Chester Francis-Jackson, Gleaner Writer

Left: Prime Minister and President of the People's National Party, Portia Simpson Miller greets vice-president, Dr. Peter Phillips (right), and Finance Minister Dr. Omar Davies at the party's national conference last Sunday. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer.   Right: Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Sakurai (right) and wife Kinuko joke with Indian High Commissioner Shri Kailash Agrawal at a concert Ambassador Sakurai hosted last year. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

Oh Sweet Mary, what a fabulous weekend! Much to the chagrin of their opponents, the weekend belonged to Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and the People's National Party (PNP)!

We are talking the mother-of-all-PNP conferences here, the kind even the late Michael Manley would have been envious of as the faithful, converted and the break-away labourites were out in full force and partying like there was no Opposition!

What made this conference so spectacular is the fact that there was no hype and/or brouhaha leading up to it, save for the fact that the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) seemed to have announced its own general election date, and has been busy running from here to there and back as it seeks to drum up its own support base. No such hype for the PNP annual conference!

PNP colours ruled

Believe you moi on this one, if y'all think the National Arena was jam-packed, take this here scribe's word for it. There were at least twice as many people on the outside as there were on the inside.

And as for the surrounding communities, the PNP colours ruled the roadways, byways and alleyways in all of Kingston and St. Andrew. The orange and yellow lit up the city's thoroughfare like the heady days of the '70s when the Michael Manley-led PNP was in its ackee!

And talk about a coup! Well y'all know how when Edward Seaga was the leader of the JLP, how they would, after introducing him, go into that wonderful religious number I Can't Even Walk Without Him Holding My Hand?

Well, it was the same song used after the robust introduction by Dr. Peter Phillips of PNP President Mrs. Portia Simpson Miller and it rocked the Arena and its environs!

Then, there was the after-conference laa-de-daa and cocktails at Vale Royal. It was another show-stopper as it seems not only were the closeted supporters of Mrs. Simpson Miller pouring out of the woodwork, but they were falling over themselves to do so.

But more interestingly, a whole slew of high-profile personalities, once thought of as strongly aligned to the Opposition JLP, were out sporting the Portia colour: yellow.

Those Chinese!

Oh those Chinese! You know their curse upon their enemies: 'May you live in interesting times?' Well, the times, at least politically, could not be any more interesting than these!

And speaking of the Chinese, after a stint of duty here that has seen him reinvigorating the bilateral relations between Kingston and Beijing, the refurbishing and strengthening of the Embassy here, as well as the greater co-operation between the business sector here and that of his home country, Ambassador Zhao Zhenyu and his very charming wife, Madam Wang Xiaoju, take their leave of our shores within a matter of days and as we speak are currently doing their goodbyes, paying their courtesy calls to those in officialdom and taking time to share cocktails with friends.

Also leaving Kingston within days is Japanese Ambassador HE HE Hiroshi Sakurai and his charming wife Kinuko Sakurai.

The charming couple, whose shy and almost retiring presence represented a charming interlude over the last three years or so that they served in Kingston, made them a favourite within the ranks of their Diplomatic and Consular colleagues as well as Kingston's leading social arbiters as their pleasant disposition made for engaging conversation which made their wit shine through and made them that much more endearing.

Indeed, the impending departure of China's and Japan's first citizens will leave a void within the ranks of the diplomatic and social circles, that will take some time, if at all, to fill.

Celebrating birthdays

Now, also leaving these shores soon is the British High Commission's Third Secretary, Mark Waller but not before celebrating his thirty-ninth birthday here in Kingston.

Waller, who is actually on his second stint of duty here in Kingston, is slated to take his leave at the end of November/December, upon which he will return to the U.K. to await his next assignment.

Today being September 29th however, the rather affable diplomat joins the ranks of Librans marking their birthdays.

Also celebrating this week is the fabulously charming Annabella Proudlock of Harmony Hall fame, as yesterday, the North Coast socialite, artist and art dealer extraordinaire celebrated another year of the artistic life.

On Tuesday, it was all about the lovely Yolan Zanders as the fab music industry executive, celebrated her earth day with a reggae flavour! Happy birthday y'all.

While this week is all about the Age of the Libran, last week was for the Virgos. Celebrate they did, but none more so than print media belissima R. Christene King, who celebrated her birthday on Friday, and was definitely the belle at the ball last Friday, at her favourite Friday-lyme, as friends gathered to break cake and make merry with the Editaah of the Sunday Herald's Pure Class magazine.

The buzz was it was all that and more, as it was a love fest for one of media's leading ladies and she was feeling no pain as she basked in the accolades, love and adulation being poured on by friends, media colleagues and well-wishers.

On Saturday evening, the partying moved into high-gear at the upper-St. Andrew home of friend, legal powerhouse Harold Brady, who hosted quite the to-do for the media daahlings.

The affair started mid afternoon on Saturday, and was raging like a house on fire way into the wee hours of Sunday. In fact, the birthday cake, done up by the lovely Lisa Marzouca, was not featured at all until around midnight when friends gathered on the host's east garden patio to sing, make merry and partake of the sumptuous cake!

Mind you, the night was not without incident, as with the host laying claim to having single-handedly preparing the feast on offer, there were those who not only took issue with his claim but searched vaingloriously for containers that they thought would provide them with the evidence that would make a mockery of the host's claims.

Alas, there were no hidden tell-tale containers to be found, but for my word, what a fabulous fare! My dears, it made for one heck of a party, as with a fabulous fare on offer, good company and premium libations, my darling, it all made for one fine outing, and indeed, so much so, that the Sun, was making his way to pride of place in the morning sky, before some, took their leave. But what, a night!

Weekend of bliss

On Thursday, the fabulous Melsah Riley celebrated her Virgo birthday by jetting in from New York for a few days of R & R with long time beau, businessman and political operative Robert Stephenson.

Well, no sooner had the fab Ms. Riley touched down at the Norman Manley International airport, than she was whisked away in a luxury SUV, to Negril where the destination of choice is always the preferred Five Star Resort - The Grand Lido Negril for a weekend of fine-dining, fun and frolic punctuated by lunches and dinners not only in the West End, but also, at the ever racy Hedonism 11, resort.

Mum is the word, but the word about town is that after the weekend of bliss, the hot couple were seen looking at specific items of jewellery at one of the City's leading jewellers. Shush, for now my dears, as more definitely anon!