Le marche Le Bugue.......tres magnifique!

Tuesday 3 September
Lady P has slept for 10 hours which is always dangerous so after enjoying a full English breakfast in our kitchen she decides we should head to Le Bugue markets, famous as they were decreed by the King 700 years ago to always be held on Mardi and today it is Mardi. We arrive just after 9am and already the town is buzzing. With daylight saving, the sun is still not high in the sky so it is still only 15 degrees. We warm up with coffee and then meander for a couple of hours. Eventually by 12 noon our back pack is bulging, our arms struggling under the weight of extra carry bags and we have lapin, nougat, vegetables and amazing fruit and cheese as well as a pot plant of thyme (€2) and three baby sole (tonight’s dinner).

While wandering the market, Flashy was pondering the comment of our host Cyrille, about the number of English people living in the region. After all, a couple of the Henry Kings were here for a few years and the odd crusader raped and pillaged on the way to Jerusalem. This partly explains the large number of churches, castles and walled villages. Anyway, “We finally kicked them out and now they're back!” remark attuned Flashy's ear to those dulcet tones of a Midlands accent. The big union Jack, a pile of books titled “How to speak French like a Frog," and a hearty “Where are you from mate?” gave the game away. Derek (as we discovered later) been here 30 years and still has his distinctive accent and you know what? A dodgy Pom  is still a dodgy Pom. We declined to buy his book but the rays of sunlight warmed us through while we listened to him rabbit on.
 We get home and unload before relaxing in the 32 degrees by our delightful piscine.
Having let our step count lapse for our two travel days we set of this afternoon to walk the canal path from Lalinde west and back, a 7 km walk. G n T's by the pool follow, then Sole Meuniere, baby new potatoes and field fresh beans. Mmm mmm...