Amid the relentless bustle of motor vehicles and pedestrians, and surrounded by buildings many times its size, the Perot Post Office is a unique oasis.

There, a smile is the norm, fresh flowers bloom, and pictures of Queen Victoria adorn the walls.

Restored in 1959, this little City gem happily combines the ambiance of a bygone era with the efficiency of modern business life.

Continuously busy from the moment its glass-pannelled doors open in the morning until the shutters are finally drawn in the evening, the Perot Post Office dispenses much more than the traditional trappings of such facilities.

Indeed, it is probably better known for its cheerful staff and ambiance than anything else.

"I always get good service and it is very friendly,'' said Mario, a Filipino employee of Mermaid Beaches. "I write a lot of letters and postcards and I come here every day.'' "I love the Perot Post Office -- it's always one of the highlights of my Bermuda visit,'' Miss Catherine Brennan, a repeat visitor from the Republic of Ireland, agreed.

Such sentiments come as no surprise to post mistress Mrs. Carol Simmons, who takes great pride in contributing to the reputation of her bailiwick.

"When people come in here grouchy, they leave feeling pleasant because that is the way I make them feel,'' she said. "You have to know how to handle people in this position. I handle them with love -- the way I would like to be handled.'' She tells of visitors who deliberately post a little mail each day so they'll have an excuse to return, and of others who drop by whenever they return to Bermuda just to say hello.

There are also resident "regulars'' who make a point of exchanging greetings with the staff.

"They tell us their day wouldn't be the same unless they stopped by,'' said Mrs. Simmons who started at Perot in 1988.

A deeply religious woman, Mrs. Simmons not only practises her Christian faith, but also shares it with her customers -- thanks to a little radio she keeps permanently -- and softly -- tuned to a religious station.

"A lot of the customers tell me they like that touch,'' she said.

Like its big brother up the street, the Perot Post Office offers most of the regular postal services, including registration of letters, sale of pre-stamped scenic postcards, box rentals and a philatelic bureau. It does not, however, provide parcel post or International Data Express facilities.

Open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, the little post office also becomes an ex officio information centre when tourists are in town.

"Oh, they ask us everything under the sun!'' Mrs. Simmons laughed. "Where to buy this, where to find that ... all the usual things, and even the unusual!'' Residents can be equally inquisitive -- and also recalcitrant, like those who shun the metric system.

"When I tell them the weight in metric, they ask, `What's that in ounces? Can you convert it for me?' I have to say, `No, no, we can't go back','' Mrs.

Simmons related.

Like the post mistress, Mrs. Jennifer Tankard takes pride in her job. A veteran of 101 years service in the postal system, seven of them at Perot, she wouldn't change her job by choice.

"I look forward to coming to work each day because I love my job and I love it here,'' she said.

Describing herself as "a contented person who fits in,'' Mrs. Tannock, who has been at Perot the longest, said the traditional rush periods for post offices -- Valentine's, Easter, Mother and Father's Day, and Christmas -- didn't phase her.

"The hardest part is when someone comes in with a pile of registered mail when it's time to go home,'' she admitted. "It has happened so many times.

But ... we have to serve them with a smile.'' Mrs. Elsie Clark, a postal worker for 15 years, five of them at Perot, has also had her share of last-minute customers, especially at Christmastime.

"Oh yes, we have them coming in here right up to closing time on Christmas Eve posting cards and letters!'' she laughed.

Her description of Christmas at Perot is: "Bedlam!'' But, in common with her colleagues, she is philosophical about such things, and thoroughly enjoys her work.

"It is a really interesting job, and I like being involved with people,'' she said.

Just eight months from retirement, Mrs. Clark has a particular fondness for the Perot Post Office.

"I transferred here from the main post office and what I enjoy most is the quaintness and meeting visitors,'' she said.

Perhaps because of her age, they seem to think she is also a walking Who's Who of local life.

"I often get asked: `Do you know such and such a person?' Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't; that's how it goes,'' she chuckled.

Ambiance counts for a great deal in this `olde worlde' venue, which is like stepping back in time.

Basic white walls form the backdrop for a melange of things "ancient and modern.'' Trendy posters advertising postal services vie with oval framed portraits of Hamilton postmaster, Mr. William Bennet Perot, from whom the facility takes its name, his wife Susannah, and a young Queen Victoria.

Furnishings include high wooden desks with soft green blotters, screwed-down candle sticks, and modern ballpoint pens tethered with Government twine; high wooden stools, old hurricane lamps, a mahogany table surrounded by low-backed chairs, and a glass-sided display table containing samples of postal goodies.

Where there is wood there is Works & Engineering varnish, allowing ever-shifting plays of light upon all treated surfaces.

Upholstered red stools provide support for staff caged behind the spoke-and slat-trimmed wooden counter, who communicate with their customers through holes in clear glass panels.

Wooden beams subdivide the flat planes of the low, white ceiling, while slim pillars support it.

Thanks to the Corporation of Hamilton horticulturist, a profusion of lavender chrysanthemums, precision matched, springs exuberantly from a floor-based wooden planter, while lush potted foliage punctuates the perimeters.

The Colonial windows are garnished with black enamelled shutters inside and out, and air conditioners whine from the upper walls.

Dark pine floors echo to the tread of the faithful, and a thoroughly modern water cooler is subtly tucked into a corner.

Mail is posted through neat slots in a wooden partition embellished with golden legends: Local, Air Mail, Surface.

Illumination comes from a combination of daylight and an incongruous mixture of hanging fixtures disastrously at odds with each other and the overall ambiance.

But visitors, English-born Jim Sylph and Esther Ewing from Toronto, appear not to notice.

"I like the beams,'' Ms. Ewing said. "The GPO is the same as post offices anywhere, but this ... it's very nice.'' For Mr. Sylph, it is the uniqueness of Perot which pleases him.

"It reminds me of the post offices I was used to in England,'' he said.

"Mind you, the desks remind me of school!'' Five-year-old Ashley Keill, however, found charm in none of these things.

Squishing her little fingers into the sticky, wet sponges, she said: "I like this post office because I can play with these!'' CITY GEM -- Perot Post Office on Queen Street combines old world charm with modern efficiency. Popular with residents and visitors alike, it is a landmark building where Bermuda's first stamp was printed.

THE FRIENDLY BUNCH -- Perot Post Office postmistress Mrs. Carol Simmons (left) and her staff, Mrs. Elsie Clark (centre) and Mrs. Jennifer Tankard (right) have established a reputation for friendly, efficient service.