Chester Francis-Jackson, Contributor
At Left: Musicians Andru Donalds (left) and Stephen 'Cat' Coore hanging out at the Pulse Investment Limited Christmas Party, held at Villa Ronai, Old Stony Hill Road, Stony Hill on December 24. At Right: Mike Henry and wife Dawn seemed alone in the crowd at the party. - WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
My dears, the night belonged to celebs, the buffed and the un-buffed, the cosmetically enhanced and the absolutely fabulous. And pumpkins little wonder here as it was one sin-sational event!
Oh, what a night! The mother and her teenage daughter danced up a firestorm and this, much to the chagrin of the males on the prowl. One party hearty male danced himself into the pool; one profiling missy lost patches of her tresses as she too danced up a glow, the attendant perspiration seemingly undoing her carefully coiffed shoulder length do; and for my word happening before the witching hour, so y'all know that by the time this here party got into the a.m. sugarplums, it was rocking!
After a quarter century of being the nation's leading party destination, this year the Pulse allure and cachet was no less fabulous now than it was then. In fact, whilst those in authority at Pulse will shy away from the 'age' factor it is eminently fair to say that Pulse like a good red has only become better with time.
To say that the Kingsley Cooper led and inspired team at Pulse have been making waves would be to unjustly seek to quantify their primacy both on the national and international stage. Theirs is an enviable track record of model placement and success that would make even some of the more long-standing agencies turn a little green from envy.
MODELLING AGENCY
Anyways dearhearts, concomitant with Pulse establishing itself as the Caribbean's premier modelling agency, the agency established itself as the nation's leading arbiters of all things fabulous and most certainly the most happening party hosts. And, there is a record when it comes to hosting the Yuletide ending mother-of-all-smasheronis as their Christmas eve celebrations is a must do.
No, nothing as gauche as actually 'beating-the-gate' here. After all we are talking about the scions of the well-heeled, so upper-crust creativity comes to the fore here. A timely Christmas card, sent with a reminder of a 'supposed' new address; or even a telephone call ostensibly placed to rent any of the group's facilities are the most commonly used methods by would-be gate crashers these days. No surprises here as employing a little creative ingenuity to secure that all-important invitation is testament enough of the esteem in which the party is held.
This year the rush to queue for this do was no less than the absolute traffic snarl that bedevilled the season, and for those blessed by fortune, the party was all that and then some!
By midnight all the premier profiling spots at the fabulously exotic Villa Ronai were occupied and being 'worked' by seasoned profilers. And honeys, the truth here is that for the many who put in an appearance, dancing and having a jolly good time is simply not enough. Throw in some vamping, add a little boy on girl intrigue, liberal dashes of celebrity and a whole heap of in-your-face attitude, and y'all know that profiling from the best vantage point in the house, is not only a requirement for some, it's an absolute must for many. And why not, after all what's the purpose of getting buffed and ready to go if you are the only one noticing it?
And so it was my sweet-things, that in the mix of it all, whilst some came to party, for others, it was all about the profiling!
Madonna said it best in her pop aria Vogue - Ladies with attitude. Oh my word, that there was and a-plenty, but it seemed they were no match for the profiling young men, who were determined to strike their pose as well and pumpkins, that they did with gusto as they joined the hunt!
Darlings, whichever sage it was who coined the phrase 'The music maketh the party', never attended one of the Pulse annual shindigs. The party runs on the energy of its guests and energy there is always. The music takes the partying to another plateau where the attitude is checked and the music and dance space are all that there is and guests simply dance out of their bodies and straight into their soul.
It was the perfect note on which to close the season - talk about la vie en rose, and this was in the bleary eyed hours of late Christmas morning!
GUESTS
Among those spotted out: MP Mike and Dawn Henry; Joe Matalon and companion Bernadette McKinley-Morin; Ambassador Lorne and Mrs. McDonnough; Jamaica's Ambassador to China, Wayne McCook, (in for the holidays); Colombian Ambassador Dr. Kent Francis and wife Cecelia; the charming Hilary Phillips QC; Maurice Foster; Steve and Betty Ashley; Jeff Cobham; Dr. Carolyn Cooper, and her sibling, noted Washington based attorney, Donette Cooper; Stephen 'Cat' Coore, his daughter Kanna Coore also out; Ribbie Chung; Larry Stewart; Dr. and Mrs. Leachim Semaj; Olympian Juliet Cuthbert; Howard McIntosh; Lloyd and Sonia Tomlinson; Simon Croskill; Patrick and Bridgette Hylton, who had eyes for no one else; Cliff Hughes; Pat and Suzette Tomlinson; Gordon Brown; Harry and AnnMarie Smith; Carlos MaxBrown; the lovely Tanya HoShue; Mark Goldberg; Brent Ciurlino and wife Dr. Kim Brown; Janet Farrow, her daughter Gabrielle Gormley and son Ian Overtoom; Tony and Anna Chin and their son Jordan Chin; Lisa Marzouca and her fab daughter Jessica Marzouca; stylist Carol Reid; Andru Donalds and his Armenian companion; the lovely Yolande Pryce; Stephen and Nicola Greig; Steve D'Agostino and wife Tanya Fedotova; Dennis and Maureen Lee; Andy Jefferson; Michelle Campbell; Alan Milbourn; Sharon Beckford and her beau; Robert Haughton; Andy Golding; the lovely Kyla Kerr; reigning Miss Jamaica Universe Raquel Wright; former Misses Jamaica Universe Dr. Saphire Longmore and Nadine Thomas; the sensational Jaunel McKenzie; Carla Barrett; Nell Robinson; Serchen Morris; Oraine Barrett; Ghinelle Germain; Khalil Marks; the fabulous Rachel Barrett; Leah Tavares-Finson; Jason Robinson; the lovely Dionne Gordon, who jetted in from Connecticut; O'Neil and Pam Hamilton in from Washington DC; Bjorn and Lisa Flatrud, in from Norway; Christopher Waul, in from Denmark and several scores more.
