The PLP Government has, in my opinion, been most unfairly pilloried of late by the Opposition and by many of your correspondents. To take only two examples, the Premier has been ridiculed because of her passion, or should it be weakness, for an exclusive brand of wine, and most Cabinet Ministers have been criticised because they have spent a disproportionate amount of time flying (first class) to all parts of the world for reasons which to most people are difficult to understand.

The implications seem to be that the Cabinet has acquired this expensive wanderlust for selfish reasons having spent most of their life in envy of those in the international company business who spend a lot of time in the flesh pots of the world. Why did Jennifer Smith head off to the Caribbean for the funeral of Vere Bird a corrupt despot who kept his citizens in the poor house unless it was for the purpose of picking up a few tips on how to apply his policies to Bermudians? And why on earth would Dr. Ewart Brown wish to go to Russia sometime later this year unless it was for the same reason? The same sort of comment could be made about the junket to Bournemouth in England for the Labour Party Conference, an event stage managed for British television audiences.

Unlike most voters, I support the many pleasure trips mentioned above. The reason is really quite simple. If the Premier and her ministers spent all of their time in Bermuda they would be dreaming up all sorts of madcap schemes to mess up the successful economy which was bequeathed to them by the UBP. The sort of policies they would be likely to pursue would be more bureaucracy and regulation, tough immigration rules, massive interference with the housing market to achieve their delusion of affordable housing and dreams of even higher taxation. Traveling around the world gives the itinerant PLP Ministers an understanding of the good life which most Bermudians lead, distracts their supporters who would otherwise expect some social reform as they gaze with envy on their leaders who now lead a life comparable to movie or sports stars.

Junketing is preferable to implementation of the ham-fisted policies the PLP proposed during the 1998 election campaign.

There has also been unfair criticism because of the huge costs involved -- a first class seat to London is about $7,000. It is unfair because the Bermuda Government has always had a lot of money thanks to the generosity of the taxpayer. The recent increase in land tax, whilst not modest, is in my opinion worth every penny provided the Cabinet spends much of its time traveling abroad. Perhaps a raffle could be organised by some public spirited person to pay the costs of an extended visit to Afghanistan to meet the Taliban. Some years ago when complaining about civil servant abuse of the public purse -- three educational officials went to New Zealand to hire a teacher, without success -- I suggested that the Editor of the Royal Gazette should annually present a "golden fleece award'' to the Ministry which wasted most of the public's money and that I would gladly foot the bill for the banquet and prize. As a mark of respect, I am prepared to extend my offer to provide a "platinum fleece award'' to the PLP politician who spends most of his time outside of Bermuda at taxpayer expense. My only condition is that it should not apply to David Allen who has shown such an extraordinary talent for travel without any noticeable benefit that other ministers would not stand a reasonable chance of winning.

ROBERT STEWART Flatts The cost of living October 1, 1999 Dear Sir, I'm another senior citizen who will be glad when the year of the older person is over. Just this year alone the Land Tax has gone up, the medical insurance company I deal with raised my premium by almost nine percent, my telephone has gone up by over 62 percent, prices in the stores keep going up and up, but my Social Security payments remain the same. I retired from work at the age of 70 due to illness, having paid into Social Security since it's inception. As an older woman living alone, I also wish this so-called wonderful year of the older person would end. While I was working, the insurance company paid for hospital care, a portion of the doctor's fee for an office visit, and a portion of prescription costs. When I stopped working, the insurance company paid ONLY hospital costs, and nothing towards office visits to the doctor, nor any portion of prescriptions. The cost of a visit to the doctor's office, naturally, has risen by 15 percent, and dental care is now a luxury older people cannot afford.

I hope this newspaper will continue to keep the public informed of all Government spending. This information might not make us feel good, but hopefully it will influence our actions in the voting booth.

ANOTHER SENIOR CITIZEN Well deserved praise September 30, 1999 Dear Sir, The following was sent to Rick Richardson, Director of the Bermuda Broadcasting Company and was copied to The Royal Gazette .

The National Drug Commission (NDC) and the Bermuda Prevention Network would like to extend our gratitude to the Bermuda Broadcasting Company for your participation and partnering in the series of teleconferences, Parenting is Prevention.

Your public broadcasting of the four programmes was of the highest professional level and your staff at the BBC have been exemplary in their public-spiritedness. The programmes have provided the community with ideas and solutions for the benefit of parents, adults and professionals. One of the NDC's mandates and keen desires is to provide educational opportunities to the public on substance abuse issues. Your personal interest and your company's assistance have enable us to work significantly towards this goal. To further this objective, the NDC will be providing copies of the Parenting is Prevention telecast in videotape form at the new Prevention Resource Centre for future home viewing. Please extend our thanks to all the staff at the BBC who have contributed to the success of this endeavour.

CALVIN R. MING JR.

Prevention Officer The National Drug Commission Left speechless by crime September 29, 1999 Dear Sir, Last night I was viewing the 7 o'clock news when the Premier Jennifer Smith addressed the alleged double rape that happened on the weekend 2 6/9 /99. She was not very clear about what happened because she had been off the Island and had just arrived the day before the news cast.

She also said she felt the alleged double rape was a very uncharacteristic crime for Bermuda and that she felt we needed to continue to educate people in order to avoid these types of barbarians.

Mr. Editor, what I would like to know is, she said all that to say what? I am a mother of two daughters and a granddaughter. If something like this happened to them I would want to hear what was going to happen to the alleged rapist if this turned out to be true.

I also would like to have heard what was going to be done about the increase in crime on the Island. We can't keep calling these types of crimes uncharacteristic, I guess you would call Rebecca Middleton's murder uncharacteristic also, but it happened. I feel Mr. Editor we need to know what and when the powers that be are going to be more vocal about these things.

MRS. SHARONLYN WILSON Hamilton Parish