Just eight people joined yesterday?s march ?against the Government of Bermuda?, according to organiser Charles Spanswick.

VSB news, which covered the march, reported that only six people turned up.

Still, Mr. Spanswick was pleased that Cabinet took time out of its weekly meeting to meet with him to discuss the marchers? concerns, which included the plight of the homeless and senior citizens.

Acting Premier Paula Cox told the marchers that Government had been committed to ?dealing with the needs of its people? since it was elected.

?In particular in recent times you have heard the Premier say that he is tightening the focus by means of the social policy agenda and by that he means he is going to be dealing with the issues of empowerment of those that are both vulnerable and disaffected and in need as well as continuing to shore up the financial services,? Ms Cox said.

?Stay tuned to this spot, in particular with reference to the Throne Speech. We are constantly, by a raft of initiatives, showing that we have a commitment to taking care of the needs of our people and we will continue to do so,? she said.

Mr. Spanswick said he was not discouraged by the poor turnout.

?Bermudians, of course, will never come out and march,? he said. ?They will stay on the sidelines. There were a couple of people in the stores clapping their hands and I said ?come on with us? and they didn?t come along.

?There were maybe between eight and ten people when we got to Cabinet.?

The group marched from the Fairmont Hamilton Princess.

?When I arrived there, I opened the door and told the receptionist I was here to see the Cabinet.?

All Cabinet members, with the exception of Premier Alex Scott and Tourism and Transport Minister Ewart Brown, who are both off the Island, came out from their weekly meeting to listen to the group?s concerns.

?I thanked her (acting Premier Paula Cox) for coming out and named the Ministers I had met with prior to meeting the Premier on October 6 ? Ashfield DeVent, Dale Butler, Neletha Butterfield, Michael Scott and Permanent Secretary Marc Telemaque which I was unhappy about because I wanted to see the Minister,? Mr. Spanswick continued.

Mr. Spanswick said he talked about the plight of the homeless and senior citizens.

?I said I had been looking for a place for my homeless to sleep 24 hours a day and have three square meals a day,? he said.

Marchers included June Caisey who is ?concerned about her great children? and ?a couple of homeless guys ? I can?t remember their names, and a guy called ?one foot? who talks on the talk shows. He?s homeless as well and has had some problems getting jobs?.

Mr. Spanswick invited the Cabinet to his Thanksgiving lunch on November 17 at Cathedral Hall ?so they can talk to the homeless and see how many people show up. I do it, my charity does it and there?s no reason why the Cabinet can?t do it because they make all the decisions?.

He added: ?I?ve been involved with the Seniors Islanders Club, which right now is under Fred Hassell. My concerns with the seniors are that a lot of seniors are leaving Bermuda because it?s too expensive. I also talked about them getting their raise. Seniors are getting one meal a day, some of them living with no light because they can?t afford to turn them on. They are not living a great life like they are ? they are living in fear.?

Mr. Spanswick said he was ?very pleased? with Ms Cox?s response.

?She replied to me and said all the good things that are going to happen ? the Throne Speech is coming up. I was very pleased and I thanked her very much and I said God bless them all.?

Mr. Spanswick said he had been unhappy with his meeting with the Premier on October 6 because, according to him, he kept reeling off statistics, and even though he wanted a one-on-one with Mr. Scott others, like Works Permanent Secretary Russell Wade, had attended.

?The meeting didn?t go off very well because the Premier kept talking about statistics. He kept saying he had no power over the Police, he had no power over the Governor.?

But Mr. Spanswick said he was proud of his role as community activist because, he said, he had succeeded in getting the Bermuda Police to be more visible.

?This is why you see when the Police are visible right now it?s because of me, the community activist, making a lot of noise with deputy Commissioner George Jackson.?