in Hamilton.

Canadian Mr. Timothy Sobey is helping to set up Mouton Noir gallery, in Burnaby Street.

But he is better known for coauthoring the book Courting Disaster, which told tales of sex and incompetence in the royal household.

The best-selling book was based on the memoirs of Mr. Sobey's coauthor and long-time friend Mr. Malcolm Barker, who worked for the royals.

But The Queen was not amused and Britain's High Court slapped a worldwide ban on the book in 1990.

"We totally ignored the ban, except for Britain,'' Mr. Sobey said last week.

A follow-up book, Courting More Disaster, which repeats all the stories from the first publication, is currently on sale in several countries, including Bermuda, where it can be bought at The Book Mart, in the Phoenix Pharmacy.

Mr. Sobey said he wanted to concentrate on his new business and did not want to go over old ground.

"It's all in the past,'' he said. "I'm here to set up the gallery and make a success of it.'' The gallery contains paintings by some of Canada's leading artists, such as Anthony Law, Ross MacCullouch and Arthur Lloy, which vary in price from $250 to $10,000.

Several sculptures, many of which are African, are also on sale for anywhere between $500 and several thousand dollars.

There is a mixture of Canadian, US and Bermudian scenes, but most of the art is foreign.

"Personally I find that 95 percent of what local galleries hang are paintings of Bermudian scenes,'' said Mr. Sobey.

"We wanted to offer something different to other local galleries. That's why we have predominantly foreign art.'' "It might turn out that all people want is Bermudian art and, if that's the case, it will have proved an interesting experiment.'' The gallery contains about 60 oils and watercolours.

Mr. Sobey's partner in the business is Bermudian Mr. Duncan Tavares, who is assistant manager of Horizons and Cottages guest establishment. Mr. Tavares' mother, Cecilia, works at the gallery.

The gallery has an area of 700 square feet and is located on the site of the former Teri Lynn clothing store, next to Engravables. It is open Tuesday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.