The calm and beautiful city

Chester Francis-Jackson, Contributor

My daahlings, there's nothing like a beautiful holiday or even a Sunday, to drive from Stony Hill all the way downtown to the Kingston waterfront and generally admire the city.

And last weekend, with all and sundry out of town, the city was as calm and beautiful as ever and thus making it that much more agreeable to exploration! The city was practically empty, the streets devoid of the hooligans who have commandeered public passenger transport, using their vehicles to terrorise motorists and pedestrians alike. Our traffic police looked on in studious impotence and Kingston was a dream! And there's so much to see in this city of hidden treasures. It's a pity our mayor and his supporting cast have opted to major in the minor instead of making the city the showpiece it can be. Instead, it's hobbling along like a rickety old broken-down Third World disease-ridden and infested metropolis, to be avoided at all cost!

Mr Mayor, the promenade on the waterfront needs to be restored pronto! The ferry service to Port Royal needs to be reinstated with style; and instead of tearing down solidly built buildings done in contravention to some spuriously applied building code, please turn your attention to demolishing the countless eyesores and criminal traps on almost every corner downtown and beyond!

Garbage collection

And yes, please see to it that the streets are kept clean and the garbage collected and transported to the appropriate place. And while you are at it, it's time to revisit the 'Clean as a Whistle Campaign', along with a beautification programme that includes a greening of the city by planting and maintaining shrubbery, trees and ornamental plants to lift the city's appearance and the spirit of those who live, work and commute to and from it daily! Anyway, while Kingston was quiet and laid-back as ever over the Emancipation weekend, the buzz from Negril is that it was all that and not even torrents of rain could put a damper on the party spirit. If anything, the rains fuelled the party fever, so every single event was oversubscribed!

Meanwhile, Ocho Rios was not slouching either, as those who opted for the picturesque north coast town were also busy pressing party gas, and so making for a rip-roaring weekend, with most resorts and party-oriented entertainment venues bursting at the seams from party-hungry revellers!

For those who opted for Port Antonio, the buzz from the fab laid-back town is that it was a weekend of villa-hopping as friends entertained non-stop. And speaking of outings, while lesser mortals opted for north coast getaways, 'A-crowder' Robert MacMillan chose a week in Paris with the charming Candy DePass, and so the couple jetted out last Sunday, to return this Sunday!

Then back in Kingston, the event of the weekend was most definitely Harold Brady's Emancipation Day birthday celebration hosted by his sister, the charming Kay Brady-Brown, and her husband, Dr Paul Brown, but more in this Sunday's Outlook Magazine!

But Brady's was not the only shindig in town as the Friends of Distinction hosted a charming little brunch in honour of Joshua Thomas, at the charmingly quaint Northern Lights Cottage on Skyline Drive in Jacks Hill, that was one outing to remember!

And speaking of birthdays and dos, best of wishes to: Alan Rickards; the erstwhile international model Nadine Willis; Ian Neita; Murlene Dudley; Wayne McGregor; the lovely Melisha Harrison and the charming Marianne Wainwright who celebrate their birthdays today.

Tomorrow: historian Donald Lindo; celebrated musician Earl 'Chinna' Smith; actress Ruth Ho Shing; the fab Denise Thompson Shearer; the lovely Simone Haynes-Khouri; the exciting Rusheen Harris of Hedonism Resorts; the lovely Phyllis Durrant, formerly of Linstead, St Catherine, now resident of the New York, all celebrate.

On Sunday: the fab Rosa Maria Joseph and Mario Alexander Nelson of Riu Resorts will share the same birthday! On Monday: Cecelia Levy; Zia Mian; Neil Hendrickson; Christopher Brown; north coast habitué from Hagerstown Maryland, the stunning Donna Marchese-Kross; and fellow north coast habitué Troy Davenport of Chicago all share birthdays!

On Tuesday: the fab songbird and culinary doyenne Susan Couch; the oh-so-lovely Dionne Duncan; the fab Keisha Clarke, in Montego Bay; sailing aficionado Cheryl Hill, now in Lake Park, Florida; and the charming Sue Weis Herbst, in Dubuque, Iowa celebrate their special day.

On Wednesday: premier heiresses and socialites, twin-siblings Muna Issa and Zein Issa-Nakash celebrate another year of the fab life! Also celebrating on the 10th are: Richard Francis in Montego Bay; the engaging Jennifer Chang Binns; the affable Gordon Webster; Jermain Kidd; Damone Donegal; the fab Debra Prendergast Lee, formerly of Mandeville, now in Florida; Orville Matherson, in New York, and Dennis Gittens, formerly of Linstead, St Catherine, now resident of Lithonia, Georgia.

Come next Thursday: celebrating will be People's National Party candidate and businessman Andre Hylton; the charmingly lovely Glenda Prescod; Richard Vaz, in Higgin Town, St Ann; and the lovely Shirley Parkins. Belated wishes to the fab: Marie Holland, who celebrated on Tuesday. The always fab and prima diva Terri Salmon, now in London, who celebrated yesterday. Reinford Davey, who celebrated on Friday, and Chapman Longmore Sr, who celebrated on Saturday.

Many happy returns y'all with champagne toasts and beluga treats!