Ruthie, Christopher and I decided to explore Anjuna market today (only Wednesday) and Elizabeth is going next week. It is quite a drive, considering the detour we had to undertake with great patience and skill from our driver. Signs like  'road closed' do not mean anything and so everyone is on a dirt single track with no concept of stop, go back, wait orbe patient. C. got out of the car and directed the traffic to get us out of an impossible  pickle. We finally got there and the most striking feature is undoubtedly the bright colours against the most perfect blue sky that any painter could imagine. We each came back satisfied with one small purchase. Back at the the House, Elizabeth was finishing the demonstration of the application of silver on board, and then the students were let off to create their own interpretation of a small gilded mirror frame for the core unit of our syllabus. The studio was looking much tidier thanks to Joanna (last three weeks) and Zuraida who noticed yesterday morning than we had gone slightly messy and untidy after the hard and stressful work on the statue. I do have to say that every two hours one of us will take the broom for a walk and sweep after a messy treatment, and the students are now aware of health and safety on premises. Sebastian (Elizabeth's husband) is an expert on bird watching and is showing us the birds he has spotted on the day, and guess what... so far the most spectacular ones seems to be in the Archbishops' Gardens. We must try better when in the garden brushing off the front or back of the painting, and look up from time to time! We have had the best stuffed crab ever at Venite, the owner Luis unbeknownst to us turned out to be a friend of Eveny, one of our students.