Despite preparing an enticing array of taste experiences from various regions of the country concerned, it seems many customers were unimpressed.

"I don't understand it,'' the frustrated chef exclaimed. "We had all these wonderful things, some of them especially imported, and all they wanted was fries!'' *** The officer showing kids around St. George's Police Station this week looked at the saucer-eyed little girl and wondered.

Could such innocence hold the key to the biggest drugs bust in Bermuda's history? Could it help him up another rung of the precarious career ladder? After all, the girl had boasted of having inside info on where marijuana was grown, hadn't she? With bated breath, the officer glanced around the Police Week party and took the plunge.

"And where might that be?'' he inquired.

Quick-as-a-flash the girl piped back: "Oh, in Jamaica.'' She could have added "you dope'', but it is doubtful whether the bewildered officer would have heard her.

*** Dellwood Primary School principal Mr. Dale Butler piqued the curiosity of a Royal Gazette journalist when he appeared at a Committee for the Independence of Bermuda news conference with a small box of raisins pinned to his sweater.

The strange ornament prompted no questions at the news conference, but the reporter hunted him down later, wondering if Mr. Butler was making a symbolic but obscure statement about Independence.

But Mr. Butler's explanation had nothing to do with breaking ties with Britain.

The day before, teachers at Dellwood held a "fruit break'' with pupils, and were each supposed to wear a piece of fruit.

"I had eaten my apple, so I just grabbed a box of raisins,'' he said.

Since then, he's received so many positive comments that he was wearing another box of raisins yesterday.

"I'm probably going to have it varnished, sell them, and make a fortune from Dole Raisins,'' he joked. "It's the newest craze that's going to hit Bermuda.

Wear your recyclables.'' *** Who put the sauer in this kraut! Or maybe he was just having one of those bad days.

We hope a German telephone operator's recent display of "attitude'' wasn't a harbinger of things to come, now that Government has announced it has secured a direct air link with a European airline. Condor Airlines will fly to Bermuda out of Frankfurt, Germany next year.

The Royal Gazette recently attempted to ring up the airline to find out what its plans were.

After dialling `0', a friendly local operator swiftly assisted the reporter in getting through to Germany's directory assistance. "Auf Wiedersehen...,'' the German operator said.

The reporter brightly replied, "Guten Tag!'' "Sprechen sie Deutsch?,'' the fellow asked.

Thinking he was drumming up a conversation, the reporter said no and began to explain she was from the sunny isle of...

Alas, he cut her off. "This is directory assistance. Who are you?,'' he asked sharply.

"I'm calling from Bermuda for directory...'' "I am not asking again or I'll hang up okay! Who are you?'' At that point the local operator interjected, "This is Bermuda Sir. We would like directory assistance.'' His reply: "No madam. You've done it all wrong. That's not the way you do it.

Try again and do it better next time okay. Bye.'' Click. And the phone went dead.

*** Amid a flood of stories out of London over the marital troubles of the Prince and Princess of Wales, one particular story caught our eye.

Shortly before they split, Prince Charles and Princess Diana divided their wedding gifts and then made a bonfire and burned those neither wanted.

The last we heard, Bermuda's wedding present, two especially commissioned Bermuda cedar chairs, were gracing the front hall of their country house, Highgrove. We can only hope that they were not used as kindling and the smell of cedar has not been wafting over the English countryside.