There is an old proverb which says a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.

While Lawson Eugene Mapp, JP neither set out to become Mayor of Hamilton, nor took a thousand miles to get there, his first step began in 1979 when he successfully ran for office as a common councillor on the Corporation of Hamilton.

"I returned from abroad to discover there was an election going on for the City,'' he recalls. "At the time I was a member of the UBP and a church warden at the Anglican Cathedral, and I thought, `I'll have a go'.

"In their wisdom, the constituents in the municipal area decided, `Well, we would like to give this young man an opportunity of serving the City,' and they voted me in.'' In fact, at his first attempt Mr. Mapp garnered just 66 votes less than the man who would precede him as Mayor, Mr. William de V. Frith. Four years later, he topped the poll with 227 votes -- an impressive achievement for someone who was neither a so-called Establishment figure, nor born to high office.

For all his success, however, the Right Worshipful Mayor -- to give him his full title -- remains what he has always been -- a modest man of the people, totally without ego or pretension, and someone who neither shuns nor forgets his humble roots.

Born on December 27, 1937, Mr. Mapp was raised first by his grandmother, Mrs.

Agnes Boyce, and at her death by his aunt, Mrs. Emily Alias.

It was they, along with others in his formative years, who instilled in him the values and qualities which he has followed all his life.

Like footballer Shaun Goater, he too grew up "back of town'' on Friswell's Hill, and attended Elliott School. It was there that the seeds of his profession as a signwriter were sown.

"I am certain one of my teachers, Mrs. Hilda Hartford, was responsible for me doing signwriting, because she was meticulous in teaching me how to write longhand,'' Mr. Mapp explains. "In those days it was, `up light, down heavy' -- which is precisely the technique in signwriting.'' Unable to afford the fees at Berkeley Institute, Mr. Mapp instead went out to work, and at age 16 had a job sanding floors. His employer was Mr. W.E.R.

Joell -- a man whose double-figure attempts to gain a seat on the Corporation of Hamilton always ended in failure.

"Next door to Mr. Joell's business was a chip shop run by a Mr. Jerry Morton, who was really a sign-writer,'' Mr. Mapp recalls. "I always had this fascination for lettering -- how you could make that sable brush do what you wanted through discipline and practice -- and was intrigued at how Mr. Morton stencilled the letters on and then filled them in with a brush.'' But it was when the young man wandered through the creaking door of professional signwriter Mr. Harry Green's Serpentine Road business that the seal was set on his professional future.

"There was this figure sitting there painting, and I just said to him, `I would love to learn this trade,' to which Mr. Green replied, `Come around and I will be happy to teach you.' '' True to his word, Mr. Mapp spent every spare moment he could at his mentor's side, watching, practising and learning. He even resisted the urgings of his young friends to join them at the movies or riding aimlessly around the Island.

It wasn't long before Mr. Green employed him on Saturdays -- "for ten shillings a time, which was a lot of money in those days'' -- and, because of his aptitude and progress, asked the apprentice to join him full time. It was a relationship that would last 12 years.

Ever anxious to learn more, Mr. Mapp then left to take a series of courses at the London College of Printing in England, where the famous British cartoonist Gerald Scarfe, with whom he still keeps in touch, was a fellow student.

Returning to Bermuda in 1964, the ambitious young man set up his own sign-writing business on Court Street where, Mrs. V. O'Donnell King was not only his landlady but also became his first proposer for a Corporation seat.

Today, Mr. Mapp continues to operate his own business in addition to juggling his other interests and commitments. All in all, he leads a very busy life.

Not unnaturally, given his grass roots heritage and his genuinely humble nature, the popular "people's Mayor'' is still adjusting to his new status.

"If anybody had told me in 1959, when I was 30 feet up in the air, alongside Mr. Green, painting the Corporation crest on City Hall's new facade that one day I would be sitting in the Mayor's seat, I would have said, `No way' he exclaims.

"But it does show you that in life's journey one never knows what fate may hold in store, and hopefully this will prove an inspiration for other young people.

