The two month holiday seems to have done our parliamentarians some good.

As Finance Minister Eugene Cox delivered his third Budget yesterday, the House of Assembly was uncharacteristically subdued as MPs proved they can, on occasion, behave themselves.

There was little of the usual playground name-calling that passes for heckling and MPs were even civilised to one another.

The atmosphere was congenial with Shadow Finance Minister Grant Gibbons crossing the floor to wish Mr. Cox good luck before he began his speech.

Michael Dunkley took Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott to task for jokingly inviting him -- in Tuesday's Royal Gazette -- to take part in the End to End walk in the hope he would get lost.

Mr. Dunkley let the minister know he did door-to-door milk deliveries as a boy and knew his way around the Island.

The atmosphere was so laid back, in fact, that Government backbencher Delaey Robinson was wearing a PLP t-shirt. House dress codes have been relaxed, but surely not to this extent.

The dreadlocked Tourist Board chairman proudly displayed the political apparel as he bounded up the House steps, but he was discreet enough to hide it under his trademark Nehru suit when he entered the chamber.

Mr. Cox was sweating as he delivered his speech. But it was Parliament's notoriously unreliable air conditioning system rather than any worries about whether the numbers would add up that had the veteran MP reaching for his handkerchief to mop his brow.

Mr. Cox was coolness itself as he guided MPs through an assessment of the Island's economic performance.

The political temperature didn't begin to rise until around an hour into his speech when Mr. Cox, with just four pages of a 26 page speech left, began to spell out the tax hikes that will make the eyes water of taxi drivers, smokers, drinkers, drivers and cell phone owners.

If you were all of the above, it was not a happy day. Not that our taxi drivers are renowned for their cheery outlook on life.

Premier Jennifer Smith, easily the most colourfully attired in the chamber in a canary yellow dress suit and gold shoes, watched over her Finance Minister in a protective way.

She clearly felt he had something worth saying, and leaned over shortly after the beginning of the speech to adjust his microphone to make sure no one missed a word.

There were few laughs -- particularly if you were a taxi driver -- in the 71 minute speech, but UBP maverick Trevor Moniz did raise a giggle.

As Mr. Cox said he wanted to thank his Cabinet colleagues, Mr. Moniz interjected "for not talking to the media''.

And the Opposition enjoyed Mr. Cox's wonderfully understated observation that tourism had enjoyed a "less than stellar performance''. "You got that right!'' came the cry from the UBP benches.

After a press conference in Cabinet Office, Mr. Cox took his Cabinet colleagues to lunch -- possibly regretting having whacked up duty on alcohol by five percent.