For almost a decade now, Ruth Thomas has been presenting her vignettes of Bermudian life through the ages, in an historically-based series of the events, folklore and stories that have shaped these Islands, and some of the personalities that have peopled that history.

Most of the Mosaic programmes have been rooted in the lives of the various parishes, so long the main focus of most civic affairs. Specially compiled programmes have included one on black history and, in this golden anniversary year of women's suffrage, the story of The Battle for Ballots.

First staged to celebrate women as the focus of this year's Heritage Month, the general public had a chance to catch up with this offering when a special performance was given on Friday evening at the National Gallery as a fund raiser for the running costs of the gallery. The performance was dedicated to the memory of Raymond `Mackie' White, a long-time member of the Mosaic cast and one of the Gallery's most devoted volunteers and guides.

Ruth Thomas, as writer and narrator brought her fine command of language and sense of theatre into play from the opening moments as she hailed Mrs. Gladys Misick Morrell and her fellow suffragists as "heroines'' in their battle for justice.

Laura Gorham was something of a heroine herself, stepping in with only 24 hours notice to replace Connie Dey as the redoubtable Mrs. Morrell. True, this was a play-reading rather than a full-scale drama, but dressed in the longish dresses, hats and gloves that still prevailed between the two World Wars, she brought a spirited vehemence to the logic that drove Mrs. Morrell's cause.

Noting that the first committee was formed for the drafting of a Suffrage bill as long ago as 1918, Mrs. Morrell introduced the leading personalities who were involved, either as supporters or opponents of the proposed measure.

As she pointed out, the core grievance was the injustice of `taxation without representation', a point which the majority of men could not, or would not fathom.

Kathy Bean took on the role of Gladys Heyl, one of her most important co-suffragists, who revealed that, incredibly, they had also to fight other women who "did not like what we were doing''.

It fell to Gary Phillips and Leo Mills to depict the wide variety of worthy gentlemen who pontificated, sometimes at great length, on the idiocy of women's aims.

The entertainment value of this presentation was greatly heightened by some of these ruminations which today are perhaps even more ironic, as when Mr.

Phillips (revealing throughout a rich comedic talent) observed, "Can you imagine them debating an issue in the House? They would go on for ever, and ever ...'' One can only wonder if any of these esteemed gentlemen ever envisaged the endless and mindless oratorical overkill that would turn most people off politics for good once the great yawn of party divisions became a reality in the `60s.

Not all the men were villains, of course: Sir Stanley Spurling was one of the suffragists' first supporters. And the ladies were greatly heartened by a visiting lawyer, Dudley Malone, who gave a stirring speech, stirringly delivered by Leo Mills, urging Bermudian "gentlemen'' to give women the vote.

Ms Thomas has delved deeply into the history books and The Royal Gazette , for her well-documented account, naming names of those who were for and against, even to the point of reading out a list of which precisely Parliamentarians were for and against the proposed legislation.

Bringing some relief to the intensity of the arguments was an interlude of dance, performed by Cathy Aicardi, Russell DeMoura and Andrea Lopes. Conchita Ming's reflective and restrained choreography certainly emphasised the dignified approach to their battle, even when the ladies declared themselves willing to go to prison rather than pay taxes, but finding their furniture being seized instead, to enforce payment.

The point is also made that nowadays, Mrs. Morrell is also seen as having been one of the first, possibly unwitting, supporters of black enfranchisement in Bermuda, when in 1942, she enlisted the help of black Bermudian women in an historic speech to the Pembroke Hamilton Club.

The evening came to an end with Mrs. Morrell's brief, but illuminating memoir of that great day on April 21, 1944, when the bill was passed: "We sat in the gallery, stunned, dazed. The battle for the ballot was over, we had won!'' PATRICIA CALNAN Ms Ruth Thomas Mrs. Laura Gorham Mr. Gary Phillips