IMG_3281 Friday is a non-teaching day to give time for the students to write estimates, start writing up their projects, do some research on the pieces they are restoring and go through their notes. There is a huge amount for them to take in, not to mention that this also gives us time to think about the severe problems on the paintings. The overpainting, extreme sagging and detachment of the canvas from the stretchers, the first and third Archbishops are stuck to ply wood which is infested with wood worm and not uniformly secure, and these problems are only the tip of the iceberg.IMG_3293 Friday morning, Joanna, C. and I went to Mapusa (pronounced Mapsa, 45 minutes north of Panjim) to find some 100% linen to reline and stripe line at least 3 paintings. The market is great fun, it had everything you can imagine including a stall with some kind of antiques. We found the linen (150gr weight) which seems perfect for the job. Anna will preshrink it on Monday and we will see how it behaves. We headed off to the south coast at about 11 o’clock having found an antique shop which had early Indo Portuguese Christian statues and after a couple of hours on the main and smaller road having seen lovely landscape with a luscious vegetation, IMG_3347many rice fields, sweet old temple, we stumble on an imposing palanquin near a huge  temple which we discover is very important, to the deity Shantdurga (the goddess who mediates between Vishnu and Shiva). The palanquin is a huge chariot with massive wooden wheels, and was so majestic with a  flame red top against the intense blue sky which made it look even bigger. What a sight!   Finally we reached Agonda, a small sea coast village with the usual junk shops and quite a few places for yoga, massage, meditation.... We thought it was quite empty (luckily) and we all three disappeared in different directions and regrouped for a fish supper in a restaurant where you had your own pavilion and you ate sitting on pillows with crossed legs. IMG_3360C.'s long legs did not quite fit under the table, they kept on reappearing... We had booked in a beach hut resort which I thought might collapse at any time. Built on very long poles (circa 18 feet) stuck in the sand, every movement felt like an earthquake. As C. walked in the room I had to ask him to do it extra slowly, better still do not move!