group of plumbers and plumber's assistants are being briefed about their tasks.

Batson Swan Plumbing is moving on to another busy day and, as the men head out to a dozen different locations thorughout Bermuda, to work on anything from a leaking tap to a major piping task, Batson Swan senior and junior sit down to deal with the paperwork that this successful thirty-year-old firm has to grapple with every day.

When Mr Swan Senior opened his business, in 1963 in the Walker Arcade just off Front Street, he had the advantages of a firm practical training behind him.

A Dockyard graduate who still has his Dockyard Certificate, he intended to specialise in household and general plumbing.

It is that area that the main part of the business still lies.

Along came Michael and Charles. The two boys received a thorough Bermuda education, then continued their studies in Britain where they gained their A levels and went on to Leicester University.

Travel in Europe followed before both lads crossed the water again to study at, and graduate from Acadia University Michael is now a successful graphic artist, while Charles returned to Bermuda in 1981 and started work for an oil trading firm.

"An interesting three years,'' he says with a smile, but the family business beckoned and now young Charles is busy on the administrative side, helping to manage and control this extremely busy family firm.

Does Mr. Swan Sr. see a lowering of standards? Are the men he employs as well trained as he was when he started out in the business? Mr. Swan pauses, picks his words carefully and says that he still regrets the passing of the Dockyard and Technical Institute, where the practical training was as important as the theory.

"Mind you,'' he adds, "I've got some fine guys working for me. But I don't know who will be training the next generation. I mean, we'll always want plumbers, and those plumbers need to be trained. It's very important.'' Both Mr. Swan Senior and Junior are keen to keep the family name and reputation in what must be one of Bermuda's most successful and prestigious plumbing companies.

Mr. Charles Batson Swan and Charles Jr.