shoppers and the merchant community to its special Christmas parking scheme, secretary Mr. Roger Sherratt said yesterday.

However, he reminded drivers of the restrictions that apply to the three free parking areas: the covered car park in Number One Shed on Front Street (which opens at 9 a.m. to prevent workers getting in early), 50 spaces behind City Hall and 12 parking bays on Dundonald Street, between its junctions with Court Street and Union Street.

People are only be allowed to park in these areas for up to two hours per day and for one period in 24 hours, he said.

Workers tended to beat hourly restrictions on the roads by leaving their office every hour to move their cars, he pointed out.

Anyone breaking the rules will be given parking tickets with fixed penalties of $30.

FESTIVAL OF COLOURS OPENS ART Festival of colours opens The Festival of Colour, Masterworks' winter show, will open at the National Gallery today at 5.30 p.m.

Masterworks committee member, Mrs. Elise Outerbridge said the new selection of works will span the Christmas period and the Bermuda Festival.

"It will be a celebration of the colour and light of Bermuda, reflected through the work of various artists and representing a number of different styles and mediums.'' She said the show tried to focus on the most vibrant works in the Collection, ranging from dynamic oils to the translucent tones of watercolours.

"We hope this show will reflect not only the bright, hot shades of high summer, but also the cooler greens and blues of early winter mornings,'' said Mrs. Outerbridge.

The National Gallery is now open Monday to Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

and on Sundays from 12.30 to 4 p.m.

ALTERED CHEQUE CTS Altered cheque A Pembroke woman admitted last week she altered a $40 cheque so it appeared to be worth $140. Rhoda J. Samuels, 40, of Parsons Road, was ordered to return to Magistrates' Court on Friday.

Senior Magistrate the Wor. Will Francis asked for a report from a probation officer before passing sentence.

Samuels pleaded guilty to making a false document, fraudulently uttering a false document, and using a false document to induce a store employee to give her goods.

Prosecuting, Police acting Insp. Rex Osborne said a complaint was received from Mr. Russell Pearman on September 24 about a cheque drawn on a family account which had been altered.

The cheque was made payable to Samuels for $40, but was altered to read $140, he said. Samuels used the cheque to buy groceries at the Shopping Centre on Victoria Street.

CONDO EXTENSION PLN Condo extension The Planning Board has approved the Shelly Hall Company's application for an extension to one building at its Radnor Road, Hamilton Parish condominium development.

The company plans to build dens and lounges onto a portion of the property's Phase II section.

In its written decision, the Board said the approval "should not be regarded as a precedent for any future applications which propose additional coverage for individual units on the Shelly Hall development''.

QUARRY BLAZE FIR Quary blaze Firefighters were called to the Government quarry in Hamilton Parish over the weekend to deal with a blaze.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated by the fire service. It was confined to waste materials at the quarry.

The fire service was also called to the Bermuda Telephone Company building on Victoria Street, in Hamilton, where a fire alarm had gone off because of an electrical fault.

PANTS PINCHED CRM Pants pinched Five packages of men's underpants were stolen from a home on Orchard Grove in Pembroke, Police said.

Three gold neck chains, two of which had Capricorn zodiac pendants attached, were also stolen in the break-in, Police said.