for the Old Town after receiving a cash injection of more than $500,000 from Government this month.

Horse and carriage rides, a new Town Crier, cobbled sidewalks and old-fashioned lampposts are all on the town's "new image'' list as it prepares for the May 30 arrival of the St. George's-only cruise ship, Mayor the Wor. Henry Hayward said on Friday.

The sidewalk next to the Visitors Service Bureau on King's Square has already been bricked in, he said.

Stage two is the sidewalks of Ordnance Island Bridge.

There are plans to extend the cobbled look throughout the town, he said.

Mr. Hayward said he had urged St. George's business and property owners to "get involved'' in sprucing up the town by bricking in their own sidewalks to help speed up the process.

A used brick was laid on the King's Square sidewalk, but Mr. Hayward said the bricking does not all have to be the same.

As Telco, Belco and Cablevision commence a joint cable laying project in the back alleys of St. George's, major repaving of the roads will get underway, he said.

"Those alleys have not been repaved since 1945-46,'' he noted. "We are also looking to put in lampposts. Hopefully, all this work will dramatically improve the visual quality of the town.'' Mr. Hayward added there had been several applications to operate horse and carriage rides in St. George's.

The Corporation would be accepting several of them, he said, although it hadn't been decided what the maximum amount would be.

However, like City of Hamilton carriage drivers, St. George's also planned to make diaper devices to catch horse droppings mandatory, he said.

Mr. Hayward earlier this month welcomed news of additional Government funding for St. George's, which he said was "long overdue''.

The money is to be acquired through changes to the oil wharfage tax system and from cash grants.

The Finance Ministry announced it would provide St. George's with a further $540,000 in 1994/95 and for the next four years to assist with the Corporation's current account.

And the money would come from the Corporation getting a larger share of the per-ton tax on fuel products coming into Bermuda via St. George's oil docks.

The 1994/95 Budget also provided the Corporation with a capital grant of $100,000 together with a commitment to provide a similar sum in each of the coming three financial years to help clear their current capital debt.

Mr. Hayward said, "Now that our tax structure has been improved, meetings are being held to implement many of our talked about programmes, such as re-enactments of historical events.'' The proposed re-enactments would be as much for the entertainment of locals as they would be for visitors, he said.

On the question of a replacement for Bermuda's internationally famous St.

George's Town Crier, the late Major Bob Burns, Mr. Hayward said someone had been chosen and an announcement was forthcoming.

Dispelling town rumours, he said, "It's not Alabama -- he did not apply.'' The Wor. Henry Hayward.