"Even though you may feel that, for one reason or another, you haven't had a good education, you don't sit around and complain. Instead, you go out and basically try to improve by reading and upgrading yourself.'' In fact, Mayor Mapp's favourite reading material is whatever leads to self-improvement. Mysteries and whodunnits, he says, are not for him.

His hobbies are collecting coins, stamp and memorabilia on the Royal family, for whom he has long held a fascination.

Always a snappy dresser, Mr. Mapp is also a genial and gracious host who loves to cook and entertain. He is also a frequent traveller who particularly enjoys scouring antique fairs for "things Bermudian''.

As a dedicated Christian, the Mayor says his faith means a great deal to him.

"There are two things I don't leave home without in the morning: saying a prayer and a cup of coffee,'' he confesses.

Among those he credits with helping to shape his beliefs are his family and teachers, the late Canon William Manning (later a Bishop in South Africa) and Bishop Anselm Genders, C.R., both of whom served at the Cathedral.

"I am very grateful for my early upbringing with a Christian background.

Having started off as an altar boy at St. Augustine's Mission, I was confirmed in St. John's church in 1953, and started a youth club at the Anglican Cathedral in the 1960s,'' he says. "I am indebted to Canon Manning for helping me to become the man I am today, and also Bishop Genders, who was a great help in so many ways.'' Later, Mr. Mapp served as a church warden at the Cathedral for 22 years, and currently serves on its vestry and two committees in addition to being the Cathedral's representative on the Bermuda Church Society.

What then would drive such a busy man to add the City of Hamilton hot seat to his list of responsibilities, particularly since the post is unpaid? "I feel it is giving back to the community,'' Mr. Mapp says simply. "We are trying to attract younger members, but needless to say, young businessmen are busy and time is money, so they can't give time to the Corporation.'' Accepting that his new role is "daunting'', Mr. Mapp is nonetheless confident that, through teamwork, the newly-elected Corporation of Hamilton will be up to future challenges.

Like all new incumbents, he hopes that, when the final chapter of his life is written, its pages will say that he made a difference.

"I would like to think that I have tried to make Bermuda and the City better than when I found them,'' he says.

More immediately, his future hopes as Mayor include addressing the issue of enhancing the quality of life for retailers and shopkeepers on Court Street, and possibly creating some sort of flea market in the area where locals and visitors could intermingle, and people could rent stalls to sell recycled, second-hand and hand-crafted goods.

Mr. Mapp notes with a smile that, under the Municipalities Act 1923, the Mayor (ergo the City) is obliged to be paid 23 cents for signing a peddlar's licence.

On the thorny question of City taxpayers and the public being denied entry to Corporation meetings, the Mayor is diplomatic but circumspect, but it is clear that no immediate policy change is planned.

"While House of Assembly debate is open to the public, its members are protected by Parliamentary privilege and cannot be sued for what they say,'' he explains. "The Corporation doesn't have that immunity. In my own view, I think the taxpayers get good value for money.'' But what about activists like Mr. Charles Spanswick, whose outspoken views are seen by some as irritating or downright daft? "I have taken the high road,'' the Mayor says. "Mr. Spanswick is a Bermudian who takes an interest in the City, and I applaud him. In fact, I wish more people would come forward with suggestions on how we can improve things.

"We are addressing a lot of the problems Mr. Spanswick has raised, but we cannot do it all by ourselves. We have to work with the Police, who are understaffed. Hopefully, when their situation is improved, we can make progress.'' Meanwhile, the Mayor says he welcomes visits and suggestions from his constituents and the public as to how they would like to see the City run, or what improvements they would like to see implemented, provided they first make an appointment with his secretary, Mrs. Rosemary Morabito.

Undoubtedly, the new Mayor will incur his fair share of cranks, critics and assorted adversaries as time goes on, but he faces that prospect with equanimity.

"As a Christian, it is so much better if you deal with your adversaries and don't put them down,'' he says. "You can disagree with somebody, but do it in a spirit of love.'' Similarly, to any would-be detractors who say, `How did that peasant painter get to hold such high office?' Mayor Mapp turns the other cheek.

"Someone once told me: `Remember, Michaelangelo was a painter, and look what he accomplished'.''