CONTRIBUTED
Kenny Benjamin and Cuban companion, Aloima Suarez (left) pose with their son Brandon and Mrs. Doris Benjamin, mother of Mr. Benjamin.
Chester Francis-Jackson, Gleaner Writer
Regional security conglomateur Kenny Benjamin and his Cuban companion, the lovely Aloima Suarez, are the proud parents of their son named Brandon. Born just before the busy Christmas season last year, the arrival of the baby has generated a whole new life into the life of the conglomateur, busy expanding his empire into CARICOM and beyond.
Anyways, always happy to share his good fortunes with his family, friends and associates, last Saturday morning, Brandon George Benjamin, was christened at the St. Andrew Parish Church, and following upon his baptism, family and friends were invited to join Mr. Benjamin and his companion for brunch, at his lovely Stony Hill estate, to celebrate the birth and continued good health of their offspring.!
festivities
Dears, with the christening ceremony actually getting under way at the prescribed hour of 10:00 a.m., the baptism was done and over with by minutes to 11:00 a.m., and within minutes thereafter, a phalanx of SUVs and other luxury imports, were pulling into the well-kept neighbourhood, of Montgomery, for the continuation of the festivities to mark the wee one's birth.
Now, in a society where, the practice of the well-to-do, is for pregnant paramours and or wives to jet off to Miami, weeks before the expected delivery date, in order to give birth on American shores, some say because of the health care facilities there, others say, its to secure an American birth certificate (and we suspect that in most cases the latter is really the mitigating factor here), young Brandon Benjamin, was born right here in Kingston, with two of the nation's foremost medical practitioners in their areas of specialisation attending mother and son.
And so it was to celebrate the birth of their bouncing baby boy; the care and attention of the medical practitioners and the support of family and friends, that saw friends, and relatives gathering last Saturday morn, at Mr. Benjamin's, famed entertainment cathedral, not only to break bread and share felicitations, but also to celebrate life and all its many blessing and bounties.
peach of an outing
Dears, it was a peach of an outing, and then some! Pumpkins, the entertainment cathedral, is and by itself a place of beauty, set as it is in a lush and very beautiful tropical garden, boasting a breathtaking rush of colours and exotic fauna, that is not only arresting, it is inconceivable, that such an architectural creation and manifestly beautiful garden could be made to look any better. Well my dears, with the new-born being a boy, in-house decorator to the Guardsman Group, Cindy Breakspeare, went to work in decorating the new addition to the estate and sweet things, she worked it!
Dovecakes, we are talking one fabulous job here and then some, with hints of blue, shades of blue, and blue and yellow fabric draping the dining tables, and general area, the chairs done up equally so but with trailing ivy to complete the style-perfect ensemble that went into fabulous overdrive, with the oh-so fabulous topiary globes of blue statis, set in crystal cones accessorised by golden June plums in the base to complete the blue and
yellow motif that was the order of the day!
intimate affair
Luvs, we are talking house and garden haute style here, and nothing but! Brunch, my dears, was a charming little and intimate affair. No ceremonies here, just a word of thanks from the beaming father, thanking his family, friends and medical team for their support, and safe delivery, respectively.
This little thank you aside, the day was given to a rich repast of Chinese and Indian cuisine, against the backdrop of one-man aggregation Floyd Folkes and his oh-so fine musical repertoire that served as the perfect accompaniment for a fabulous mid-day brunch.
Dears, we are talking strawberries and crèam here; grapes the size of lemons and with chocolate fudge as an aside. And then there was le piece de resistance a simply to-die-for chocolate and vanilla cake, prepared by Dr. Eve Palomino-Lue, that was sooo good, it had guests mmm-ing their appreciation as they helped themselves to seconds, thirds and ...
But what an outing! And for my Mont Blanc, what a feast! Dearhearts, we are talking faultlessly continental here, and then some! And made more so by fine society punctuated by elegantly attired ladies, and their nattily dressed male companions.
no ordinary social
Children, we are talking fine and regal styling here and nothing but, as indeed, this was no ordinary social but sumptuous social to-do! Among those present, were: Mrs. Doris Benjamin, she being Kenny Benjamin's mom, in from Florida for the occasion; the parents of young Brandon's mom, Jorge and Reina Costellenas-Suarez, in from Cuba; Dr. Wykeham McNeill and fiancée Sheila Benjamin-Fernandez; their children Jordan McNeill and Ashley Fernandez; Mrs. Valerie McNeill; regional business tycoon Las Chin and wife Dr. Eileen Gonzales Chin and their son David Chin; Joe and Maria Pinchin; Dr. Eve Palomino-Lue; Texas rancher Dennis Joslin; the fabulous Cindy Breakspeare; Charles and Brunetta Matthews; Harold Brady; Mrs. Valerie Juggan-Brown and son Marc-Antoine Brown; Dr. Barbara Noel; Ian Garbutt and companion Althea-Joy Douglas, AJ to her friends; Claude Clements; the beautiful Laurel Williams deMercado; Al Niazi and wife Charmaine Johnson-Niazi; Vinay Walia; Tarun and Catherine Handa and their daughter Mira; Ian and Stephanie Neita; Audrey Miller; Robbie Epstein and companion Odette Shoucair; Alberto Gonzalez and wife Dr. Liana Cura; Mrs. Ann Marie Phantsang and son Cameron Phantsang; Robert Haughton and companion Heather Blanco; Rosario Pena; Alleandro Pinchin-Gonzalez and wife Maria Fernanda-Gonzalez; and Melizet Rodriquez; plus a number of others.
