And since we are not just saying farewell to a year, but a Millennium, this is a moment-full nostalgia.

To gauge what the Millennium means to Bermuda, The Royal Gazette asked a cross section of well-known locals to share their thought about the past, present and future.

Here are activist Dr. Eva Hodgson, Police Commissioner Jean-Jacques Lemay, well-known chef Frederick Ming, former educator and MP Dale Butler, philanthropist Sir John Plowman, Fire Chief Reginald Rawlins and Mid Ocean editor Tim Hodgson's thoughts as we say goodbye to 1999 and bid hello to the Year 2000.

WHAT EVENT OR MOMENT WILL STAND OUT IN YOUR MIND FOR THE 20TH CENTURY? DR. HODGSON: Several things stand out in my mind -- the announcement of World War II, Nelson Mandela being released from prison, the explosion of the space craft, and the death of both Presidents Roosevelt and Kennedy.

MR. LEMAY: Actually there are three major events which stand out in my mind as we approach the new millennium. The first is the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. I was in high school at the time. We were studying Hamlet and the news came to us over the school public announcement system.

The second was the walking on the moon by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969.

The third, which I consider the most significant for mankind was the collapse in 1989 of the Eastern Bloc, the most positive impact of which has been the emergence of democracy throughout Eastern Europe.

It is hard for us to realise today, but barely ten years ago, people were talking about the risk of civil war in Poland and the members of the Solidarity didn't know from one day to the next if they would end up in prison. The situation was similar in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania.

CHEF MING: Meeting the Queen of England is the moment that will stand out in my mind for the 20th Century.

MR. BUTLER: The 1834 Emancipation of slaves is the event which will stand out in my mind for the 20th Century.

SIR JOHN: The outbreak of World War II in 1939 stands out in my mind because I felt sure the world would never be the same again.

MR. RAWLINS: Man walking on the moon is the event which will stand out in my mind for the 20th Century.

MR. HODGSON: The summer of 1940, when British Prime Minister Winston Churchill stood alone and shouted defiance at the Nazi beast which had ravaged all of Europe. Without this unflagging and single-minded act of heroism, the world might now be preparing to mark the 77th anniversary of Adolf Hitler's Thousand Year Reich rather than the dawn of the third Christian millennium.

*** WHAT IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENT OR MOMENT FOR BERMUDA IN THE 20TH CENTURY? DR. HODGSON: Clearly the Universal Franchise and the PLP victory were the most significant events for Bermuda in the 20th Century.

MR. LEMAY: That is a difficult for me as I am relatively new to Bermuda. From the short time I have been here (January 1997), I would say from my perspective, the election of the PLP is a significant event for Bermuda in the 20th Century.

CHEF MING: The most significant event for Bermuda in the 20th Century was having the base-lands returned to Bermuda.

MR. BUTLER: The most significant event for Bermuda in the 20th Century was the election of the PLP on November 9, 1998.

SIR JOHN: The decision by the US government to build the bases in Bermuda was the most significant event for Bermuda in the 20th Century.

MR. RAWLINS: The closure of the Royal Naval Dockyard and subsequently all military installations in Bermuda.

MR. HODGSON: The 1959 theatre boycott was a true watershed in Bermudian history. In a few heady weeks the shameful barriers of institutionalised segregation that had kept Bermudians artificially divided for half-a-century came tumbling down.

Whatever social, economic and political progress Bermuda has made since, all stems from this brave exercise in peaceful civil disobedience.

*** WHO ARE YOUR HEROES OF THE 20TH CENTURY? ARE ANY OF THEM BERMUDIAN? DR. HODGSON: Probably, Nelson Mandela.

MR. LEMAY: Superintendent Sam Steele who served with the North West Mounted Police, the Royal Northwest Mounted Police and the Royal Stratcona Horses. And also Mahatma Gandhi.

CHEF MING: Sir John Swan and the French chef Paul Bocuss.

MR. BUTLER: Dr. E.F. Gordon, Dr. Marjorie Bean, Walter Robinson, Dr. Martin Luther King and Gladys Morrell.

SIR JOHN: Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Nelson Mandela and Sir Henry Tucker.

MR. RAWLINS: My parents, Dr. E.F. Gordon and my school teachers.

MR. HODGSON: Winston Churchill, who saved the civilised world from slipping into the abyss of a new Dark Age.

President Harry S. Truman, who was at once the century's greatest warrior and peacemaker. He ended the Second World War with unflinching resolve by taking the unparalleled decision to use atomic weapons. Then he applied himself with equal verve to rebuilding the devastated countries of friend and foe alike through the Marshall Plan, what Churchill accurately described as the most unselfish act in all of history.

Directors Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock, the two greatest practitioners of the only true new art form pioneered in this century, motion pictures also feature in my personal pantheon of heroes.

