SOCIAL LIVES
And so Daahlings, the year 2002, is no more, but oh what memories they have left behind to accompany us through 2003! And Luvs, without a doubt, some of those memories will definitely surround the fabulous parties that high-society threw to celebrated life and the surmounting of the many challenges it threw our way!
And speaking of celebrations: last Sunday was Hotel Tycoon and international jet-setter, John Issa’s birthday and to celebrate the occasion, the head of the SuperClubs chain of fab resorts was treated to a quiet dinner in the “Big Apple” New York by his family.
Then also celebrating post Christmas birthdays were: Ms Gorgeousness Lisa Marzouca; and international pilot and musician extraordinaire Rupert Bent, who both shared last Friday as their special day; and then on Saturday, it was Modelling icon Bev Corke’s turn to celebrate.
The word is that the fabulous Ms Corke was celebrating the start of the decade of the Fabulous-Fifties; And wait for this one as indeed there will be quite a number of high-profile fiftieth birthday celebrations this year, and some downright fashionable and ritzy Doos to match.
Now Playboy TV’s Julie Ashton was one of the international celebs that jetted in to ring in the New Year, on the north coast.
Also jetting in to ring in 2003 here on the island was Wall Street Investment Counsellor and millionaire Allan Magdovitz and his oh sooo charming French-born wife, NY Investment Banker, the beautiful Miriam Magdovitz, who flew in with their two teenaged sons John and Michael Magdovitz to make it a family holiday.
The fabulous couple who first met in business school some 24 years ago, celebrated the 21st anniversary of their marriage last Thursday by marking the occasion with a celebratory dinner with friends at Ocho Rios’s tres chic Passage To India, after a day punctuated by Champagne toasts and reminiscences; before returning to New York, on the weekend.
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And so, Beloveds, the year 2002 came and she went in a blaze of parties and how!
Luvs, the revellery was like no other, as it seemed as if partygoers went out and partied like there would be no tomorrow! And so there were parties all across Jamaica, in every nook and cranny, and of course, along the hallowed hallways of haute-society! For this society, the appeal of an affaire is mostly its exclusivity, as snob-society really prefers partying with its own and thus reducing the risk of undue social exposure.
Now, along the hallowed halls of Kingston haute-society there have always been several minor tributaries as well as a number of major social arteries. And in this respect, and not unlike international haute-society, often times the social baton is changed by circumstances of which the players themselves have little or no control, thus allowing for the facilitation of a changing of the guard!
When this change occurs however, it is usually viewed by the olde guard, as a surrendering of the last bastion and/or refuge of their power-base, as this privileged portfolio is usually indicative of not necessarily a decline of the sphere of influence, but the all-important loss of a visible ringside societal seat at a privileged pavilion.
Now, if you missed last Tuesday’s staging of the now annual, New year’s Eve social humdinger, hosted by security conglomateur and bon vivant Kenny Benjamin, at his tres elegant Stony Hill Estate of a home, then it simply means that you did not make the cut, as Kenny Benjamin, is definitely it!
Not only has his doos become the talk of the town, they have also become coveted affaires.
And so as the season’s ending/opening premier event, this thee coveted and prized invitation to ring in the New Year was definitely the party to be, and to be seen at!
Doves, it was like that and then some!
For this annual shindig, the celebrated bon vivant transformed a section of his Stony Hill Estate into a breath-taking garden theatre – complete with performing stage, a most imposing French Café-styled outdoor bar, a quaint gazebo, and the piece de résistance being a gushing waterfall, that meanders into a tributary that encircles the gazebo and flows under two little wooden bridges and then back into a wading pool to the left of the stage area that is home to some of the heftiest and most colourful Koi ever seen this side of fabulousness.
Add to this hilltop enchantingly wonderful space a garden so bountiful in flora and fauna, with colours bursting through every which way, and the shimmering and glimmering lights of the plains of Kingston and St Andrew, as well as that of neighbouring residential hillsides a beckoning in the distance, and you know we are talking international fabulousness here, and then some!
Luvs, it was one of those affaires, with guests beginning to arrive just after 9:00 pm, and continuing to do so way pass midnight!
Upon arrival, guests were then ushered into estate’s car park then shuttled the short distance to the main residence where security officers acting as valets of a sort escorted guests up a flight of stairs and unto a pool deck and then up another flight of stairs and then viola, one is there smack in the social and political epicenter of Kingston and Snaan Andrew!
