It took almost half-a-century for a master carpenter to return to City Hall and see his handiwork. Leonard Gregory, who hails from Stanwell, London, was on the Island 45 years ago and on his first return he met the Mayor of Hamilton Lawson Mapp and has again graced the pages of .

When he first arrived on Christmas Eve 1959 Mr. Gregory, 69, said he arrived in Bermuda after a 12-hour flight on BOAC, the former name of British Airways.

He said: ?We worked in a little joiners shop called Post Andrews Building Supplies and we got it prepared to come here.

?I was just part of a team basically that worked on the steps. I went home (to England) at Christmas and it opened in February.?

He said as the years have passed he always wanted to return to Bermuda.

?I work with Marilyn Burchall?s sister and it was just a chance remark she made about her sister coming over from Bermuda and I said, gosh, I worked in Bermuda for a while.

?I always wanted to come back to Bermuda. It gave me the chance to just come. It is nice to come back and see it after so many years. Obviously regarding buildings Bermuda has changed. I was trying to find the guest house where we were before on Woodbourne Avenue. There are a lot of changes in Bermuda.?

Mr. Gregory was still in possession of the original his cycle rental form from Smatt?s Cycle Livery, flight boarding cards and a host of other memorabilia from the Island.

?When I went back to Smatt?s to rent a cycle I had the original invoice from 1959,? he said. ?He was quite pleased to see it and I gave it to him.?

Mayor Mapp said it was nice to see the old . ?I helped to paint the crest on City Hall when I was a kid,? he said, ?That is my claim to fame.?

Ms Burchall said her sister introduced her to Mr. Gregory in May of this year.

?I think that is what triggered him off and a few months later he said, he wanted to come and turned up,? she said.