hey all came ? the disabled, the sick, the old, the young, black, white, on crutches in wheelchairs and using sticks. Hundreds braved the high winds and rain outside to hear what was going to happen to their bank and cast their vote on whether to accept HSBC?s offer for Bank of Bermuda.

Whether firmly for or firmly against, or stuck bang in the middle one of the largest cross-sections of Bermuda society converged on the Hamilton Princess Ballroom yesterday afternoon.

Out of 6,000 shareholders 650 turned up to vote, with the first arrivals coming as early as an hour before the vote, and a steady crowd filtering in, taking up all legal ? and illegal ? parking in the area.

At 1 p.m. there was a sea of tightly packed chairs in the Harbourview Ballroom and a huge security presence right through the hotel.

As queues of shareholders gathered outside to be allowed in, strong-armed security guards tried to keep the Press as far away as possible from the shareholders in an unusually un-Bermudian show of heavy-handed tight security.

And as the crowds gathered, lines formed down the spiral staircase, with businessmen with mobile phones jostling for space with elderly women in their Sunday best wearing hats. There were Bank of Bermuda workers on a late lunch,beach-bums with shorts and sandals and women with children. All gained entrance to collect their bright pink voting slip, except the two mothers with children who were told that children were not allowed in. ?My son is three, and I really wanted to be here, it is an historic moment,? said one mother who asked not to be named. ?I couldn?t get a babysitter, and nowhere did it say no children allowed. They said my husband could vote for me, and that makes me angry. I suppose I will have to read about it in the paper now.?

As many shareholders filtered in a common refrain was ?it?s a done deal?, meaning the bank had already been sold and the shares needed for the vote gathered. ?One person who was very well placed told me that they already had what they needed in hand ? so it feels like a bit of a farce,? said another shareholder.

But those coming in were evenly split on whether to vote yes or no to the question, and many had already voted by proxy and had come along to be part of history.

Paul White, a shareholder for 20 years said he was going to vote no. ?We should never sell a piece of Bermuda like the bank,? he said. And he said if the vote went through, he would put the money back into some local stocks. ?Either Bank of Butterfield or Argus Insurance, I think, but it has to be something local,? he said.

Another shareholder said that the bank had kept tabs on who was going to vote what, and when she did not send in her proxy statement, she got a telephone call to find out which way she was going to vote.

?Quite something, really,? she said.

Another said that he would like to vote no, but that Bermuda had to move with the times, and for that reason had changed his vote to yes.

?It is an historic moment,? said another. ?I don?t think it matters what we vote ? the bank has so many shares. But a part of our Island might be gone forever.?

Although the turn out was high, many believed that the poor weather in the morning may have kept some shareholders away. ?Bermudians don?t like the bad weather,? said one man as he entered the room before the 2 p.m. meeting.

But the overflow room booked downstairs in another meeting room was not needed, as a dozen or so stragglers stood at the back of the room during the 1 hour and 45 minute meeting.

As the crowds gathered, photographers and reporters were physically barred from even getting near the door and through the meeting security stood in front of the glass partitions to make sure no-one from outside could see in.

At about 3pm, disgruntled workers who had taken the time out of work to come, started to leave. ?People have come here to vote,? said one woman. ?People have taken time out to vote, and all we get are lectures.? She said she could not now vote as she had to return to work. Another, who left shortly afterwards said: ?They are saying the same things over and over again. One side says one thing, then the other another. It is a waste of time. I can?t stand to be grandstanded.?

One woman gave as a reason for leaving: ?I am bored to death, and I have to go back to work.? Another, who said she had already voted by proxy, was very angry and said: ?They are wasting my time. I get paid by the hour.?

But others said as they left: ?I would not have missed it for the world. I voted yes and think that you had to be there.?

?It was all very interesting,? said another. ?I worked for the bank for 30 years, and I am attached to it. I voted yes, but it was a sad moment.?