STOP PRESS - The score in the bat and ball game today reached 21, a magnificent achievement brought about through dedicated practice on the beach and celebrated with a Kingfisher beer. A further attempt on this record will be made in the coming days. Our efforts are closely watched by a group of Indian men who, in the style typical of Indians, have no regard for someone elses personal space or privacy. They mean no harm though, and when we have finished playing we let them have a go themselves. Srangely enough, they all want to play Sarah!

Most days we buy a copy of the local English language newspaper. It varies from state to state, but at the moment it happens to be the Herald, the 'Largest Circulated English Daily of Goa'. There is very little international news in any of these papers, but they're worth buying for their entertainment value which arises from the quaint Anglo-Indian phrases used. For instance, an article reporting cold temperatures currently being experienced in northern India says "...temperatures hovered below six degrees celsius at many places forcing people to take recourse to heavy woollens". Some of the best items are to be found in the personal add where the requirements are very specific, for example "Roman Catholic Goan bachelor 32, 5'4", slim, fair, handsome, well settled, seeks alliance from slim, fair, graduate working spinsters up to 30 with height 5' - 5'1" only". In many cases parents are searching on behalf of their children, such as "Parents of RC spinster 25, 5' 3", goodlooking, wheatish complexion, BCom, MBA (Gold Medalist), homely and God-fearing, seek alliance from qualified well-settled bachelors below 32 years, with good family background". Despite the entertainment value, the lack of quality international news in these newspapers is frustrating.

In the evening we return to the beach restaurant where we spent most of the day, Eddie's Place. Eddie turns out to be "Chris, from Holland", who rents the place from Joe, whose son is Eddie. Chris tells us that visitor numbers are down by 40% in south Goa this year due, he says, to disputes between south Goan bus and taxi operators which have led to package tour operators sending holidaymakers to northern Goa instead. We share a lovely meal of a whole red snapper, cooked in garlic and butter served on a huge platter with lemon rice, steamed vegetables and chips, but it's more expensive than we'd bargained for and, embarrasingly, we haven't brought enough money to pay the bill. Chris is very good about it though and we agree to come back in the morning for breakfast and pay the balance then.