I read in today's Royal Gazette and heard on the Radio News the Postmaster General informing the public that ALL postal offices were open to the public at anytime for a tour of the facilities to see how the postal services really work.

My late father, Leonard Stewart, had a huge collection of Bermuda stamps which as a child had captured my imagination. To this day, I retain a serious interest in Bermuda stamps and was therefore most interested in the inner workings of my local Post Office, St. George's.

I have always been greeted with a warm welcome, excellent service and serious attention when it comes to new stamp issues, First Day Covers, etc.

No matter how fussy I am with my special friends' envelopes for overseas which I like to decorate with many low-priced stamps, (Bermuda stamps are beautiful), nothing is too much trouble for the Counter Staff, including the Manger who always asks how I am, not forgetting all the Delivery Personnel that say hello to me whenever they see me.

Going to my local Post Office is not a problem for me. I enjoy these visits, so, when I asked for a tour of the Post Office and was granted this request, I must admit I was very pleasantly surprised that this too, was not a problem.

I was shown around the entire facility, nothing was too much trouble, I even used the hand cancellation stamp on my own letter that I had brought with me to send to the UK.

I asked many questions and each was answered in a very polite way that I, as a layman could easily understand.

St. George's Post Office may be small and it's easy to run away with the idea that the postal staff know who has a letter or parcel waiting for them and that as a small Post Office it couldn't be that busy and the staff just laze around all day. Let me assure you, this is not the case. It has a very large amount of mail to be sorted and delivered, plus in the Cruise Ship season this workload is increased with tourist mail and questions and the lines of visitors waiting to purchase stamps for collections or just a beautiful memento of their Bermuda cruise.

One reads in the press of delays, the odd letter to the Editor complaining of poor service, well I have something to tell these people, it's not the fault of the Bermuda Postal Services. We as an Island are at the mercy of other factors.

If anyone has a problem with their mail or a question, then perhaps they might want to go to their local Post Office and simply ask! My tour of St. George's Post Office was conducted by Mrs. Weir and I left with a clearer understanding of how my mail, both local and airmail is processed and delivered.

MIKE STEWART St. George's Par excellence (The following was sent to Maurice (Bill) Pitt, general manager of Port Royal Golf Club, and copied to The Royal Gazette .) October 4, 1999 Dear Mr. Pitt, As a fairly frequent visitor to Bermuda, an avid golfer and an admirer of Port Royal which I have played many times, I would like to congratulate your course superintendent and his staff on the present condition of the course and the greens.

I played a few days ago and was impressed by the improvement in condition. I had observed on my prior visit that it was in quite poor shape and it came as a very pleasant surprise to see the course in such great condition now. Keep up the good work.

Gone to pot? September 30, 1999 Dear Sir, Is Bermuda going potty? I certainly hope not. I am referring to the Government considering the reintroduction of fish pots.

I believe that many people are aware that fish pots are currently illegal in Bermuda waters but this has only been the case for the last ten years. I refer here to ten years as a short period of time which may seem somewhat peculiar, however not when you consider that Bermuda's fish species have still not recovered from the use of the pots ten years ago. For example, the Nassau grouper used to inhabit Bermuda's waters but the fish pots put an end to that! There is a programme to bring stocks of this grouper over from the USA to restock Bermuda's waters. Surely this a complete waste of time and money if fish pots are allowed to be reintroduced? You may be asking yourself "Who cares about this one species? There are, after all, many other species of fish.'' This is very true, however the pots directly and indirectly affect numerous other forms of marine life. Directly because other fish species do get caught in the pots. Indirectly because the reef system is a complex and balanced one so if one factor is affected or removed, this has serious detrimental knock-on effect throughout the system.

In simple terms you can liken the reef system to a Moongate archway. The Moongate is made from many individual stones, but each stone is vital, remove one stone and the arch collapses! Another point to consider and one which I feel is quite ironic is tourism and fish pots. One of the main attractions Bermuda has to offer tourists is the excellent marine life and scuba diving. These divers come to Bermuda to look at the fish and wrecks. The Bermudian Government has recently embarked on a new and costly advertising campaign to promote Bermuda as a tourist destination and yet this same Government is considering legalising fish pots! This, I feel, is ironic.

Bermudians, don't waste this fantastic natural resource, protect your oceans, learn from your experiences and other countries' mistakes. Keep Bermuda beautiful both above and below the water by expressing your opinion.

CONCERNED Southampton Why tourism has fallen October 13, 1999 Dear Sir, Last week the Annual Asset-Backed Securities conference was held in Bermuda at the Marriott Castle Harbour. We all know the Marriott is closing but there are some serious concerns that need to be brought to the attention of the Minister of Tourism.

The conference was attended by literally thousand of investment bankers, bond specialists, analysts, risk managers, CFOs and CEOs. They were all staying at various locations on the island to attend this annual conference.

Hotels included the Hamilton and Southampton Princesses, Sonesta, Marriott, and Ariel Sands to name a few.

For the most part there is not a person amongst them that makes less than about $150,000 and their companies were picking up the bill for most, if not the entire, trip. However, any chance that Bermuda had of benefiting long-term from that event, and events like it, have been squashed by poor facilities/infrastructure and terrible service...especially when one considers the prices people are paying for hotels, entertainment and taxi service.

As a Bermudian I am embarrassed to hear from my clients and peers upon their return to their homes in the US and Europe the stories of their encounters with service people in Bermuda's hotels and restaurants. Bellmen and doormen of hotels refusing to help people with bags.

Negative attitudes and confrontative behaviour from the reception personnel.

Not being adequately prepared to handle the transportation issues of the conference attendees.

Rooms still unattended at 3 p.m. when the hotel guest had been gone all morning. These are the kinds of service details that people expect not to have problems with when they travel to a place that is supposed to be a tourist destination.

For the level of expense in Bermuda people expect good and cordial service, not some 23-year-old doorman that refuses to help with a female executive's bags because it is..and I quote "not my job, you have to wait for a bellman or go and get one''.

It is for this reason that Bermuda's tourism has plummeted. People expect to pay and generally don't mind doing so if they know they are to receive good service in return. If they are treated the way they feel they should then they will probably next return to Bermuda with their families as opposed to a conference.

You can rest assured that very few if any of the people that were at the ABS Conference last week will ever return with their families on a vacation and will only come to Bermuda if they absolutely have to do so for business.

If this kind of thing continues then Bermuda will lose any and all opportunities they have of hosting business conferences and benefiting from the revenue that they bring in. Bermudian service has reached staggeringly low proportions and unless someone does something about it pretty soon then the Bermuda financial market will be the only economy in the Island.

EMBARRASSED BERMUDIAN New York City