she emerged from her sitting room at Government House to give her first interview as wife of the new Governor, she was laughing about the fact that she is still waiting for most of her luggage to arrive.

"I only have about four outfits here,'' she confided, "but never mind, at least everyone will know who I am. They'll be saying `that's Lady Waddington -- we recognise the clothes!'' Meanwhile, she is loud in her praise for what she has so far seen of Bermuda.

"We're hoping to have a drive around more of the Island at the weekend, but it looks beautiful, really beautiful. Everything looks so well looked after, so well loved and tended. We have been to other small islands, and some of them are just awful. It seems amazing that people have been here for nearly 400 years and haven't spoilt it.'' There was even praise for Bermuda's much criticised Pembroke Dump: "Paul, our chef, took me to look at it, and it's really quite immaculate. I've seen some really fearful ones in the UK, but yours is so tidy!'' Long years at the forefront of British political life seem to have equipped Lady Waddington more than usually well for her future role in presenting a more human face to the formal life of Government House.

When her husband was Chief Whip in Mrs. Thatcher's government, Lady Waddington's life was a constant round of entertaining, in rooms set aside specially for the purpose at 12 Downing Street.

"This was the one government job that was most concerned with people, which is why I enjoyed it so much. It was up to us to get the best out of our back-benchers, so it was important that I knew about any personal problems or crises that may have been affecting Members' lives.'' But although she was a leading hostess around Whitehall and Downing Street, Lady Waddington has always found more time than most to work actively for charity, especially in the area of mental health, and with particular emphasis on schizophrenia. In Britain, she is a trustee of SANE, which stands for `Schizophrenia, a National Emergency'.

Asked if mental health would be high on her list of charitable causes in Bermuda, she admitted that she is anxious to visit St. Brendan's Hospital at the earliest opportunity: "Before we arrived, I had read that there is a very alive and well psychiatric hospital here. I was reading all about it in a book by a woman who had worked for 11 years as a nurse there.'' As this mother of five talked, it was clear that her concern for and knowledge of what she calls this "unfashionable disease'' is considerable.

Explaining that while schizophrenia can be genetic or hereditary, she warned that the latest research indicates that some drugs, such as marijuana, taken in early years, may also be a cause.

"The Swedes are working on the connection right now. If they make it, it would be one of the greatest weapons against the use of so-called soft drugs that we could possibly have.'' Lady Waddington's other love is the arts, having attended Brighton College of Art: "I've brought my paints. I haven't had much time to use them lately, but painting is going to be one of the priorities of my spare time here.'' When Lord Waddington exchanged the gregarious life-style of Chief Whip for the more formal role of Home Secretary, they had to move into a house that had a police station in the basement.

"It was a much more restricting life,'' she said, although as close friends of three of the four people who were killed in the IRA bomb attack at the Brighton party conference, she understood all too well the security risks her family faced.

"There is no doubt my husband was a target, as he had renewed the terms of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.'' Insisting that she was not a feminist, Lady Waddington admitted that she was thrilled when Margaret Thatcher became Britain's first woman Prime Minister: "You could say that I'm a partisan for women and always very pleased when they make an impact on society. I think there are going to be more and more of them. We were lucky to be a part of that exciting time, to see Mrs. Thatcher become one of the great Titans of political history.'' Lady Waddington said she felt "quite old'' when it all suddenly came to an end. "John Major is so much younger, it's only natural that he would want a young cabinet. We were Thatcherites, yes -- but so was he. I think his cabinet, which is the youngest ever, by the way, illustrates that politics can often be a generational thing, not necessarily idealogical.'' They were quite happy, she said, to lead the quieter life of the House of Lords, so it was quite a surprise when the Prime Minister appointed her husband as Governor of Bermuda. "He told us, `I want you to do something else for me'.'' Apart from the wrench she felt in leaving her two baby grandchildren behind, Lady Waddington said she was thrilled to be here.

"Everyone has been so welcoming and friendly. We did feel a little self-conscious and insecure, driving along in that big landau, but everyone was calling out to wish us good luck. That wouldn't necessarily happen in Britain. People would be embarrassed and turn away. But here, everything is so relaxed and friendly and everybody waves. Even if you are wearing a funny hat!'' HAPPY TO BE HERE -- Lady Waddington, wife of Bermuda's new Governor, says she is looking forward to meeting as many Bermudians as possible during her time here.