day to fix the toilet problem. I began by messaging Phil to ask his advice, given my unsuccessful efforts this time around. He advised that I use 14% vinegar to clear the pipes. I hadn't heard of 14% vinegar, and initialling though I might have to dilute vinegar with 6 parts water to get the 14% concentration. But Phil explained that the 14% refers to the acidity strength of the vinegar, and that it was sold as "14% Vinegar" at Bricos. So, I made another trip to the local Brico, and found it (as advised) on the shelf as "14% Vinegar". So I bought two 5 litre containers, and emptied one into the empty bowl and left it for 15 minutes as advised by Phil. I then flushed the loo with the macerator, and it was like Mt Vesuvias! Froth and bubbles and assorted brown detrius emerged into the bowl, but luckily did not overflow. I then flushed the loo several times with water, but the blockage issue did not seem to be resolved. We tried running the pump-out pump from the black water tank, in case it was a full black water tank that was the problem, but could see nothing emerging from the outlet at the side of the boat when we did this.

So I had no choice but to dismantle the toilet into even smaller components, and check each for blockages and then give them a thorough cleaning. Apart from some calcaire deposits in one of the tubes, there was nothing to indicate that it was the source of the blockage. It appeared that the blockage must have been between the start of the outlet pipe at the back of the toilet and the exit from the blackwater tank through the stop-cock in the side of the boat. So while I had everything dismantled, I filled the outlet pipe with 14% vinegar and left it for an hour. I then reassembled the toilet, and gave it one normal flush, which seemed to work without problem. I then tried the blackwater tank pump-out, and saw that it was now pumping out the stop-cock as expected. Somehow that last dose of 14% vinegar had cleared the system.

Rita captured my moment of triumph as I did the last stages of the reassembly job. For the rest of the day, I found myself singing a little song to the tune of "Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo":

Kenny, Kenny,

He can fix your boat toilet for you.

Kenny, Kenny,

He can make your boat toilet like new.

PS: for those of you worried about my attention to detail in the prior descriptions of the toilet problem, fear not. They are mainly for my own benefit when I next have to deal with similar problems and can't remember how I did it this time!

While I was at the Brico this morning, I also bought a variety of PVC pipes and elbows and a brass tap fitting that I would use to make the new outlet for the grey water tank for the campervan. I did a trial assembly this afternoon and all seemed to fit OK. But since the van is not with us, I can't measure what the exact length of the main pipe should be. So I'll wait until we have the van with us again, and then I can cut the pipe to measure, and glue all the pieces together.

On the way back from the Brico, we stopped at the Intermarche for some general shopping. On the way out of the store, Rita passed in front of a window display and I had to tell her to stop and back up so that I could get the photo below, and send it to Doug back home in honour of the "Old Chook".

That evening I followed the Final of the 2022 Speedway of Nations Team World Championship being held in Denmark. Following their Semi-Final victory, the Australian Team entered the meeting in good spirits. However, at the end of the 21 heats, the 2021 Champions Great Britain were on top and proceeded directly to the Grand Final, while Australian had to race-off against Sweden to see who would meet GB in the Grand Final. Australia beat Sweden in the race-off, and then in the Grand Final, Jack Holder and Max Fricke rode the perfect "team-riding" race to hold off the GB riders, with Jack out front on the outside and Max following on the inside and preventing the GB riders from challenging Jack. Max and Jack rode so well on the night that they didn't need to call on the services of their #1 rider and team captain Jason Doyle.