look around them. They are living in paradise.'' That was a statement last week from Mr. Nicholas Shakespeare who came to Bermuda to write a cover story on the Island for the London Sunday Telegraph magazine. The piece will probably appear in January.

During his six-day visit Nicholas Shakespeare talked with a wide range of Bermudians about subjects as diverse as BIU politics, the cahow bird and non-Bermudian rights. A man of enormous energy and enthusiasm, he moved about Bermuda at a tremendous clip. It remains to be seen what his extensive article will say about Bermuda but his initial quotes were interesting.

We think he served to remind Bermudians that they spend a great deal of time talking about the negative aspects of Bermuda without looking at the good things we enjoy daily. This may come about because Bermudians spend a great deal of their time on confrontational politics. We also spend far too much time dwelling on the negative which leads us to conclude that things are worse than they really are.

The "in-house'' disputes about the rights and wrongs of Bermuda go on endlessly and are fuelled by the confrontational nature of the Westminster system of our Parliament. That system was spread about the globe by Britain but really serves larger countries much better than it serves small ones. In larger countries distance smooths the rancour and the rough edges but in small countries the confrontation leaves wounds which take much longer to heal.

Bermudians also spend a good deal of time listening to or reading a small number of disparate people who are basically bitter and malcontent and out of step with the Country and who have too often suffered personal failures which they revenge on the Country. One of the great strengths of Bermuda is that these people can get themselves heard just as one of the weaknesses is that they often have disproportionate influence.

We also have a tendency in Bermuda to magnify very small flaws. That probably happens because so much about Bermuda is and has been right that we emphasise wrongs which other countries would hardly notice.

Just take a look at some of the things we too seldom count as blessings. This is one of the highest standards of living in the world and, until recently, unemployment has been virtually unheard of. We are just as unhappy as anyone else that some people are now unemployed but we think that is recession-bred and temporary and will get better.

Bermuda is not as safe as it once was, thanks to drugs, but it is safer than 90 percent of the rest of the world.

We only have to look at the horrible state of the Bahamas today to give thanks for being virtually free of corruption.

Despite a recession, our economy is in very good shape and much better shape than the economy of the United States.

Our young people are being educated to an enviable standard and these is no shortage of scholarships.

There are many more reasons to give thanks and this may be the time to start.

As Nicholas Shakespeare said: "It's as near to paradise as you get.''