16 courses, 48 hours, 50 guests and lots of pétanque. I’m just back from a weekend visiting my Mum and Dad. They have a house in the beautiful southern French village of Combeliaubert, and the first weekend of August is the village fête.

The village is a dozen or so houses, with a phone box (not sure it’s still connected) and a boulodrome, the pitch for the daily game of pétanque.

It was my second visit to the fête, and I felt so privileged to be invited. With villagers and guests there are usually around 50 people, with everyone gathering in the garage of Eugène, the unofficial mayor of Combeliaubert, for lunch and dinner on the Saturday and Sunday.

Aside from the wonderful food, there was singing, dancing, Rock Around the Clock played on a mandolin and shooting stars before bedtime.