Many months ago, I heard the good news about the "Fastgate Club'' being set-up at Bermuda's Airport. Believing that this might be an efficient method of clearing incoming passengers, particularly those with only hand-carried luggage through what is sometimes a congested airport, I applied through my travel agent for a Fastgate First User's Card. Then on my first inbound trip through the immigration setup. I put my hand in the machine and, in due course, received a card.

Ever since then, the system has been out of order. From this, I can only assume one or more of several scenarios: 1. IBM don't wish to fix it; 2. IBM have been told not to fix it; 3. The civil servants at the airport have taken no steps to fix it because it might take jobs away from them; or 4. The PLP Minister for Immigration and/or Airports when travelling, is so busy being cleared Duty Free through Customs, that this little glitch in, what was originally a good idea, is not even noticed.

Maybe the year 2000 will produce a surprise.

JAMES A. PEARMAN Pembroke Abolish conscription November 14, 1999 Dear Sir, I last wrote to you a month ago calling for the abolition of conscription. To date there has been on reply via your column either for or against.

I can only guess that those against conscription are reluctant to speak up for fear of reprisals (an all too common reason in Bermuda), whilst those that are for conscription have not come forward as it is difficult to defend something that is out of date and bears a bias against Bermudian men.

Incidentally, I have received verbal comments from people both for and against. Those against simply say "I enjoyed your letter'' while those for conscription have various comments. The most disparaging is: "It is the only way left to discipline them''. (Reason Enough for Abolition).

In the time between my letters, seven men from the Regiment have appeared in court. Six of the, received suspended jail sentences and/or fines. One man is denying the charges. This proves to me that there are Bermudian men being forced to do something that is detrimental to their wellbeing and receiving criminal records for their stances. These seven men are possibly just "the tip of the iceberg'' of many unhappy Bermudian men.

Finally I will call on any of your readers who are for the abolition of conscription to either let their views be known via your column or approach their Members of Parliament and demand that an end to conscription be passed into law.

PATRICK S. TROTT Paget Machines aren't working The following was sent to Corporation of Hamilton Secretary Roger Sherratt and copied to The Royal Gazette : November 16, 1999 Dear Mr. Sherratt, I am a daily user of the Bull's Head car park. There has been a continuous problem with the ticket machines. At least two days of each week, they are not functioning properly. I have seen on a few occasions where only one machine is working on a level and we have to wait anywhere up to five minutes to get a ticket. On one occasion I thought I would outsmart the second level users and go up to the third level for a ticket, only to find that not one of those machines was working. This can be very frustrating and time consuming. These machines need to be maintained daily or an alternative way of paying for parking needs to be found.

One way to reduce the wear and tear on the machines is by issuing parking permits. These permits can be laminated cards that can be left on the dashboard of the vehicle. They can be issued quarterly, semi-annually or annually. Because the permits are prepaid, certain parking bays could be allocated just for permit holders. These can be the bays along the outer walls of levels one and two. Also, because a client is prepaying for services that they may not be fully used during their time frame, a small discount could be given, i.e. for every week prepaid you are given one free day of parking.

Suggested prices -- $145.00 for a quarterly permit, $285.00 for semi-annual and $550.00 for annual.

As you can see, I have given this a lot of thought. I've also discussed it with some of my co-workers who also park at Bulls Head, and who think it is a good idea. I urge you to give this your consideration and maybe perform a feasibility study on it. I know if ever implemented, I'll definitely purchase one.

DEBRA-ANN TUCKER Devonshire Praise for Mrs. Bartley 16 November 1999 Dear Sir, There has recently been great interest and concern about the state of our public education system. In particular, concern is centered on the standard of the graduating student and the quality of tuition and dedication of our teaching professionals. Accordingly, it is an appropriate time to highlight the outstanding performance of our teachers by an appreciative parent.

My son is a P.2 pupil at Somerset Primary School, a school with a justifiable reputation for excellence. His teacher for the year is Ms Noreen Bartley, who is in her first year at Somerset Primary, despite much experience at other schools in Bermuda.

Through no fault of his own (indeed, due to the folly of adults), my son has experienced some difficult challenges since the beginning of the school year.

In many instances, his saving grace has been the extra attention and compassion that Ms Bartley has shown towards him, and additionally to his mother and I. Her high standards in the classroom have been acknowledged and commended by other parents and her ability to accommodate the special needs of her pupils, and their parents, is testament to her level of professionalism.

If the standards set by Ms Bartley, and the standards demanded by Somerset Primary School are representative of Bermuda's education system, then problems found therein should be laid elsewhere than at the feet of our teaching professionals.

PROUD TO BE ONE OF BARTLEY'S BUDDIES Sandys Parish Learn rules of the road November 3, 1999 Dear Sir, This is in response to "Cure Your Road Rage'' (November 3, 1999).

To accuse me of road rage is outrageous at the least. When approaching a roundabout, you either veer to the left or right depending on which way you are going. As Ms "Cure your Road Rage'' veered to the left, I assumed she was going left and I was coming up on the right as I was going right. She decided at the last minute to change to the right without indicating and crossing in front of me. I blew my horn and put my hands up, not in a fist as reported, to simply ask her which way she was going.

I do not consider this to be rude or driving in an angry manner. I consider myself to be a cautious and defensive driver because obviously I prevented an accident from happening due to "Cure Your Road Rage's'' negligence. So if anyone should be reported to the Transport Control Department it should be "Cure Your Road Rage'' as she obviously does not know the rules of the road.

AWARE OF THE TRAFFIC SIGNS Southampton Thanks to PAC donors November 15, 1999 Dear Sir, Thank you for allowing us this space to express our gratitude.

The Directors, management and staff of the Physical Abuse Centre take this opportunity to convey our sincere thanks and appreciation to you the public for your contribution towards our Tag Days, held on October 8 and 9, 1999.

This year's fund raiser was a resounding success and we exceeded our goal of $20,000. The total amount collected was $21,214.00. This could not have been done without the cooperation of many businesses who allowed us to canvass outside their establishments and the store owners who gave us permission to place a can for donations at their place of business.

We especially acknowledge those individuals who unselfishly volunteered their time to distribute tags throughout the community. It is continuously proven, that when we unite our efforts we will have good success.

The Physical Abuse Centre's Safe House is the only facility where victims of Physical/Domestic Abuse and their children can find refuge while their problems are being resolved.

We want you to know first-hand that PAC appreciates your support, particularly as we are challenged daily to continue our mission, amid increased responsibilities and costs.

It is our hope that you continue to support our cause as we will always value the part you play in our successes.

JUNE AUGUSTUS, JP Chairperson The Physical Abuse Centre