Bermuda's future Governor paid the Island a flying visit at the end of last week.

The low-key trip was career diplomat Sir Richard Gozney's first trip here ahead of his appointment at the end of the year.

Sir Richard, who is British High Commissioner in Nigeria, came in late Thursday and flew out early Saturday after squeezing in a chat with Acting Premier Paula Cox.

Keen to point out Sir John Vereker was still Governor, Sir Richard said: "This is a non-visit and I said to her this is a non-call. I am not Governor and won't be until I arrive in December.

"But I wanted to pay her a courtesy call — we had 20 minutes — she was very welcoming." Asked for his initial impressions of Bermuda he told The Royal Gazette: "I don't want to pass judgment after only 24 hours but I was struck, as most people are, by the very striking physical attractiveness of the Island.

"I have never seen anything quite like it." He said the narrow lanes reminded him of parts of Cornwall in south west England while the pastel-shaded building reminded him of St. Petersburg, Russia. "Secondly there is a genuine courtesy and politeness amongst the people I have met which the rest of the world has probably lost."

A diplomat for 34 years Sir Richard has never lived in an overseas territory but he spent a lot of time in the Falkland Islands in the 1970s when he was liaison man based in Argentina.

And in the mid 1980s he was head of the political section in Madrid working closely with Gibraltar at a sensitive time when Spain was joining the European Union while still at odds with Britain over ownership of the colony.

Asked what he had learned from small British islands he said: "It taught me not to underestimate people's natural caution and conservatism."

Asked about his likely approach here he said: "I want to spend a few months listening to everybody and visiting as many of the major institutions in the public and private sector as I can.

"There is nothing like seeing people in their own settings — their own place of work to get more of a feel of how the public sector operates here."

He stressed his role was not to get involved in domestic issues but it was still important to understand them to be able to reflect the mood back to London.

Sir Richard also plans to get acquainted with the insurance and tourism industries but he declined to discuss the major issues he faced as Governor.

He expressed his regrets over the recent murder of Shaki Crockwell and said his duties including working with the Police Commissioner.

Born, raised and educated in Oxford where he studied geology Sir Richard joined the Foreign Office in 1973 after a stint teaching in post independence Kenya in 1970.

"It was great fun. I was way out in the bush. Whenever anything went wrong it was all blamed on the previous colonial power."

In his youth he also had a spell in South East Asia which put him in good stead when he returned 23 years later as British Ambassador to Indonesia and was the only western diplomat to speak the language.

He was there when a suicide bomber blew up a nightclub in Bali in 2002 which killed 202 people including 25 young Britons.

"Parents came out looking for bodies." He said Bali was Hindu and the bombing showed fundamentalists could strike where it was least expected.

Recently he observed elections in Nigeria where ballot box stuffing was rife. "But the person who was declared the winner is an honest and principled man.

"People there are mostly saying it wasn't a very good election but now let's press on — it's quite likely he would have won anyway."

Mr. Gozney said it was the first time a civilian government had got to the end of its term rather than being turfed out early in a coup.

"By the standards of their own political history this is quite an improvement."

Married with two children, who are looking forward to visiting and getting stuck into the sports and nightlife, Sir Richard, who is in his mid-50s, will arrive in December with Deputy Governor Mark Capes filling in during the interim after Governor Sir John Vereker steps down next month after five years in the job.