Trail des Mouflons

There are two sport associations in our village – COCC and CACC, the Club Ovale de Cherveix Cubas (Rugby) and the Club Athletique de Cherveix Cubas.   Periodically CACC organises runs, long walks or raids – composite athletic events involving walking, running, orienteering, canoeing, cycling and shooting.

Yesterday was the Trail des Mouflons – either running or walking.  There was a long trail of 35kms and a “little” trail of 13kms.  Mike and I don’t walk or run but we do volunteer as helpers and sit by the roadside to point participants in the right direction.

 As the French have far more regular mealtimes than most of the English and as we were on duty from 12.30 to 3.30 the organisers worried that we would miss lunch and gave us fruit and sandwiches which Mike collected from a tent at the end of our road.

 

I  sat at the exit to a wood by the side of a small road.  I wore an orange gilet and was issued with a paddle to stop traffic (not needed).   It didn’t rain and most competitors came out of the wood surprisingly quickly. 

A few people said that they’d got lost in the wood and we found out later that an 80 year old helper had got a bit tired and gone home without telling anyone, deserting his post.      Most of the helpers are retired people.   They do a tremendous job and the events they organise attract people from all over France but they won’t be around for ever.     

 

 

 

In the evening we went  for a volunteers’ supper to the Salle des Fetes.  Cherveix Salle des Fetes is suffering from a new Health and Safety law which says you can't run a kitchen in a Salle des Fetes unless everything is made of stainless steel.  The village can't afford to refurbish the kitchen so they've removed the cooker and we had a cold supper, apart from some soup.  But there was wine and conversation and a good time all round.