Chester Francis-Jackson, Gleaner Writer
Ruth Potopsingh receives her Ph.D. at the graduation ceremony of the University of the West Indies, Mona, last Saturday. - Nathaniel Stewart/Freelance Photographer
The ride to and from the north coast via the Bog Walk Gorge and then through the St. Ann hills became much easier on the eyes, as two leading members of corporate Jamaica seemed to have stepped in and added their cache to make the improvement.
At the entrance to Bog Walk, upon leaving the gorge, it seems that Tru Juice has stepped in and created a beautiful island garden at the round-about.
Further along the picturesque drive to Ocho Rios, it seems that corporate giant Red Stripe has intervened at favourite travel stop, Faith's Pen and literally painted the town red, as it branded the location in its colours and signage. The famed rest-stop is now much more visible.
Of all this island's fabulous spots, towns, villages, and even cities, Ocho Rios is my favourite as the place is not only uniquely picturesque in a postcard-perfect kind of a way - it has managed to maintain its small-town character - but at the same time is far more cosmopolitan than many a would-be First World cities.
Page From its Book
Kingston should take a page out of the fab resort town's book when it comes to entertainment and its rich cultural offerings!
And when it comes to room and or board, Ocho Rios runs the gamut from the high-ended snobissimo, to the ne'er-do-well guest houses. But the ultimate in chic getaway must be the fabulously cosy and unpretentious little hotel now known as Rooms.
Located in the middle of busy Main Street, the place is the weary traveller's dream, not to mention that of the holidaymaker vacationing on a budget. We are talking about a fine property, right in the middle of all the racy action, shopping, dining and fabulous experiences that 'Ochi' offers in any of its many bewitching guises!
Turtle Park
And speaking of fabulous places and things of beauty, the Ocho Rios Turtle Park remains one fabulously welcoming green park, and like no other. Oh that more of us would stop and smell the roses, admire the bougainvillaea, and munch on the fabulous jerked pork that is offered at every nook and cranny across this fair island!
If y'all are motoring over to the north shores, do try to avoid the temptation to drive through fabulous and picturesque St. Mary, because beautiful though it is, major reconstruction on the main roadways in the parish is now under way.
And welcome though this is, up to the time of this current intervention, travelling through St. Mary now is not only fraught with the difficulty of navigating yawning ravines mistakenly labelled as 'potholes', but one has to now contend with circumnavigating most of that parish to get almost anywhere, and so it is a most time-consuming exercise.
Someone needs to tell banking giant NCB, that its bank on Main Street, Ocho Rios, needs an ATM that dispenses United States currency, as sending your customers elsewhere is definitely not cutting it!
But what was lacking in physical infrastructure was surely compensated for by immaculate customer service as was evidenced by the faultlessly proficient Dian Khouri, who was beyond compare in her attention to detail and the facilitation of those who came to her for assistance on Wednesday morning of this week.
Then, last Saturday afternoon, the fabulous-looking Janet Farrow hosted a truly divine little poolside soirée at her upper St. Andrew residence in the upscale Jack's Hill neighbourhood for visiting Maltese couple the fabulously wealthy pioneering industrialist Ronnie DeMaja and Francesca DeMaja!
It was one fun-filled evening of leisure, fine and exotic fare and some memorable wine that flowed like the Rio Cobre in its finest hour.
And on Tuesday, visiting Italian- born Canadian resident and Indepen-dent film producer Joseph Tito celebrated his birthday here in Kingston, and was the guest of honour at an intimate do hosted by his country woman, Kingston's reigning Canadian-born Italian 'La Dolce Diva', Rose Tavares-Finson and hubby Tom Tavares-Finson, at their Stony Hill estate!
He is currently being fêted, wined and dined by his friends and diplomatic colleagues all around, as he is in the throes of bidding his farewell here as his tour of duty comes to its end at month end. So parties in his honour there are. But come tomorrow, His Excellency Ambassador Gerd Jarchow, head of the EU delegation here in Kingston will officially turn 65, and celebrate he will, but more anon, as indeed, it will be he who will be in the kitchen cooking up a culinary storm and not his fab wife, Mara Mandara-Jarchow.
Congrats Ruth
And congratulations are also in order to Ruth Potopsingh, the group managing director of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), on her being awarded the Ph.D. in environmental strategy from the University of the West Indies (Mona). A former Commonwealth Scholar, Dr. Potopsingh was formerly attached to the University of Surrey, England, where she was attached to the Environmental Strategy Centre, before returning to Jamaica and completing her doctoral thesis at Mona.
To mark her stellar achievement last Saturday evening, the chairman of the PCJ, Dr. John Cooke, hosted a dinner at the Roof Top, atop the PCJ corporate headquarters on Trafalgar Road in New Kingston, which was so fine, people, are still talking!
Congrats to the lovely doctor!
Then if y'all have not seen it yet, the travel Bible, Conde Nast, is raving about the all-new Couples Swept Away in Negril and little wonder here as the hotel is more than your same old tired resort as the property is nothing short of being living art! There's no second guessing the readers of the travel Bible voting the fab resort the number one all-inclusive resort of the Caribbean!
