Tues 16 May - Iveco, SJDL for Scenic, Paray le Monial, Phil, campsite, port, basilica

The day started out cold, grey and windy, so while waiting to hear something about the van repairs from Iveco, Rita did some laundry and drying in the Capitainerie laundry area while I spent some time on this blog.

In late morning we got a call from Silvain, saying that all the work had been finished on the van, and that we could pick it up after lunch. So we finished packing the Scenic, had some lunch ourselves and then drove the Scenic to Dijon, where we collected the van (after checking that everything worked OK, after our previous experience). We then drove both vehicles to the St Jean de Losne secure parking area, where we transferred lots of things from the Scenic to the Van. We then headed off to our intended destination for the night at Paray le Monial. As we drove towards Paray, we thought of Phil and Kathy Tyson on Effie, who were cruising on the Canal de Centre at the start of their trip south, and Rita messaged Phil as we neared Paray (through which the Canal de Centre passes). But as fate would have it, they had already arrived in Chagny, which we had passed through less than an hour ago, and it was now too late to catch up with them. So we continued on to Paray le Monial. Because Paray is a major pilgrimage centre, the Mairie has developed a large motorhome campsite to house the pilgrims at a reasonable cost. So we took advantage of that and stayed there for the night.

We walked across to the nearby port on the canal to see if there were any boats that we knew, and then went for a walk around the town. The Basilica at Paray is quite impressive, especially at night when the buildings are lit up by the spotlights.

Wed 17 May - urgency, early departure, Moissac. keys, cats, hedge, settle in

We realised at breakfast that we needed to get to Moissac relatively early today because Raph (who was away in Japan) was going to leave the house keys at his surgery for us, and we didn't know what time they would close for the day. But since the Basilica was closed last night, we decided to do a quick visit this morning, before heading off. The stained glass windows were stunning, and highly contrasting. While the ones at right and left below were highly detailed and intricate, the one in the centre was minimalistic and almost abstract.

After our quick half-hour visit, we were on the road to Moissac. Once again we realised how good the highways in France are, and were grateful for the Aire de Chavanon where we pulled over for lunch and a leg stretch. The parking area was busy, and made worse by a heavy concentration of Police in the lane reserved for motorhomes. They were stopping some vehicles and doing searches, for what we didn't know! We must have looked innocent because they waved us through. But having found no parking space for our 7m van, we had to do another lap of the parking area. The second time around we did a detour into the truck parking area, to avoid going through the Police line again.

After lunch, we made good time to Moissac, arriving in the late afternoon to find the surgery still open. But, perhaps thinking about what we would do if we arrived late, Raph had not left the keys there, but had left the phone number of his housekeeper with whom he had left the keys. So we phoned her and arranged to meet her at the house, where she was going with her daughter to feed the two cats. Within a few minutes of getting into the house, we met up with the two cats again. The smooth-haired one, Ginger, was as friendly as ever, while the long-haired one, Biscuit, was his usual reticent self, just happy to lie in the sun on the sleeper couch.

We were pleased to see that Raph and Isabelle (and the housekeeper) had been taking care of the house and garden, and this year the ivy from next door had not been allowed to cover the terrace on top of the garage. But we noticed that pedestrians were having some trouble passing between the front fence and Vanumbra (which we had parked in front of the house), because of branches from several trees and bushes growing through the railings of the front fence. So I spent a while with shears and secateur, trimming the bushes to allow clear passage. We then spent the evening settling into the house, where we would be staying for a few days.

Thurs 18 May - reading, music, wander, preparation, no Cornwall

Today was a relatively quiet day. In the morning Rita continued her reading on Music Therapy for her thesis report, while I continued with my current novel on the iPad. Around noon, Rita went our for a gathering of her music friends in Moissac, while I went for a walk around town. During the walk, I met up with Rob and Cherie on Rovi, who were moored down on the quai on the River Tarn, and then Melbournian Peter Court who was busy cleaning his boat in the port. We agreed to meet up tomorrow night at the Sunbeam Cafe, when lots of barging and ex-barging people would be meeting for drinks (just like the old times).

