It was just as well that we went to bed early last night, because we had to be up early this morning to join in a Zoom session with the band back home. We were supposed to experiment with how we could play together at both ends of the line (using different methods) but obviously the message didn't get through because by the time we joined them they had already stopped playing and were sitting around the table drinking. So the chances of playing anything coherent was greatly diminished. So we just had a social chat with them for about an hour, then said goodbye.

But getting up early wasn't a total waste of time, because the hawks were playing an early game, so I watched them beat North Melbourne 87-40; not a great achievement, given that North are a basket-case again this year, but it will give the boys an idea of how to win. But the good news ended with the footy, when I discovered that the generator battery was flat again. So I put it on the trickle charger and hoped that would do the trick.

Later in the day I watched a game in the Women's Ashes series, a One-Day International match. The Australian women held their nerve to win in the final over, thus retaining the Ashes no matter the result of the final games in the series. To complete my sporting weekend, I watched the final set in the Wimbledon Mens Final between Djokovic and Alcaraz. It had been an oscillating match all through and continued in the final set, with Alcaraz winning the final set 6-4 to take the match 3-2.

While I still had some energy left, we went for an evening walk around the port area. Like Moissac and Auxonne, Gray prides itself on its flower displays, and this combination near the barrage at the northern end of the port was just one example of the displays.

Sun 16 July - band Zoom, Hawks, genny, Women's ODI, Wimbledon, town walk, Matt

As we returned to the boat, we met up with Matt, a fellow Melbournian, who was now moored in front of us. We talked about various things barging and Australian, and when I mentioned the Spring and Autumn meetings that Victorian bargees hold every year, he was most interested to be involved. So I have given his contact details to the event organisors and expect that I will see more of Matt and his wife when we get back to Australia in November.