French Ambassador Francis Hurtut (right) greets UWI Distinguished Fellow Edward Seaga who was among the guests at the French National Day reception.
Chester Francis-Jackson, Contributor
ONE COULD argue that the French are a curious lot as not only did they send their king and a good deal of his aristocratic court and cronies to their dreaded guillotine for their supposed crimes against the beloved republic. In beheading the head of the leaders and many others, one supposes that indeed, the French were symbolically walking away from the lifestyle punctuated by indulgent high pomp and pageantry, of the nobles and bourgeois class.
Well, my dears, they most certainly got rid of their nobles and a great deal of the upper class but grand living and pomp and circumstance, did not go the way of the guillotine, thus the birth of the much celebrated, Bastille Day.
Oh, le Bastille! Le Bastille! Le Bastille!
Dears, only the French, with their sense of joie de vivre could have managed to transform what was once a dreaded and feared symbol - Le Bastille into an icon of freedom and celebration.
My dears, the French have not only managed to export their idea of liberty, fraternity and equality, to the world, they have also managed to export the celebration of their national day. As one of the world's most significant and climactic events of all time, as Bastille Day is now celebrated by French nationals and the rest of the world. And so, on July 14 each year, the world joins the French in partying.
And so it was, that last Thursday the French Ambassador HE Francis Hurtut, and his staff threw open the well fortified gate to the French Embassy on Hilcrest Avenue for their annual Bastille Day celebrations and threw what turned out to be one memorable reception to commemorate the event.
Pumpkins no surprises here as the French have a reputation for throwing fab doos. It was however, Ambassador Hurtut's maiden reception, and so many a observer were more than curious to see if indeed, the 'new' ambassador would live up to the standards established by his predecessors?
Well Dovecakes, he did and then some!
Dearhearts, the truth be told, this was also a coming out party, of sorts, as since the protocol does not allow for outgoing heads of missions, to welcome their successors and take them on an introductory tour and or throw a welcome do, in their honour, new ambassadors usually arrive quietly and until they have presented their credentials, lie pretty low, with their first opportunity to actually introduce themselves to their nationals and the public at large.
Doves from the very get-go, it was clear that this here was a fabulous occasion and one of great importance as there was no mistaking the grandeur that attended the celebrations. A uniformed guard of honour, in full battle regalia, mounted by the visiting battalion from the French forces in Martinique, lined both sides of the driveway where arriving guests were warmly greeted by Ambassador Hurtut and Consul Bernadette Grezes, and then ushered into the reception area, ablaze in the red, white and blue of the French national colours. There were strategically placed streamer lights projecting their colours into the palm trees of the gardens and into the night's sky, made for the perfect backdrop, for a simply splendid outing! And daahlings, it was!
TOUR DE FORCE
My dears high society, the diplomatic and consular corps, French nationals here, and the chic and the fashionable were out à la tour de force, and then some! And it was made that much easier by the constant flow of champagne, red and or white vino, buttressed by éclairs and a wonderful assortment of cheeses, fruits and other bon-bon, with some mighty fine music, by some of France's best and more celebrated all making for a very relaxed and oh so charming an affair.
There was a brief official intervention, as the host, began this period by asking his guests to join him in a minute of silence, in memory of the victims of the bombings in London, after the rendition of the national anthems of both Jamaica and France. He extended a very warm welcome to his guests and spoke to the relationship and areas of co-operation and strengthening ties between his country and that of Jamaica, before closing his remark with a champagne toast.
Dears, from there on, the reception went into overdrive and stayed like that way into the night, as some guests lingered and lingered, not wanting a good thing to come to an end.
Among those spotted were: The Most Honourable Edward Seaga; Senators Anthony Johnson and Dorothy Lightbourne; Chief of Staff JDF Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin; The Lord Bishop of Jamaica The Right Rev. Dr. Alfred Reid; The Suffragan Bishop of Kingston The Right Rev. Robert Thompson; MP Delroy Chuck; Sir Roy Augier; business tycoon Hon. Desmond and Peggy Blades; Hon. Dennis Lalor; Joe Matalon; Susan Alexander; Anthony and Jeannie Watson; Earl and Beverly Levy; Robert MacMillan; Hon. Barbara Gloudon and daughter Anya Gloudon; Mary Hanna; Laurie and Hope Stewart; Dr. Ossie Harding; Thailand's Honorary Consul Thalia Lyn; George Fatta; Roy and Sylvia Collister; Yvon Desulme; Knight Chevalier and businessman extraordinaire Ian Levy; Dean of the Diplomatic Community Trinidad and Tobago's High Commissioner HE Dennis Francis.
Also out: Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Sakurai; outgoing Spanish Ambassador HE Rafael and Lola Jover; Russian Ambassador HE Igor Lebedev and Olga Lebedev; the new German Ambassador HE Volker Schlegel; Deputy Chief of Mission EU Ambojorn Berglund and Ingrid Berglund; Deputy British High Commissioner Phil Sinkinson; Acting Chief of Mission US Embassy Cliff Tighe and wife Dr. Louisa Tighe; Chinese Ambassador HE Zhao Zhenyu and wife Madam Zhenyu; Canadian High Commissioner HE Claudio Valle and his fab wife Louise; Chilean Ambassador HE Alfanso Silva his wife Ada Aldana, and her sister Nancy Aldana, visiting from Chile; Argentinean Ambassador HE Gonzalo and Ines Fernandez; and Colombian Ambassador Dr. and Mrs. Kent Francis.
We also spotted: Rear Admiral (retired) and Mrs. Peter Brady; Ambassador Peter King; Ambassador Dr. Matthew Beaubrun; Ambassador Madge Barrett; Jamaica's High Commissioner Designate to the twin Island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Ambassador Peter Black; UWI Vice Chancellor Dr. Nigel Harris and wife Dr. Yvette Williams; Dr. Charley Meeks; Herman McLarty and his elegant wife Dorothy Pine-McLarty; Drs. Dhiru and Laura Tanna; Peter and Fay Bangerter; Tino Calderelli and long-time companion Gloria Palomino; Mike and Peggy Fennell; Hugh Croskery; Norman and Jean Mignon Wright; Frank Roshuevel; Capt. Mike and AnneMarie Feanny; Capt. David McRae; Horace and Josephine Bogues; National Gallery's Dr. Jonathan Greenland and wife Dr. Rebecca Tortello; Postmaster General Dr. Blossom O'Mealy-Nelson; Ms. Carrole Guntley; NCB's Patrick Hylton; NWC's E.G. Hunter; Mutual Life's Gallery Gilou Bauer; UNESCO's Helen Marie Gosselin; UNICEF's Bertrand Bainville; The Alliance Française's Pierre Lemaire and wife Karlene; Paul and Linda Lane of the British High Commission; Alex and Dao Curtis, also of the British High Commission; Fae Ellington; Michael-Anthony Cuffe and son; Gilbert Scott; Angela de Freitas; Roy Scarlett; Jean Small; Franklyn T. Williams; Myrtha Desulme; Pauline Stone-Myrie; June Hughes; Vivian Gordon; the charming Pat Yapp-Chung; Louise MacLeod; Peter and Allison de Moyet, plus several scores more.
And Luvs, it was all that and then some!
