recognise that the waterfront once used for freight is the most attractive part of a city. Bermuda has some of the best and most beautiful water frontage in the world but Bermuda has not learned that lesson. It uses its waterfront for car parking.

The Corporation of Hamilton has some unusual older harbourside buildings where new cruise ships dock against parking lots. One of Hamilton's great advantages is that cruise ships dock across the street from the main shops.

But the cruise ships still tie up against car parks. The Corporation of Hamilton has done a good job of landscaping parts of the waterfront including the area east of the Flagpole. But in other areas it makes the car king, apparently because Bermudians hate to walk more than a few feet from their cars. As a result, we are wasting the best real estate in the Country on the car. Hamilton needs to take some lessons from the outstanding redevelopment at Dockyard.

This newspaper has said for a long time that Bermuda needs to lighten up, to move outside and to stop being so stuffy. We need to make the best of what we have and to provide more attractions for visitors and to stop regimenting people who are on holiday.

Dozens of things might be done with the waterfront and we throw some suggestions simply as ideas. The attractively rebuilt but almost unused upstairs at Number One Shed should by put to permanent use. It could house a film on the attractions Bermuda has to offer visitors from shopping to sightseeing to snorkling so that new visitors know what there is to do. Many visitor destinations do that now and the Mayor of St. George's has already suggested such a show for the Old Town. Too often our visitors leave Bermuda thinking there has not been enough to do but having missed out on things they could have done. The Masterworks Foundation is about to be homeless. It might well be possible to combine a visitor show with their fine collection of pictures of Bermuda.

Remove the cars from the bottom of Number One Shed and use the space for an indoor-outdoor "market'' combined with a mid-town and waterside cafe.

Hamilton still thinks of Number One Shed as a dock for freight and baggage and it is no longer needed for either.

People can come up with any number of ideas for Number Six Shed. We understand there is an exciting plan to use the waterside level as an island and visitor-oriented club. It would also be quite easy to move the present outstanding City of Hamilton exhibition from the Society of Arts gallery in City Hall to a permanent display upstairs in Number Six. The space is virtually wasted now.

These two buildings exist. They do not have to be built. Right now they are not used to the best advantage.

The situation is similar in St. George's. The Corporation has to get the cars out of Market Square and the Mayor is working towards that. The waterfront has to be emphasised in a similar way to the use of Somers Wharf. We think the Corporation could start by relocating its own offices away from the market square shed and using that space in a way attractive to visitors.

We know there will be naysayers but what Bermuda needs right now is for people to get involved with ideas to revitalise tourism and not to constantly say, "We can't do that.''