its image it should get rid of the small things which annoy Bermudians and then the big issues will be much easier to manage. Our reader's theory is that the public is angered by any number of relatively minor things which are easily and quickly corrected. People had hoped that Dr. David Saul would be a "new broom'' but so far there has not been much sweeping.

In essence, the public does not want to see members of Government and civil servants receiving perks and advantages which the public does not receive.

Bermuda is too small and too sensitive for "them and us'' and no one wants a grand imperial Government on this tiny Island.

It does seem that Government too often pleases itself without exercising some common sense. This is not Washington DC, this is Hamilton. A little care and a little thought would make it clear that the public does not like perks for members of the Government. The people are also unhappy when they see themselves being put upon by petty regulations.

To start with, members of Government should go through Customs and Immigration like the rest of us. Who started this wave through stuff at the Airport anyway? It leaves a bad taste and could lead to unpleasant suspicions. The Customs-Immigration area at the Airport should be sterile and visiting MPs should not be allowed in there to wander around like officials while greeting people. One PLP MP seems to be inside the Immigration area on a regular basis.

The pension plan for Parliamentarians is seen by Bermudians to be well outside the norm in the private sector. It is also granted after very short service.

The public sees the pensions as excessive and as an unnecessary drain on the public purse. They should be curtailed.

A public which is restricted to one car per household is angered by GP cars.

People are especially angry when they are on a moped and a Cabinet Minister is passing by in a GP car. If GP cars are thought necessary for some civil servants, then give them an allowance to use their own car.

The public is often unaware when listening to the radio broadcasts of the House of Assembly just how empty the House floor is. The public thinks all the members are sitting at their desks paying attention. It would be best for the public to be able to make a judgment on the basis of who is present, some members are seldom there, and how the House is really behaving. Therefore we should get rid of the radio broadcast and go to television which presents greater reality.

Solve the problem of concert noise which is disrupting neighbourhood after neighbourhood and, when added to the general noise level, causing great distress.

Right now the public views the overall planning process as corrupt and dishonest. It does not, however, see the Development Applications Board as corrupt. The only way to improve the situation is to require that any action to reverse a DAB decision be taken by the Cabinet and not by a single minister and certainly not by an acting minister. The public has not recovered and will not soon recover from the decisions on "that Harbour Road house'' and the Underwater Exploration Institute in both of which the Premier was involved.

Our reader also had strong views on traffic but we will save them for another day.