Follow the crowd

And on to the third presentation of a theatre season, in Narbonne this time. On a slightly different scale ... the theatre seats nearly 1,000, and it was full. There were 51 shows to describe, and that was after the obligatory speeches by politicians. The atmosphere was lightened somewhat by the representative of the Ministry of Culture, who turned out to be not quite what he seemed. By the time he got onto the proposal for compulsory culture for all, to be paid for by those who didn't go to enough shows, the penny had dropped for most people.

Even with his periodic interventions, we were all ready for a drink and a leg-stretch after an hour and a half of presentation. So imagine the scene as 1,000 people dashed outside and headed for the food- and drink-laden tables. The buffet was considerably less copious than at Ferrals and Capendu, especially if you weren't among the first 50 people to get there. We had a glass of wine and a few crudités, but had to supplement them with bacon and eggs when we got home; we left when the line-dancing started.