Tired of politics already after just two weeks back? Certainly journalists are after Monday?s marathon session at the House of Assembly which kept the politicians out of their slippers until the early hours.

But one man in the public gallery found the Throne Speech debate, which a sleep-starved Hector believes may next year be sponsored by Red Bull, the perfect time to grab 40 winks.

As PLP and UBP members clashed on hot topics like Independence, race, crime and education, loud, hog-like snores could be heard emanating from the back of the House.

The sleepy culprit ? who joined some politicians in sneaking some shut eye ? nodded off at about 10.30 p.m., more than 12 hours after the debate kicked off.

And with Ministers and MPs clearly ignoring pleas for a 15-minute cap on speeches, the snoozy spectator was clearly dreaming if he had any hopes of an early finish.

It does beg the question why the public bother going if they find it so boring.

Not that Premier set much of an example. In a naked bid to put off the moment when he would finally have to listen to Grant Gibbons putting the verbal knife in, The Premier gave a summary of the Throne Speech, which had already been delivered by the Duke of York one week earlier. Then he spoke about the covering of the Throne Speech. Not the wicked distortions of a partisan media, as the Premier would normally have us believe. No, he was talking about the actual cover. For the second year running it had pictures on the front, said Mr. Scott who noted it must have gone down well because no one was complaining about it. Indeed, Hector thinks the contents were more than enough to be going on with.

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Cross-party bickering worth staying awake for on Monday night included an exchange on age between PLP union chief and Deputy Opposition Leader .

?How old are you?? asked the UBP man.

?I can?t remember,? admitted Mr. Burgess, who added he knew he could shoot his age on the golf course.

?You?re never 92,? Mr. Dunkley fired back, in the debating equivalent of a Tiger Woods? hole in one.

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MPs may not have been rapped for talking too long, but one was certainly given food for thought after being hauled over the coals for veering off the subject. Deputy Speaker repeatedly warned UBP environment man to stick to commenting on the contents of the Throne Speech.

?This is not the Budget?, the Dame told him, but his appetite for subjects not mentioned once by the Duke of York failed to diminish. After a Government objection, the Deputy Speaker said of Mr. Simons: ?He?s talking to the hole in the donut rather than the donut.?

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Hector hates to be one of the ?I told you so? brigade but ... here goes. It was only last week that he pointed out that Gov-Prop 1 showing every minute Ministerial Press conferences might not be the unparalleled chance to shine which the PLP clearly think it is and could in fact turn into an own goal.

And this week it did as Telecommunications Minister , the man who has been vociferous on the need for Government to get its unedited views out to the public, fell on his own sword.

Speaking at a Press conference inconveniently timed while the House was still debating the Opposition?s Throne Speech Reply, Mr. Scott waxed lyrical on the need for the public to guard against ?Fising? scams as he pronounced it.

There were assorted exchanged glances as Mr. Scott ploughed on, oblivious to his slip but it wasn?t until a helpful Press officer passed him a furtive note that the correct phrasing was ?fishing? ? even if it spelled in that odd, techy way ?Phishing.?

Of course the slip was not reported by the assembled media who, despite the barrage of insinuations that they are out to get the Government, left it out of their coverage.

However, Gov-Prop 1 would presumably have run it in all its glory. Hector, who has been knocking the concept, is coming around to the view that Gov-Prop 1 might not be such a bad thing after all and could even become cult viewing for those with a wicked sense of humour.

Certainly there should be enough material for a regular bloopers section.

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UBP Shadow Minister obviously has an eye on a new inductee to the Bermuda Hall of Fame ? himself. Why else would he be inflating his sporting prowess in the House?

After referring to Government whip as a former tennis number one on the Island, he boldly exclaimed: ?I?ll take him on and show him a few things? and then turning to Sports Minister said: ?He wanted to box, but he didn?t show?, making an unintelligible reference to a feral chicken along the way.

Mr. Butler, who had just returned to the chamber, appeared startled by the reference and Hector feels he may be now be dusting down his old boxing gloves with one single opponent in mind.

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Hector wonders who had the bright idea of moving the Court of Appeal from Courtroom Two at the Supreme Court to Courtroom One ? immediately adjacent to the noisy building works taking place. Weighty matters of justice were, this week, accompanied by the sounds of loud hammering, drilling, banging and squeaking as a result of the workmen outside.

Hector was a little concerned that this distracting noise was not commented upon in any way by the venerable andand feared this was perhaps due to their hearing not being as sharp as it used to be.

However, this worrying theory was proved incorrect when a mobile phone went off quietly, but nonetheless loud enough to be heard, in the pocket of one embarrassed barrister.

immediately halted proceedings, which were in midflow despite the hammering, to warn the unfortunate phone-owner that it is ?a serious matter when proceedings are interrupted?.

Hector suggests they use the phone to call for some soundproofing.