Daahlings, it was thee social cauldron of the season, with corporate and political potentates all present and accounted for! It was however, not one of those dodged by corporate or social stuffiness as guests came out to party and partied they did.
Luvs, the musical charge was given to ‘maestro’ Lesley Sherman and her Musical Credits disco, and she kept guests a-dancing, and a-dancing! It was like that: guests entered dancing and exited a-dancing!
And then there was the countdown to 2003! Dearhearts, this was a feel good party with people a-meeting and a-greeting each other in the spirit of the season and then moving onto the dance floor to really party in between sips and spills! On the approach of 11:30 pm however, there was absolutely no room at the inn for partiers as guests to a man flooded the dance floor, in front of the Café, and overflowed unto the stage across the garden and the affaire became a celebration and then some!
Children, it was one fabulous affaire! In between the sips and fabulous ethnic fare, augmented by some to-die-for Christmas puddings and sinfully delicious cheese and black forest cakes, the affaire was memorable!
Talk about putting on the Ritz! Daahlings, this was all about the Benjamins! Kenny Benjamin, that is, and his showing his guests a wonderful time! Well it was a peach, and then some!
Among those ringing in the New Year at the Stony Hill Estate of the conglomateur and bon vivant, included: Head of the EU Delegation Ambassador Gerd Jarchow and companion Mara Mandara; Head of Mission The Royal Netherlands Embassy Gerrard Kirsten and his lovely wife Susanne Nauta Kirsten; Deputy Head of Mission Argentinean Embassy Daniel Pepa and his German-born wife Heidi Pepa; Security Minister Dr Peter Phillips and his lovely wife Sandra Phillips; Health Minister John Junor and wife Urla Junor; Tourism Junior Minister Dr Wykeham McNeil and companion the ultra-fabulous Sheila Benjamin-Fernandez; Senator Bruce Golding and wife Lorna Golding; MP Audley Shaw and his fashionable wife Maureen Shaw; MP James Robertson and his fab wife Charlene Robertson; Texan Millionaire Dennis Joslin and his fabulous wife Jane Joslin – the pair sporting some chic trademark Texan boots; Chris Bovell and his wife Michelle Bovell – she simply head-turningly stunning in her couture ensemble; Joe Matalon and companion Bernadette McKinley-Morin; Paul Thomas squired the always elegant Former First Lady Mitsy Seaga; Jim Lim and wife the charming Jennifer Lim; Commander Richard and Iris Harvey; Drs Dhiru and Laura Tanna; John and Clara Irving; Wallace Campbell and companion; Noel and Jacquline DaCosta; Ron Brown and wife, the lovely Valerie Juggan-Brown; Charles Matthews and his fabulously charming wife Brunetta Matthews; Garth and Valerie Moodie; Ian and Debbie Garbutt; Lennie Little-White and companion Sheryl Ryman; Andrew Bogle and Charmaine Chin Loy; Pulse’s Kingsley Cooper; Dave Slaughter and his lovely wife Marilyn Slaughter; Ray and Sharon Barrett; Al and Charmaine Niazi; Tarun and Catherine Handa; Trevor Lyn and his fabulous wife Sandra Kennedy; Jeffery and Sherida Dujon; Gilou Bauer; David Delgado and Elena Garwood; Dr Andre Foote and wife Gina Foote; Ulle Bangerter; Janet Farrow; Tal and Denise Stokes; Keith Collister and the fabulously gorgeous Carol Pessoa; Rod and Nevine Heaven; Sandy Richards; the Sterling Soareses former Deputy Head of Mission, Jamaican Embassy, Havana, Lloyd Wilks and wife Yvonne; were just a few of the scores of names who were out for this annual society do!
But oh, what a celebration!
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And then there was the absolute smasheroni of a celebration over at Hedonism 111! Luvs, this was not a mere New Year’s Eve Party! This was a celebration of life and all things fabulous!
Staged under the theme; Fantasia 2003 – The Call of The Wild, dearhearts, this one was a study in exotica as guest at the famed resort were treated to a night akin to a Jamaican Safari, and then some as the hotel’s lobby and grounds were transformed into jungle, accessorised by two life-size bull elephants, tusks interlocked in graceful fighting mode at the entrance of the hotel; and through the lobby draped and dwarfed by plants and then unto the hotel’s grand terrace where The Call Of The Wild was at its picturesque best with life-size giraffes and motif showcasing huge cats and other wild animals ringed the dining and entertainment arena!
But what a feast of a celebration!
And now, it’s into 2003!