Assembly is in recess.

As Ministers leave the Island, everyone gets in on everyone else's act.

This week, Transport Minister the Hon. Maxwell Burgess was Acting Environment Minister, and Youth and Sport Minister the Hon. Pamela Gordon was Acting Minister of Labour and Home Affairs.

But the Hon. Clarence Terceira -- what an actor! When he walked into the Cabinet chamber, there was an instant quorum.

As if his regular Education portfolio was not contentious enough, Dr. Terceira was Acting Minister of Health, Social Services, and Housing, acting Minister of Tourism, and Acting Premier.

"I'm not sure,'' Dr. Terceira said when asked what he'd done to deserve the many honours.

*** Ministers don't always need to canvass constituents to test the public mood.

They often get a strong sense of it before they leave home.

Take Works and Engineering Minister the Hon. Leonard Gibbons.

When a reporter called his residence last Friday to ask why Christmas trees would not be picked up until January 14, his wife Sally volunteered: "I queried that myself.'' Mrs. Gibbons had just taken down her own Yule tree, and like many Bermudians, had to find a place to stow it for a week.

The Works Minister had not yet come home from the office, and a brief conversation ensued about the pros and cons of a January 7 tree pick-up versus one a week later.

"Well,'' Mrs. Gibbons said, "we'll see what he has to say about it.'' *** The News Editor's phone lets out its first shrill ring of the morning, striking fear into the hearts of all reporters. An official has been misquoted; an MP libelled; The deceased mis-identified; What if the tides are wrong? they wonder as they scramble to find anything else to do but put an end to the ominous ringing.

Someone finally picks it up. And it's not good.

"Did you know Sagittarius has been left out today?,'' the caller demands. It gets worse.

"We're all Sagittarians around here and we read it every single day.'' Assuming the office worker is referring to the daily horoscopes page, the reporter offers a sincere apology and assures the sub editor responsible will be severely reprimanded for the the omission. I mean what if had contained an important warning or something? It did.

The lost Sagittarius horoscope for last Friday had warned: "Any connection between social activity and money could be unfavourable.'' Furthermore, "Review your social plans to ensure you are not `in the dark' about anything'.'' Rrring! *** Was Independent Senator Norma Astwood getting in a little dig at her former employers when she honoured long serving staff at the Ministry of Health and Social Services yesterday? "You set the stage for the appropriate socialisation of people from birth to death,'' Sen. Astwood, the event's guest speaker, told the 50 employees being honoured. (See story this page).

"I also realise that you have had to tolerate the many different administrative styles and personnel changes at the Ministry,'' she said, before adding that the Ministry, which was recently reorganised, had chosen well to have its employees work as individual members of a team instead of giving in "to mediocrity as followers of a single overworked chief''.

Was the Senator, a former director of Social Services and later the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, talking about herself or the numerous Ministers under whom she served, we wonder.