Davoit Kelly, Staff Reporter
Left: Make love, not war! Tom O'Connor was undisputed winner for best '60s theme costume at British Airways' party to launch the celebrations of their 60th year of service to Jamaica, held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, Knutsford Boulevard, New Kingston, on Saturday. Right: Love the dress! The fishnet stockings worked just fine too. Brigette Kafati of British Airways strutting her stuff at BA's party. - PHOTOS BY WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
IT WAS one groovy party at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston, as British Airways (BA) began celebrating 60 years of operation in Jamaica.
There was a '60s theme for the party and so there were mini skirts, fishnet stockings, Afros and Diana Ross hairdos galore. And don't forget the polka dots and overall psychedelic, funkadelic colours, man! Women looking like Lulu from To Sir With Love and men looking like bad boys chilling beside the river Thames (we saw you, Cedric McDonald) made quite a spectacle.
To start things off musically, the DJs decided to give folks a little soca music to get the hips and (exposed) legs shaking. The blood vessels now pumping, here came the disco/dance music. But alas, no '6os stuff! Have no fear, that would soon be rectified with My Boyfriend's Back and Sugar Pie Honey Bunch among other bouncy numbers.
Unknown to some, judges R. Christine King of the Sunday Herald's Pure Class; Novia McDonald-White of the Jamaica Observer, and Barbara Ellington of The Gleaner, had their eagle eyes roving the room for the ultimate winners of the best '60s outfit. The hands-down winner of the costume competition was Tom O'Connor from the British High Commission. Looked like all he needed was a guitar and backing band to start singing California Dreamin'.
Diane Corrie, BA's commercial manager, North Caribbean, marvelled at the hundreds of thousands of persons BA has transported since that first flight in 1946. She assured everybody that there were much more celebrations to come, including special offers and fares. The first BA plane to land in Jamaica was an Avro Lancastrian, piloted under British South American Airways.
The invitations said 'bring your dance partner' and once the funky music started to play, guests didn't need much coaxing as they proceeded to boogie, dip and whatever they felt like doing.
