Governor Thorold Masefield was put on the spot yesterday when he was asked whether he believed Bermuda was ready for independence.

Mr. Masefield had just finished giving a speech to the Rotary Club of Hamilton about the importance of games, when members took the opportunity to ask questions.

The club's Toppy Cowen asked if he thought Bermuda was ready for independence and a Bermudian Governor.

The Governor said: "This is a very long way from games. The successive British governments have always taken the view that it's not for them to make the decision -- it's for the people themselves.

"The British Government said it would respect any decision, providing it was done democratically.'' And he said the method used would be up to Bermuda itself, but said there could be various ways, including an election or a referendum.

As for a Bermudian Governor, Mr. Masefield said: "The conviction has always been that if you have a Bermudian Governor, you are independent.'' Rotary member Sir John Plowman asked the Governor whether he believed making independence an issue in an election was a satisfactory method of determining the situation.

Sir John said: "It seems to me that making it an issue at election is clouding the whole point.

"The fair way would be a referendum so there would be no doubt as to what opinion is.'' But Mr. Masefield said things changed over time, so it was difficult to say, but he said a country could use an election or referendum, but he said the fairness depended on how many people voted.

He added; "In the United Kingdom, there have been attempts to say there must be a certain minimum number of people participating in referenda.'' And he said a problem referenda run into was that they were only yes or no questions.

And he said many people believed the referendum in Australia about the monarchy would have had a different result if the questions had been worded differently.

Mr. Masefield's speech was about games and the role they play in life, politics, education and development.

He said too often today, children were left to play alone on computers where they were not learning to be team players, and were not developing physical, leadership or strategic skills.

And he urged parents and grandparents to show love and affection to their children, as well as spending time playing traditional games with them.

The Governor said: "Over the centuries, young children have played naturally and spontaneously. They play copying games, especially in the home, to learn about shopping, cooking, and looking after babies.

"They also experiment, trying to find the boundaries of the physically and socially acceptable, in the process so learning much from the operation of gravity to the fact that human, as well as physical, rules have to be observed.'' But he said other games taught leadership, especially team games -- leading by example, by motivation or inspiration and by tactical organisation to create or exploit opportunities.

He added: "Such games also teach strategy and tactics, having one's own plan, trying to spot the opponent's plan, exploiting a mistake, forcing an error.

"But these do not have to be team games or ball games. Card games like bridge and whist and board games like draughts and chess also encourage the development of long-term strategies.'' To sum up, he said it is the job of the parent and grandparent to ensure that children are exposed to a wide variety of games, to assist in their physical and mental development.