what we expect. In the vernacular, that person becomes known as "a hard act to follow''.

When United States Consul General Robert Farmer finishes his three-year term in Bermuda next summer, he will indeed be a hard act to follow. President Ronald Reagan set a pattern for political appointments as Consul General in Bermuda. The job was considered a plum: beautiful house with a beach, not too far from the US and plenty of golf. President Clinton gave the job to Bob Farmer who had served him well and who had served the Democratic Party well.

Not everyone in Bermuda thinks that political appointments are a good idea nor have they all been a success and there are those who prefer Consuls General who are trained State Department personnel. Yet Bob Farmer has found general acceptance in Bermuda and has done a magnificent job for his country.

No previous Consul General and certainly no Bermudian public figure in recent times has managed to make so many friends and such a wide range of contacts throughout Bermuda. It is fair to say that Bob Farmer knows "everyone'', entertains "everyone'' and talks to "everyone''. Clearly, in less than three years he has become the most integrated man in Bermuda.

Most of the politically-appointed Republicans who came before him as Consul General have stuck close to protocol, officialdom and the United Bermuda Party. Not Bob Farmer. He recognised that he represented the United States and a President who is a Democrat and that Bermuda has two political parties with almost exactly equal public support.

Opposition Leader Jennifer Smith has been quoted as saying, "We shall miss him. I think that in this posting he went to great lengths to establish himself as a friend of all political parties and that was greatly appreciated.'' At the same time Premier David Saul says, "He has done a good job while he has been here and has worked in the general community....We wish him all the best in the future.'' Bob Farmer turned Chelston, the official residence in Paget, into a kind of United States entertainment centre. His huge July 4 party attended by hundreds, ranging from the Premier of Bermuda and H. Ross Perot to the postman, was a landmark in "across the board'' entertaining. At the Chelston dinner table over the Bermuda Fish Chowder you might find Governor Lord Waddington or the Governor of Indiana or Senator Dodd of Connecticut or Bermuda's social lionesses or Kitty Dukakis but you might just as well find Bob Farmer's latest golf partner, or his new bridge opponent, a controversial social activist, some Farmer friends from Cleveland, a Bishop or a young American couple Bob Farmer had met that day on the street.

Without the social and political baggage locals carry about, Bob Farmer was known to throw together close friends as well as long-time enemies. Yet Chelston was the neutral ground on which it was hard not to get along.

You were always conscious that Bob Farmer was the representative of his country doing his best for the United States and his best to make friends for the United States.

Mistakes? One or two but nothing serious.

Success? Bob Farmer is the quintessential hard act to follow.