There were lots of boats in poor condition in the port, and apparently hadn't been used for several years. I also saw Hilda May which was sold by Stuart and Christine in 2018, and which is still in port at Moissac and, when viewed up close, was looking a bit worse for wear. I was sad to see her in this condition, knowing how much time, effort and money that Stuart put into her prior to selling.

After Rita and I both got home, we spent some time preparing for our Zoom meeting tomorrow with Allisha from Murrindindi Shire, where we will discuss the Farm Foresty Network proposal, as part of the Forestry Transition project, with her and a range of other stakeholders. Unfortunately, on the subject of Farm Forestry, I received an email today from Tom Kemp from the Cornwall agroforesty group saying that he could now not find time to meet with us next week in Cornwall. This was very disappointing, since we had changed the timing of our trip to the UK, and chosen a more expensive ferry crossing, to be able to attend this meeting, which Tom had originally suggested. Not to worry, I'm sure we'll find other people in the UK to talk with about agroforestry and carbon sequestration.

Fri 19 May - Zoom meeting, Bram, Credit Agricole meeting, Intersport, Sunbeam

We started the day early (for us) with a Zoom meeting with Allisha at 0730h to discuss our Farm Forestry Network proposal as part of the Shaping Murrindindi's Future project. Several local form forestry people were also online, as well as some people from the State Government and RMIT University (who are advising the Government on this project). As we were waiting for others to join, I got talking with the RMIT guy and he asked where in France I was. I told him and then he said that he was soon going to Bram. When I told him that that was were we started our first barge training course, he said that he was also going there to do a barge training course (what a small world!). So the meeting got off to a good start, with the principal consultant and me having a common interest (I later sent him the link to this website, and he responded that I had "sown a seed" about buying a barge!!). The meeting itself was very productive, with the RMIT and Government people seeming to be very positive about the proposal. Time will tell.

Later in the morning, Rita and I went to the Credit Agricole branch in Moissac to seek advice about my Credit Card which is due to expire in August. They explained that they would advise by email when the card was ready for collection, and that if I wasn't in Moissac at the time they would hold it at the branch office for me, until I was able to collect it in person.

As we walked through the garden on our return to the house, we realised why we had called the house "la Maison de la Rose", as (at this time of year) all the roses are in full bloom. Since Rita was still in her good outfit (after the bank visit) I got her to pose as "the Lady of the Roses".

In the afternoon, we rode to Intersport in Castelsarassin to look for some accessories for the eBikes, but could find nothing that we wanted, but as we rode away we spotted a speciality bicycle store and tried there. They indeed had a rear-vision mirror for the bike, and the assistant asked if I wanted him to fit it to the bike. I agreed that that would be a good idea, but after he tried several different ways, he gave up trying to get it fitted. I'm so glad it was him trying to install it, and not me.

We then rode back to Moissac and arrived at the Sunbeam Cafe just after 1700h. Some of our old barging friends were there, along with many newer ones. Although the Cafe has now changed hands, the new owner is starting to realise that the barging people are a good way to improve his bottom line, because while they buy copious drinks, his regulars seem to sit at a table for several hours talking, with the same expresso coffee sitting in front of them all the time.

When we got home, we had a quiet dinner, and then prepared for an early night's sleep, after a bit of bedtime reading. But we were soon joined by Ginger, who took to the bed between us, then retreated to the window ledge to check out what was happening on the street and on the nearby canal.

Sat 20 May - Wests, Storm, Irene&John lunch, roses, music night

Since it was the weekend again, I got to follow some football games (specifically the NRL games which I could follow live on Channel 9 via my VPN connection). Today both of my teams were playing; Wests from my childhood days living in Sydney, and the Storm from my adult years living in Melbourne. Wests got me away to a good, and totally unexpected, start, when they defeated the North Queensland Cowboys 66-18. This was right out of left field, because Wests have been pretty hopeless this year, at the start of a rebuilding phase. But a win is a win, and we'll take them any way we can. The Storm followed up in a more conventional way, beating the new Dolphins team 24-18.

