Pagan rites ....known as la Fete de Saint Jean (the feast of Saint John) a successor to Midsummer's Day celebrations marking the start of summer.  Our local canoe club organised a soiree, with eating and drinking, of course, and a torch-lit procession of canoes down the river.  Once the canoes landed a young person lit the  fire.  You can imagine the heat by the distance everyone stood back.

My garden helper came to move rocks and bring in gravel so we now have some covered pathways and a small terrace on which to sit with morning coffee and survey the scene.  It's finally starting to look like a garden.