Partying at the Bar

Chester Francis-Jackson, Contributor

Some have long argued that those who are to be appointed as legal arbiters, or trustees of the courts of jurisprudence, should take to that position a fully rounded sense of the realities within which they operate to better inform their rulings from the Bench.

Well, for those using this benchmark as the yardstick to measure the quality of justice meted out by our judges, then the appointment of Hilary Phillips, QC, to the Court of Appeal just under three years ago would fit those criteria.

Phillips took to the Bench a wealth of knowledge gained across the length and breadth of her illustrious career. This included her role as a founding director of Pulse, the Caribbean's leading modelling and talent agency; a former dancer with the NDTC; a partner in a leading law firm; and a former president of the Jamaican Bar Association. Among all this, she found time to act as chaperone to many of the modelling agency's young wards, as they ventured on to the international stage.

Of Phillips, it can be said here is a life of distinction, made that much more so by her philanthropy, love, support of the arts, and belief in the innate goodness of Jamaicans and their spirit.

Well, Tuesday, February 26 was the birthday of the renowned legal eagle and fashionista. However, duty and other obligations made a 'proper' celebration impossible. Being ever cognisant of balance in our lives, she opted to delay actually celebrating the occasion until duty and commitments deemed it appropriate.

That, my dears, was last Sunday. The place: the ever-popular and fashionable Pulse complex, now dubbed Puls8 on Trafalgar Road in New Kingston.

QUITE THE EVENING!

My dears, it was indeed quite the Sunday evening! With the weather being quite British in its disposition, the outing was quite an iffy subject for some. It being as cold as Newcastle, there was always the temptation to stay home and cuddle up to avoid the blistering winds and cold front affecting sections of the island.

For those who braved the blistering winds, rains, and chilly weather, the outing proved nothing but a fabulous treat and then some!

My dears, it was
one of those nights - all peaches and crème - as
family members, colleagues from the hallowed halls of justice, as well
as a number of leading legal luminaries were out in celebratory numbers -
dancing shoes and all! It made for a simply fabulous
night!

This, my dears, was a special celebration made that much
more so as it was a shortlist of friends, and
colleagues.

Dears, guests began arriving at the
stipulated hour of 6 p.m. And with the birthday girl looking her regal
self - sporting a black ensemble welcoming each guest individually - you
know we are talking fabulous like that and nothing but, as my dears,
nothing ever beats the individual touch!

FINE
WINE

And so it was, my dears, a night of beauty,
enhanced by familial bonds and the amity honed over many years - it was,
indeed, a night akin to fine wine!

And speaking of
fine wine, libations flowed with the ease of the gazelle, and a simply
dee-vine platter of scrumptious goodies were on offer all night. Musical
master Collin Hines offered up some classic old school, and dears, the
stage was set for a good time to be had by all those who were willing -
and by jove, were the guests willing!

Dears, Julie
Andrews sang that she could have danced all night, and take it from this
here scribe, the birthday girl pretty much gave it her very best shot.
She danced up a storm to the music of the '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s and
everything before, after and in-between. And she was not alone either.

Lloyd Perkins was as dapper as he was fancy in his
footwork. The Reverend Maj Serrano Kitson and his lovely wife, Denise,
kicked up their own tsunami.

Lloyd Tomlinson left his
wife, the fabulous Sonia, and their son at their bistro table and
danced himself to a limp as he partnered with many of the ladies.

Kingsley Cooper and his companion, the very pregnant
Romae Gordon, made their own musical magic; and Roger Hinds and his
companion, the ultra-fab Marisa Benain, had a party for two right there
on the dance floor in the middle of it all. And for my word - it all
made for musical magic!

Oh, what a
night!

Dears, amid the sips and spills, there was a
brief interlude to facilitate the cutting of the cake and well-wishing,
but pumpkins, none of that dreary stuff! Nothing here but a fabulous
outing dubbed 'the party of the season' by some in attendance, as it
truly was an occasion of enjoyment and
merrymaking!

And among those out sharing in the
celebration were sister of the birthday girl, Ambassador Elinor Felix
and her sons Tarik and Dr Omar Felix; brother Geoffery Phillips and
sons; Sandra Phillips, QC; Mikael Phillips; president of the Court of
Appeal, Justice Seymour Panton; Justice C. Dennis Morrison; Justice
Patrick Brooks and wife Winsome; Supreme Court Justices Ingrid Mangatal,
Nicole Simmons, Almarie Sinclair Haynes and attorney-at-law husband
Lawrence; Justice Howard Cooke Jr; Dr Lloyd Barnett; the lovely Carol
Aina, principal of the Norman Manley Law School; president of the JBA,
Ian Wilkinson, and wife Shawn; attorney and former Attorney General
Ransford Braham, and wife Karen.

Also out were Donald
Scharschmidt, QC; Jos Leorhynie, QC, and wife Elsa; Ronald Henriques,
QC, and wife Nora; Professor Barrie Hanchard, CD, and wife Dr Sonia
Thomas; Dr Michael Coore, wife Carol and daughter Dr Charlene Coore and
husband, Krishna.

Desai and Camile Coore; the
charmingly lovely Kathrine Phipps; Christopher Issa and wife Kimberley
Mais; the charming Lois Sherwood; Guerney Beckford; the lovely Andrea
Rattray; Montego Bay powerhouse Walter Scott; attorney Gordon Brown;
Sonja Allen; Maydene Dunn; the talented Charmaine Lemonius; Collie
Richards; the fab Marsha Maxwell; Dr David Panton - visiting from
Atlanta; and the fab Safia Cooper, plus a number of others, also made
the occasion.