Chester Francis-Jackson, Contributor
Charles Matthews (right) has the attention of (from left) Christene King, Clarence Lott and Estra Romanan. They were all hanging out at Kenny Benjamin's Stony Hill home as the Guardsman CEO celebrated his birthday on Sunday night. - WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
WELL ME daahlings, Friday, July 8, following the passage of Hurricane Dennis, was the birthday of security mogul Kenny Benjamin. And so y'all would have thought, that with the island being in clean-up mode, and with showers still pelting, the celebrations planned to mark the birthday of this businessman, would have been cancelled and/or postponed?
Right? Right!!
Well they were, postponed, that is, but then again, that is what you would expect of lesser mortals.
Well sweet-things, postponement was what the planners of Benjamin's birthday celebrations had in mind, and in fact, a number of telephone calls went out to that effect, but then again, one's birthday is one's birthday, and you actually celebrate on the date of birth and not on some other date.
And so whilst the planners telephoned expected postponement of the celebrations, some would have none of it. And so two Fridays ago, Kingston was abuzz as the well-to-do and the powered braved inclement weather and hostile motoring conditions to attend a party, to toast and share in the felicitations and goodwill.
HOTTEST PARTY
Dears, it was the hottest postponed party in the annals of partydom!
Doves, y'all have heard the old saying 'everybody loves a winner'. Well, Kenny Benjamin, an Indian national, who decided on making Jamaica his home some 30 odd years ago, and went on to establish himself as the single largest private employer of labour here in Jamaica, with the establishment of his Guardsman group of companies, that has now expanded that Jamaican giant into a number of neighbouring CARICOM states, is just that, a winner, at the top of his game and continuing to break new grounds as he accepts his well earned laurels.
And so, little wonder that on the occasion of his birthday, many friends, colleagues and associates decided on joining the him at his Old Hope Road headquarters, to extend their personal greetings and share in the warmth and conviviality such an occasion engenders.
Dears, for a party that was not, it was one almighty fine do!
Luvs, the venue is for those in the know, the single hottest spot on any given Friday, as the the powerful, the political ruling class and the connected all gather for cocktails and friendly discourses with business and or political rivals, or as they say - just to shoot the breeze. And it makes for one fabulous organisational network.
With drinks flowing, the fabulous out after two or so days of being cooped up due to the weather, those in attendance were in no mood to be anything but cheerful and/or celebratory, and so they did, as Clive Budhoo, played some deft music; a multi-ethnic fare that included Indian, Chinese and Jamaican dishes, and fabulous people everywhere, dears, it was all good and then some!
And so it was that between dancing through the raindrops, the sips and spills, it was very hard not to have a jolly good time. And with the beautiful people out, it was that much easier and then some.
There were no ceremony, just a pause in the hum of activities for the birthday boy to acknowledge his guests and slice into his birthday cakes, ably assisted by his teenage son and daughter, and that out of the way, it was back to partying - despite the storm.
VICTIMS OF CIRCUMSTANCE
Luvs, leaking roofs, flooded homes, no water in taps and loss of electricity are no match for people not prepared to be victims of circumstance, and so everybody found a groove and partied on, way into the night and over into Saturday morning. And dears, it was just what the doctor ordered - the perfect antidote to the blues, and for my word, it made for a wonderful outing, a smasheroni even.
And dears, it did not stop there, as sweet-things, the partying continued on Sunday night at Mr. Benjamin's home, as more friends gathered at the bon vivant's fabulous Stony Hill estate residence, to party and make merry, in song and dance, and so they did!
Those braving the weather included: Hon. Portia Simpson-Miller; Junior Tourism Minister Dr. Wykeham McNeil and his gorgeous fiancée Sheila Benjamin-Fernandez; Ambassador Satya Nandan; British High Commission official Colin Bowskill; J. Lester Spaulding; Peter and Dawn McCauley; their daughter, the former Mrs. Kenny Benjamin, the stunningly lovely Suzie Benjamin and their children Nicholas and Brooke Benjamin; Robert MacMillan; Joe Matalon and companion Bernadette McKinley-Morin; Social Empress Thalia Lyn; Harold Brady; Mrs. Valerie Juggan-Brown; Jeffery and Sherida Dujon; Alva Anderson; Cindy Breakspeare; Aubyn and Tamara Hill; Frank Roshuevel; the oh so graciously lovely Audrey Markes-Dunstan; Ian Garbutt and companion AJ; Dr. Andre Foote; the lovely Karlene MaxBrown and her gorgeous daughter Sophia MaxBrown; the Jamaica Observer's Mark Pritchett; Walter Scott and his daughter Astrid Scott.
Also spotted were: Al Niazi and wife Charmaine Johnson-Niazi; R. Christene King and her sibling Dawn King; Rajiv Bakshi and companion Dorothea Gordon-Smith, and her daughter Luciana Gordon-Smith; Vinay Walia; Kayleigh Malcolmson; ACP Ken Fairclough; Maj. Johanna Lewin; Winston Watson; Allison Peart; James and Marina Gill; Brian George; Gary Barrow and his lovely wife Bernadette; Claude Clements; the charming Sonja Sutherland; Ian Neita; Alex Dropinski and his belle Dr. Saphire Longmore; Robbie Epstein; Janet Farrow and her daughter Gabrielle Gormley, in from Texas, for the summer; Craig Morrison; Pamela Redwood; Neil Robinson; Clarence Lott and his Trinidadian companion Esther Ramonan; Capt. Ewan Oliver; the lovely Miranda Ragbeer; Junior McGreggor; plus many more
