Despite the best intent of the weather, a few thousand people turned out in our back yard at eleven, just after sunset, braving the chill and the damp, some could uncharitably call it downpour of the evening, and while we may have been the only ones wearing warm underwear, we were not alone in finding the conditions "bracing" to say the very least.
The show did go on however, which meant that it would not be necessary to do it again tonight and just as soon as the children's fishing competition finished in the port this morning, we were able to move back to our familiar positions against the dock. The competition itself was an anti-climax for us, all so very serious as it was with copious quantities of parental coaching, and grand-parental guidance along the way, nothing at all like the excited rabbles which assembled every hour or so during the preceding week for very earnest instruction on the finer art of their new sport.
We have twice seen fish almost a metre in length removed from the harbour in the cool of the evening, but saw no evidence of anything but a few maggots on a hook during the contest.
I suspect there were were plenty of prizes in categories such as for instance "most enthusiastic angler", "cleanest rod", and "best looking grandmother" and although no one was in a hurry to leave the presentation, eventually they did.
By the time Dave and Ria arrived from Belgium intent on travelling with us for a few days, the harbour was once again deserted, as indeed they observed was the rest of France, which actually pretty much meant things were back to business as usual, except of course the canals along with everything else would not be open until tomorrow, and as tomorrow is Sunday, everything else will still be closed too of course, but at least we know it's not a holiday any longer.
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