Friday 9th October 2009 Chatillon-en-Bazois. C. du Nivernais

Grey, showery with low hanging mist. M and D came over at ten just as the people on the DB in the corner were untying to leave; we drove to Champvert to have a look at the mooring. A long section of the bank had concrete bollards well set back from the edge next to a small park area backed by the gardens of houses. No signs of any electricity posts. The water tap was in a small toilet block (hole in the floor variety, but clean) next to the small water treatment plant, which was discharging into the canal. The pipe feeding the water tap wasn’t insulated and there was no valve to turn it off (maybe in the sewage works). We had to pass by the front of a house to get to the tap so Mike and M had a word with the guy who came out to see who we were. He said there had never been an electricity supply at the mooring or by the tap. We went into the middle of the village to the Mairie. The secretary asked us to have a seat and the Mayor would see us. She came out from her office, chatted with us (she was very helpful) and made a few phone calls. She said she’d arranged for an engineer from the EDF to come next week and take a look at the situation at the port to see if electricity could be installed. She would ring us, probably next week. A short way down the road towards Decize there was a small offline basin called Le Port de la Copine and we thought we would have a look at that. Looked like there were electricity posts around one end of the port, but all of it looked very old and not looked after. I was sure it used to be a boat club of some sort, or perhaps it was a hire boat base a long time ago. Back home with a pause at Verneuil to have a look at the church of St Laurent built in XI-XII century. M and I went in to have a look. It was tiny and had restored mediaeval murals on the walls and lots of ancient statues of saints. Interesting. Mike went to book the lock for ten the next morning but the keeper said the Canalous hireboats were leaving at ten plus there were more boats coming down the canal, so Mike decided to leave on Sunday morning instead. Good job we’re not in a hurry.