Lunch follows.

The petanquistes are back in force. They have a 'bless the boules' petanque mass at eleven. This is followed by a minutes silence at the war memorial at twelve. Lunch follows. Interestingly, there are no female petanquistes. Wives, girlfriends, meaningful others and non-petanquistes are entertained in the beer tent by a singer who has modelled herself on Dolly Parton, although Dolly Parton presumably doesn't wear lycra canary yellow pant suits or have a strawberry red wig. The chanteuse has four songs. I will always love you, Total eclipse of the heart , Barbara Ann and You lift me up. At the end of each performance she mutters Merci, merci, merci into her microphone and bows from the waist. She then has a glass of wine and sings the same songs again. She is booked from three to five so we get to know her repetoire quite well.

Bob sits on his stump seat. To say he is engrossed in monitoring the petanque tournament would be an understatement. Does he want to chase them all away ? Or, is he wondering if he could abscond with the petanque boules ?

Sophie remains confined to the side courtyard. Her cage set up on the fresh turf. To ward off the cold she has a blanket draped over her.

Sophie loves the blanket. She gives me her best '' does this suit me ? " look. The patient continues to heal. She can now stand on her own, walk twenty paces unaided across the grass and scratch her ear with the leg that's been operated on. The real issue is keeping her from chasing after her brother or wanting to stand on her hind legs and look at passers by.