Cup Match'' is a very welcome and encouraging development. We hope it will be supported and that it will attract locals and visitors to the northern part of Hamilton. It is organised by the United Bar Owners Association and the North Hamilton Business Association for Friday evenings in July.

With a slogan of "Raising the Spirit'' it is an attempt to get people involved in the Cup Match holiday in Bermuda and in the cricket game itself.

In recent years any number of people have taken the long Cup Match holiday weekend as an opportunity to travel abroad. As a result the high Cup Match spirits appear to have been a little dampened. People who go away are not here for the fun of the game. The Court Street countdown is designed as an introduction to Cup Match and to heighten the interest.

The Harbour Nights festivals in St. George's on Tuesdays at Market Square and in Hamilton on Front Street on Wednesdays have been a success and to this we can now add a similar festival with a Cup Match theme on Court Street.

There will be late night shopping in the stores...get your Cup Match outfits and Cup Match colours...and there will be street vendors and food stalls.

Entertainment will be different each Friday and will range from the Gombeys to dancers and fashion shows. The children have not been forgotten and there will be cricket demonstrations which might well be interesting for visitors.

For a number of years now Court Street has been developing as a distinct and different entertainment and shopping area. This festival is an invitation to people to join in the spirit of Court Street and the Cup Match traditions.

For far too long there has been an unspoken division of Hamilton at Victoria Street and this festival is just one way to get over it and get Hamilton together. It has the potential to develop in the future into a festival to celebrate Cup Match for all of July.

We hope the rest of Bermuda, including the Corporation of Hamilton, will join in and encourage people to take part on Court Street. Just as Harbour Nights are boosted, so we should be promoting the Court Street festival. We had to notice a step in the right direction this week when a large advertisement for the festival was sponsored by the Bank of Bermuda.

Hamilton needs diversity. Bermuda needs diversity. Court Street can and does supply some of that. North Hamilton needs to improve its image but it cannot do that if people continue to stay away. There is a revival going on which some people have not yet noticed. It is time to take notice and to join in.