Cloudy again but the weather is set to improve and so I plan an excursion tomorrow. The scheme is to take the tide to Kemper in the ships boat. It should be pleasant, as the river is said to be the most beautiful in France and I have some experience of it's charms. Many years ago, as a hand on a freighter carrying a hundred tons of Baltic timber, destined for the roof trusses and floor joists of the French weekend boom, I discovered myself on a lonely quayside with one faded phone number and a Levi's back pocket full of wages. An old shipmate was running a business here and said If I was ever holed up, to call the number, and we'd make a night of it. True to his word, we painted the town claret red and ended up in a swanky restaurant where he proceeded to impress the pretty waitress with his fluent language skills and I passed out in the heads. Shame. I never got me langoustines and to be honest, never found the place again. I woke up some hours later, face down in someone's garden with the hammers of hell banging my head and no idea where the ship was. I aim to be on that quay again tomorrow, with culture in mind and a nice lunch to look forward to. Great days though, when you're young.