who spends hours doing home repairs.

According to the experts at Master's Limited and Gorham's Limited, many Bermudians enjoy working on Do-It-Yourself (D.I.Y.) projects as well and would love to find helpful tools under the Christmas tree or stuffed in their stockings.

"D.I.Y. is growing geometrically, as regarding the number of people getting involved in it,'' said Rod Ferguson, manager of Gorham's Limited on St. John's Road in Pembroke. "There are so many shows on television, Tim Allen's Home Improvement and cable shows, for example, where people are seen making and fixing things around the home and appear as if they're having fun and the work is easy.'' According to Mr. Ferguson, society once frowned upon the thought of actually making home repairs themselves -- that's what plumbers, carpenters and electricians were for. Today they applaud and admire persons with such skills who are able to save money by doing some of the more simple jobs themselves.

"Probably about 15 years ago, people thought manual labour was beneath them,'' he said. "Now they're going to the gym and doing fitness things and they actually get a great satisfaction out of doing them and changing their standard of living. There are many capable contractors, but sometimes, it's hard to get things done at the time that you want them done. If you're doing it yourself, it puts you in control of your own destiny. And there's a lot of self-help books, videos, and cable shows out there to help.'' Although there are many women who enjoy making home repairs, the bulk of residents who participate in such forms of recreation are men, he added.

"I think that it's further developed with the female side in the United States than it has in Bermuda. Here, there are so many working mothers, whereas in the States there's probably a greater percentage of wives who don't work. Here they are busy and if they're a working mother and trying to clothe and feed the children and also have to do housework, they're likely not to want to turn around and do repairs around the house as well. But every year in Gorham's DIY contest, there are at least a few wives in there and they do some amazing things.'' According to Eddie Skater, Gorham's Limited's buyer for tools, the hardware centre has lots of interesting gifts for the DIYer.

"We have a 119-piece tool set which is ideal for those trying to fix up bikes and cars. It has electric crimpers and pliers and comes in an all-in-one box; a plastic kit which people can carry anywhere they have to go to do a job.

"And no handyman should be without a 14-in-one pocket workshop by Eazy Power.

Many people have to carry all kinds of equipment on their belt -- pliers, screwdrivers, and so on. The pocket workshop has everything and it all folds into one neat package.'' A 53-piece compact drill set would be appreciated by any handyman or woman, said Mr. Skater.

"What usually happens, is that when a homeowner uses a drill, he loses the drill bits but this set has compartments so each has its own home.'' Added Mr. Ferguson: "The growing trend is to use a power drill with a screw driver attachment.'' Hanging mirrors or paintings so that they are completely straight need no longer be a problem, said Mr. Ferguson, or not, at least, with the aid of a True Value hobby set for levelling.

If anyone wants to hang a mirror in wall, they want to put level plugs so they're dead straight so that it doesn't hang unevenly and if they need a 90 degree angle, the levelling set can make sure it's dead straight.'' Sanding, quite a simple task for the average homeowner, can even be made easier this Christmas, said Mr. Skater.

Having fun at home during the holidays We have an abrasive workshop assortment, which is ideal for doing bodywork on the car or for sanding woodwork on windows or blinds. Even if you're simply refinishing a door, you have to sand it down to get it smooth before painting it again.'' The Starrett Digitape is perfect for those who are long on distance, but short on memory, he said.

"It is able to measure in the metric or imperial systems and it has a memory button so if they measure one length and need to do another, they can press the button and go to the previous measurement. Sometimes, if working in an awkward space such as a roof or at the top of a ladder, and take a measurement, and then have to go back down the ladder they might forget it.

The tape also has a digital read-out on the top.'' Rounding out the Christmas wish list for DIYers, he said is a three-in-one sander by Black & Decker.

"It can work as a finishing sander, as an orbital sander and as a detail sander,'' she said. "So they actually get three tools in one which is great for anyone doing work on wooden chairs or slats on blinds.'' There's also plenty on offer for the DIYer at Master's Limited on Dundonald Street, according to Mark Stern, manager of its Home Centre department.

"We have a circular saw for making things like shelves and cutting lumber, we have Rubbermaid stools, which can be used for storage as well. We just have so much. There's socket sets, screw drivers, hammers and both cordless and electric drills.

"We have workbenches, large Homak storage cabinets with roller drawers. And for home decorators, we have stamps faced with flowers which can be placed on tiles.'' A great gift, which is vital to any DIY workstation, is a work light, he added.

"We have work lights where the light spreads to cover 90,000 square feet.

They come with a tripod stand with twist locks for easy height adjustment.'' For the aspiring carpenter, their task is made easier with wooden legs for chairs or tables. There is also cabinet hardware for retiling cabinets and a wood shutter kit available in unfinished, stained and pre-finished white traditional narrow slat 1 1 louvres.

There's also plenty for the outdoorsman, said Mr. Sterns.

"We have pots and seeds; a whole table set just for garden tools actually and for those just starting to plant, we have growing kits. We also have composts, wheel barrows, old-fashioned push mowers which actually do a nice cut depending on the type of grass you have and for those who want a more luxurious mower, we have ones you can ride.'' Masters' mower works great on grass and weight Gardeners would love Masters' workbench just for them