Around noon, we were expected at John and Irene's for lunch and an extended catch-up conversation. As I was waiting for Rita for our walk up the canal to their place, I stood up on the terrace above the garage and watched a few boats passing on the canal, I also noticed that this spot gave a good view of the top of the campervan (which I had not really noticed before). So I took a photo, and include it here for my own future reference, for an unknown purpose.

Our lunch was delicious and the conversation was lengthy, until eventually we ran out of things to say. And then we said goodbye and walked down alongside the canal to our house. As we entered the garden, we were again struck by the colour of some of the roses.

Sun 21 May - Hawks, la Poujade, lunch, games, dinner, Moissac, parking

After yesterday's NRL results, I was hoping for a hat-trick as my AFL team Hawthorn played the bottom side, West Coast Eagles. But given that the Hawks are also in a rebuilding phase, I was not all that confident. However, they surprised me, and everyone else, when they beat the Eagles 142-26. Not a bad weekend of footy!

In the late morning, we jumped in the van and headed up to la Poujade to visit Nico and Miyu. We wondered how progress on the new house was going, but when we got there, we were in for a surprise as they showed us that they were now living in the renovated ground floor of the 1600's house. They had decided that living in the portable house was no longer viable with three growing boys, and there was still a lot to do on the new house to make it livable. So Nico spent a couple of months renovating part of the ground floor interior of the old house, to give a shared sleeping area, a bathroom, kitchen and dining area, where they now live dry and warm. Lots more to do on the outside, but fine for this year.

After lunch, we joined the boys in a game of hide-and-seek, and after everyone had exhausted themselves (and possible hiding places), we settled down to a more sedate game of UNO (and remembered all the playing names we called ourselves, or were called, when we used to play UNO with Judy and Julian back in Taggerty). After more chat and a scrumptious pizza dinner, we had to call time on this visit, in the hope of catching up again later this year. We drove back to Moissac and were lucky to find our parking space in front of the house still vacant.

Mon 22 May - KAYO, BulletVPN, HFC, WatchAFL, lunch, warming up, late music

Last year I tried to subscribe to KAYO to watch Australian sporting events while overseas, but made the mistake of trying to do that while overseas - which didn't work because I couldn't access KAYO while overseas. So this year, I subscribed before I left home, and tested it out to make sure it worked. Now that I'm here (and have something I want to watch after yesterday's Hawks game), I tried it out this morning with my ExpressVPN software (which seems able to ungeoblock many things including all the TV channels). But KAYO have managed to block ExpressVPN (even though expressVPN say it should work with KAYO). So I tried another VPN (BulletVPN) which guarantees success with KAYO. But after subscribing, it seemed to work only some of the time (which is annoying in the middle of a game). So I contacted them for a refund, and it came through almost immediately. But now I can't contact KAYO to cancel my subscriotion to them, because I am overseas (I'll have to find another way to do that).

In place of KAYO, I have now renewed my Membership with Hawthorn. For many years, I was a Hawthorn Member, and indeed I was Player Sponsor for Sam Mitchell (our current coach) when he was a player and captain. But when Hawthorn started getting involved with poker machines (which was taking money from problem gamblers in the poorer western suburbs of Melbourne), I ceased my membership and campaigned against the pokies, saying I would only renew my Membership when they got out of that source of revenue. Well, the new Board has made and implemeneted that decision, so I feel guilt-free in re-joining. So I have re-joined as an International Member (since I am always overseas during the footy season) and for that membership I get an annual subscription at reduced price for WatchAFL, an app that allows you to watch all AFL games while overseas without geoblocking (in fact, you are geoblocked from watching it if you are in Australia). Hopefully, the Hawks will give me more reason to watch than just yesterday's game!

Today we hosted lunch at the house for barging friends John&Irene and Rob&Cherie, and while we were preparing for them, we again noticed the variety of rose colours in the garden, plus a GangGang Cockatoo that was placed in the garden by Aussie sculptor friend Jackie Lallamand back in 2016.

As the afternoon moved on, we realised that the weather was getting warmer in this part of France, so we were not too sad to realise that this was our last day in Moissac for this trip, and that tomorrow we would start heading north to take the Ferry to England next week. But Rita had just one more musical evening with her Moissac friends, and so she headed out at 1800h to join up with them. I went to bed before she got home around 2300h.