At the Moncontour lake or "base nautique" there were a couple of events taking place on this Sunday ending a long festive weekend which for many people started on Thursday with the holiday for the Feast of the Ascension.

At the edge of the compound continued the festival of cross-country equestrianism. Horses of all shapes and sizes, some pulling carts or carriages or buggies set off into the countryside and then returned for a slap up lunch. Tonight only a few remain. When I commented on the large amount of barbecue equipment on the site I was told that - - no - - they would not be cooking horsemeat; some of the members object. I expect some of the horses might also.

The other event was a "fete d'écotourisme", a small market of local products. It's the first year in which they've done it and clearly it's hard to get the word and momentum out there to begin with. I had no sense of it at all but perhaps the unprecedented French win in the Champions' League had something to do with it?

The manager of the lakeside bar/restaurant had tipped me off that there would be a typical local snack on offer: fouée, which is like a pitta made from pizza flour, cooked in a wood-fired stove. 

As I tucked into my second fouée filled with blood sausage I did feel a bit like the villainous farmer in The Fantastic Mr Fox, the one who eats only doughnuts filled with foie gras. 

The restaurant was closed this evening. Getting a meal on a Sunday night is probably as hard in France as in the UK. As there were no remotely local options I put together a meal centered around d a packet of pork scratchings from the bottom of my saddlebag. Must remember to replace the emergency rations tomorrow.