We got back to the scene of the crime to find it a rather calmer place than it had been the day before. Only one table – my aunt sue and her family – was occupied at first, but others drifted in and out over the morning for a coffee and a graze.
Sophie was toiling hard in the kitchen, giving the impression she’d never even left from the day before. Dom was unfortunately not around to help her as planned, so she took care of it all alone. But having just done a wedding dinner for 70, a brunch for 30 was nothing in comparison. She made eggy bread, omelette and potatoes and there were fruits, juices and hot drinks. There was also a staggering quantity of alcohol left over. By this point, an unpleasant headache had set in behind my eyes that two paracetamol had not touched. Deciding there was no other answer, we got back on the sauce, starting with a few beers each, then moving on to the vodka.
When everyone was done eating, we set about tidying the room and kitchen so we could vacate by 3pm as agreed. Lucien came by at 2:30 with his van to transport our oven back home. We loaded up the car with all the leftover booze and various other odds and sods then returned to Port 80.
It was 25 degrees and thoroughly lovely out so we spent the afternoon recuperating and drinking outside. Indoors it was a little less tranquil. Various bags and boxes were strewn around the house and garage – mainly alcohol from the night before, but some of leftover food too. The fridge was overflowing so we just stored things wherever we could find room.
Various people called in over the course of the day, including Lucien, who did not stop for long. He gave us a huge box of freshly-picked cepe mushrooms to feed our guests and then was on his way. Suzy, Ben and Chuck showed up next to bid us all goodbye before embarking on their return journey. The London crowd joined us for a few hours too, but they had dinner plans, so left in the early evening. Despite this, we were still quite a crowd for dinner so we decided on pizza that night, which I think Mum & Dad kindly paid for.
We only lasted a few hours after dinner before turning in for a better but still not great sleep. Upon waking the next morning, I discovered that my all-day headache from the day before had apparently decided to take up permanent residence, and was still immune to painkillers. Everyone who’d flown in from the UK headed back in the early afternoon. Some of my family had yet to see our house, so they all called in to Port 80 beforehand. Gerald too headed off on the Limoges flight as he was headed to Edinburgh where he’s almost certainly about to accept a new job up there. (Update: he got the job! Gaun yersel’ as they say up there) .
We were by this point down to our last remaining guest, Mike. It was another lovely day so we lounged in the garden and avoided the chaos of the interior. We noticed there was a loaf of bread sat in a plant pot on our doorstep, and no-one knew how it came to be there. With all the piles of food everywhere, it had gone unnoticed until now, but we came to the conclusion that the bread lady must have kindly left us one the day before when she realised we were out. It was quite definitely ruined by this point, but ended up staying where it was for a few days more as it amused me.
That evening, Benoit & Virginie joined us for a quick drink as Benoit had left a few bits & Bobs at the venue on Friday that we’d collected. They, like us, danced till the bitter end that night and apparently did not escape unscathed. They only stayed for one drink before heading home for an early night .They also dropped off some cepes they’d found in the woods, adding to our already large stockpile. We dealt with a good chink of them by making cepe omelettes for dinner, which even Mike tried. Afterwards, we had a very quiet, tame and early night, followed by our first proper sleep in what felt like months. And now, Matt can bring you all up to date from here.