last month.

Mr. Thomas Vesey, manager of importer Tropic Traders, said his firm alone had sold about 2,000 ponchos in a week. "When you also take into consideration sales by other importers like Bermuda Wholesalers and Draycott's, the total figure must be very high,'' he added.

"Tourists tend not to buy them if they think it's going to rain for only one or two days because it would be a waste of money. But over the last month they have been convinced the sun was not going to come out.'' Unofficial cable users who have escaped the boredom of the rain by watching television may have even that little pleasure taken away from them soon.

US-based Cable Cops Inc. has six staff currently in the middle of a three month, Island-wide examination of cable lines which will reveal who is hooked up when they shouldn't be.

The company is being employed by Bermuda CableVision, whose operations manageress Ms Debbie DeSilva said: "The main purpose of the audit is not to find out who is taking the service without paying for it, but that is one of the things which it will show.

"Cable Cops has our data base and knows which homes are active far as our billing is concerned. They'll bring the information back to us and we'll take it from there.'' But people caught using cable for free would appear to have little to fear, since it is unclear whether they have committed a crime. "I cannot answer whether or not they have broken any law,'' said Ms DeSilva.

"We will make contact with them and try to keep them as a paying customer, if possible. If they don't want to subscribe in the proper way then we'll take the signal away.'' Unofficial cable watchers east of Hamilton may still have time to do the right thing and start paying, since the Cable Cops are sweeping the Island from west to east and are only half-way through.

But if you live between Somerset and the city, you could be out of luck -- you may well have already been caught! One interesting point -- Ms DeSilva said the exclusive Tucker's Town area did not yet have the capability to receive cable and none of its residents were among CableVision's 12,600 subscribers. Surprisingly, many of the rich people who live there do not even take satellite and receive nothing but local television, she said.

Cable TV might not be impossible to have on aeroplanes, but television sets built into the back of seats is one of the unique flying pleasures Bermudians can enjoy with Virgin Atlantic Airways, which has just appointed its first sales agent in Bermuda.

For the first time, local residents wishing to fly to London with the 1992 Airline of the Year can book their entire passage locally, exclusively through travel sales agent GSA Bermuda. And they can fly any day of the week.

Getting to the US is easy, but GSA will arrange the most convenient connecting schedule to London on Virgin flights from Boston, New York or Boston.

As well as being the only airline to offer seat-back TVs, Virgin offers gourmet meals, fun packs of toys and games for children and even in-flight manicures and free gifts.

Mr. Graeme Seaton, GSA's general manager said: "This new association with Bermuda by Virgin will also provide the opportunity for new dialogue between the Bermuda Department of Tourism and Virgin Atlantic Airways on the further expansion of tourism from the UK and also potentially other European points.''