very near Government House chef Mr. Paul Fox came to missing the swansong of his Bermuda career.

Injured in a game of rugby last weekend, Mr. Fox spent until Wednesday of this week encased in a neck brace and confined to his home. Fortunately, the doctors have now given him the all-clear to resume work on Monday -- just one day before the Royal guests arrive.

Originally, he had planned to leave the Island with his wife and baby on March 1 but delayed his departure to make things easier for the Governor and Lady Waddington.

You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men. .. When the presentation plate which the Bermuda College will give to the Queen arrived from Austria, it didn't correspond to the original measurements so lecturer Mr. Kevin Bean now faces the challenge of trying to adjust his handmade cedar frame to fit.

For years the purpose of a little stool at Government House remained a mystery, until Tuesday's investiture was being arranged. Enquiring minds determined that it had been made by a local craftsman for a previous investiture. Now it has been refurbished and will once again support the bended knee of Bermuda's most recent knight.

When the Queen signs one visitor's book, little will she imagine that the table at which she sits has a slightly shady past. Used on a previous visit, it somehow escaped the respect normally reserved for articles with a royal connection and enjoyed a brief fling in a night club before being rescued and restored to glory by the present owner.

If you're wondering what the Queen will eat for breakfast so is the Government House chef. Such details must await the arrival of her staff on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Mr. Fox is laying in supplies of bacon, eggs, kippers, smoked haddock, fresh fruit salad, plain yoghurt and marmalade, just in case.

Royal visits cost a queen's ransom to mount, so it is nice to know that, in some corridors of Government power at least, economy is still the watchword.

Apparently, only four umbrellas are being provided for the royal party. So those beyond the honoured heads had brolly well better pray for sunshine! Spare a thought for Government House butler Mr. Andre m Nisbett in the days ahead. From Sunday he will be separated from his family and confined to his workplace until, as what he terms it "close of play'' on Thursday.

The little red book might be out of favour in Communist China, but it's still a "must'' here -- at least at the Bermuda College. Since red is the College colour, the powers-that-be wanted a red leather visitor's book for the Queen to sign during her forthcoming visit. When the local search proved fruitless, Mrs. Jo Cook, wife of College president Dr. George Cook, took to the shops of Washington, DC during a recent visit and, with great difficulty, succeeded.

Recycling is the name of the game for at least one honoured guest at the Speaker's Dinner. While hundreds of women have reputedly done everything from mortgaging the family home to shopping abroad or having a gown custom made, this lady will make her final choice from one of several vintage formals in the back of her closet. "It will be new to the Queen,'' she said.

ON HER MAJESTY'S SERVICE -- Government house chef Mr. Paul Fox (right) and his successor, Mr. Jeffrey Patterson, are looking forward to sharing their culinary art with the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh. The royal visit will be the crowning touch on Mr. Fox's Bermuda career -- he departs for Britain shortly thereafter.