of blue jeans, a t-shirt, a hoe and a rake.

Instead of long hours at his IBM computer or ensconced in the Attorney General's Chambers' law library, "Colonel Klink'' (as he is known to his closest friends) can now be found tinkering in his garage, painting a wall or plucking weeds from his garden -- all jobs he's been promising to do for quite a while but, as Bermuda's number two law officer, never got around to.

Today Mr. Meade and his Canadian-born wife Brenda, are in Newport, Rhode Island enjoying a vacation after he retired from his post as Bermuda's Solicitor General last Friday.

His colleagues describe him as meticulous and methodical, knowledgeable and keen and on his last day on the job, his office reflects these descriptions almost perfectly.

The desk, which takes up at least one quarter of the room, is bare except for four large law books.

His computer is on and the sun is poking its golden rays through the curtains at his office window that looks out over Court and Church Streets.

Mr. Meade's shrewd eyes, stern visage and upright bearing that any British Army subaltern would be proud to possess belie an avuncular character.

Like an actor, Mr. Meade has paused to take a breath between performances, his latest courtroom battle was the four-week fraud trial of former Bank of Butterfield executive David Diggins. It ended in a hung jury.

Mr. Meade has been around the law for most of his professional career which began in 1959 when he walked the beat as a young constable at the Steel House Lane Police Station in his native Birmingham.

In 1963 he came to Bermuda and joined the Bermuda Police Service where he met long-time friend David Chew.

Mr. Chew joined Mr. Meade who was already posted to the Central Division around December, 1963 Both were transferred to the Eastern Division in August, 1964.

There they worked on the same watch and lived in the barracks together.

Soon afterward they bought a green, left hand drive, Austin Healey convertible from a Navy serviceman and the two could be found on their days off taking in the night life.

St. George's Cricket Club, St. David's Cricket Club or the Royal Artillery Association's bar at Barrack Hill were among their favourite watering holes.

"We had some great times in that car,'' Mr. Meade says wistfully as he sits on a couch in his office. "But I think it eventually died and Dave got rid of it.'' Soon the team of two became a threesome, as Dennis Meehan, who now lives in Australia, joined the Police Service. Soon they began to compete in the "Battle of Brains'' general knowledge quiz show against fellow officers.

Before long the team became known as the "Magic Three'' and they ended up winning the competition on one occasion.

From competing in quiz shows, Mr. Meade began to listen to the faint rumblings of a desire that went on to be his beacon in later years. He wanted to be a lawyer, although he had initially thought that he had found his calling as a Policeman.

On his own time he studied and passed his General Certificate of Education exams which gave him a way into legal studies through University level correspondence courses.

His Police career never suffered, however, as he moved from being a constable on the beat to the training wing where he taught former constable turned defence counsel Archie Warner.

During his time as the head of the Police training school Mr. Meade went to Canada where he took a course in instructional techniques.

Armed with this knowledge, he returned and rewrote the lesson plans for the entire programme which until that time were a collection of hit and miss exercises of questionable value.

A stint as a prosecutor followed and Mr. Meade rose to head the department as an Inspector with sergeants Brinley Jones, Victor Richmond and St. Clair (Brinky) Tucker in support.

Mr. Meade retired from the Police Service in the late 1970s and moved into the Attorney General's Chambers as a Crown counsel after he passed his bar finals and rose to become senior crown counsel.

Along the way, he prosecuted such high profile cases as Christopher Dillas, who was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of psychiatrist Dr. Richard Wilkie and of Gary Cooper who was given a life sentence for the murder of his ex-wife.

While prosecuting murderers, rapists and drug dealers formed the majority of his work, Mr. Meade was also an avid member of the St. John Ambulance Brigade and he became its Commissioner.

During his stint, he worked to improve the first aid and CPR standards in the workplace before he stepped down in June, 1992.

And he received the coveted Order of St. John of Jerusalem award for his untiring service.

"When I started I never thought I would have made it here,'' he said. "I thought I would have been a Policeman and it would have ended there. Later my love for the law developed and I have gained a lifetime of experience.

"Public service is good both for the person who gives it and for the persons who benefit.

"I hope that I have contributed in a positive way to making Bermuda ready to move into the 21st Century and that I have made some positive steps toward the Bermudianisation of both the Police Service and the Attorney General's Chambers.'' But David Chew accuses Mr. Meade of understating the full value of his impact on the island.

He said: "Barrie came to this island with nothing and he did a great job as a Police officer. He used his own time to improve his qualifications but this still did not make him forget his past.

"Even as the Solicitor General making the big bucks and moving in those circles, he never got caught up in it all. He remained rooted. I am just happy at his success. He is a shining example to all our young people. I wish him the best in whatever he does next.'' ON THE BEAT -- Barrie Meade in his days as a Police Inspector COMMUNITY SERVICE -- Retired Solicitor General Barrie Meade outside the headquarters of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, of which he was Commissioner.