A new community spirit is emerging in St. George's and it is being led by what some might consider an unlikely group of young men.

Seretse Smith, 21, a St. George's resident all his life is joining efforts to help restore the historic forts and urging his friends and neighbours to do the same.

Gone is the graffiti that once spoiled the walls of Alexandra Battery. Now the fort is becoming a regular spot for families to hang out in and have some clean decent fun.

"I just grabbed a few of the guys who were sitting around doing nothing and said `let's go','' said Mr. Smith. He brought along a few beers "for inspiration'' and in a few minutes the fort was back to its former glory -- without the urban artwork. "I don't see why I can't help take care of the place,'' he reasons. "I live here.'' Nobody knows who put the graffiti on the walls in the first place. Another of the neighbourhood men said that he would "break his finger'' if he ever found out. "Without a finger he can't write,'' was his reasoning.

Mr. Smith didn't know whether every one of the ten young men he mobilised for the paint job had his sense of pride or responsibility in the community he grew up in. But he does know that he and many others in the area want to continue enjoying the area's natural and historic environment. Last year he organised a community day at the fort -- the first in a long time. He said it was such a huge success that he decided to do it again this year.

Now he wants to make it a regular event throughout the year. By mid afternoon on Good Friday there were probably about 50 people -- many of them young families -- milling about, flying kites and generally having a good time.

The children, he said, used to make the streets their playground. Will the graffiti return? "I can't control people writing on the walls,'' he said. But said Mr. Smith, they probably won't be doing it again because whoever it was probably helped to clean it up.