In Bermuda, the members of the Progressive Group who organised the theatre boycott. Dr. E.F. Gordon and Sir Henry Tucker, those unlikeliest of cultural midwives who managed to deliver a healthy and thriving micro-country from the atrophied womb of a mid-Atlantic country club. Sir John Swan, who came to embody a "New Bermuda'' fully 15 years before the Progressive Labour Party cribbed that line from Tony Blair's election manifesto.

*** WHAT DO YOU WANT THE YOUTH TO REMEMBER ABOUT THE 20TH CENTURY? DR. HODGSON: In Bermuda, I wish that young people remembered, or realise, the struggle of older blacks for education and reduction of overt racism.

MR. LEMAY: I want them to remember and appreciate the pain and suffering of war, particularly the campaigns of WWI and WWII, and the sacrifices made by many so that they (we) may be free of tyranny and oppression.

CHEF MING: I want the young people to remember that Bermuda survived despite facing many difficulties.

MR. BUTLER: They should remember that people worked in groups, clubs, churches and organisations to make change happen.

SIR JOHN: Young people should remember the mistakes that were made and the tragedies that occurred so that similar events can be avoided in the new Millennium.

MR. RAWLINS: They should remember the good life they enjoy -- these are their good old days.

MR. HODGSON: Young people should remember that none of the evil "-isms'' which punctuated this century - Nazism, socialism, Fascism, Communism, racism -proved capable of breaking the human spirit.

*** LOOKING FORWARD TO THE YEAR 2000, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WISH FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR? IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WISH FOR BERMUDA IN THE 21ST CENTURY? DR. HODGSON: I would like to see less crime, which means less emphasis on money. I really believe that the pace-setters and decision makers are responsible for the emphasis placed on money as an indication of human worth and therefore so much of the decline in social value and the prevalence of drugs for money.

MR. LEMAY: I hope the new year brings joy, good health and happiness to my bride, our children, our families and myself and that we continue to receive God's blessings.

It is a wish that I extend to the men and women of the Police Service and to all Bermudians.

CHEF MING: I hope that God will continue to bless our family and the entire Island.

A review of the past 100 years MR. BUTLER: For my family, health; for myself, sleep -- more than three hours a night and for the country, more positive participation.

SIR JOHN: For my family, I hope that we remain united.

For Bermuda, I hope the races come together and we all work for the common good.

MR. RAWLINS: My wish is for prosperity, continued peace and freedom and sincere acceptance of our diverse culture.

MR. HODGSON: The world stands at the threshold of a new information age, a development that will shape the third millennium as surely as William Caxton's popularisation of printing influenced the second.

*** WHAT DOES THE DAWN OF A MILLENNIUM MEAN TO YOU? DR. HODGSON: Not much -- I shall have to try to remember 2000 not 1999.

MR. LEMAY: This is a significant event! Ten years ago, in one of the more memorable events of the century the Berlin Wall gave way. In the decade since then, democratic ideals and market economies have taken root throughout central and eastern Europe.

Efforts at peace are underway in a number of hot spots. Positive changes are taking place in Northern Ireland and in Korea. For me, the new millennium signifies hope for peace and harmony throughout the world.

CHEF MING: The dawn of the millennium means the dawn of the new things to come.

MR. BUTLER: It means that we can use the past to write a great future for all people.

SIR JOHN: The millennium is a landmark because it only comes once in a thousand years.

MR. RAWLINS: The dawn of a new millennium means another era, another age.

MR. HODGSON: Since there is no year zero in the Christian calendar, neither the 21st century -- nor the third millennium -- actually begin until midnight on December 31, 2000. So I suppose we'll have to go through all this hoopla again next year! *** ARE WE MAKING TOO BIG A DEAL ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM? DR. HODGSON: I can't judge what other people need to do for excitement.

MR. LEMAY: No, people are not making too big a deal about it, I think it is exciting. Bermuda is well poised to deal with any crisis that may arise. This is due by large to the excellent co-operation between the public and private sectors. Bermuda is a relatively small community, and it draws strength on its ability to work in partnership when a crisis occurs. That has been my experience in the short time I have been in Bermuda.

CHEF MING: Maybe, for the wrong reasons.

MR. BUTLER: Yes people are making too big a deal about the millennium. We have only ourselves been a small part of the last one.

SIR JOHN: Yes people are making too big a deal, unless it brings some peace to the world.

MR. RAWLINS: Commercially, yes people are making too big a deal about it. But it is a significant event which should cause people to stop and reflect on the past and hope for the future.

MR. HODGSON: Yes people make a too big a fuss -- and they're doing it a year early. I think it's all a giant conspiracy between Champagne salesmen, party organisers and greeting card manufacturers.