Keeping hope alive

Chester Francis-Jackson, Contributor

Happy birthday wishes to model and entertainer Miguel Bernard; the charmingly lovely Clarice Campbell; the fabulous Velecia Baugh-Gregg, of SuperClubs; Indera Persaud; Nyron Peat; the lovely Michelle Emmert, in Houston, Texas; Kristin Bourne, formerly of Kingston, now in London, England; and the charming Emma Scanlon, from Chain of Hope, in London, England - who all celebrate their birthday today.

Birthday wishes are also extended to: musicologist Dermott Hussey, now in Maryland, United States of America; the fabulously talented Keita-Marie Chamberlain of the National Dance Theatre Company, and model/entertainer Ruel Dyce - who will celebrate their birthdays tomorrow.

On Sunday the 9th: among those celebrating will be the fab Dr Kim Brown-Ciurlino, in Texas; the absolutely stunning Natasha Holt-Rosen, now in London; the beautiful Sophia Rowe; and the lovely Juliet Brown.

There will be no Monday morning blues come the 10th, as among the celebrants will be the gorgeous Deidre Hart-Chang; founder of the annual Ocho Rios Seafood Festival, Garwin Davis; lovely Shannon Shields; former model Raquel Rhino-Gowdie; the lovely Kaydian Kerr; Janet Finnigan, now in Beverley Hills, California; and former member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force Silvan Edwards, will party like its 1999!

Special birthday

On Tuesday the 11th, a week after husband Ian Garbutt celebrated his 60th, the fabulous Debbie Garbutt celebrates her very special birthday. Also celebrating on Tuesday are: the charming Frances-Hadeed-Awn; trail-blazing former Miss Jamaica Fashion Model, the lovely Simone Walters-March, now in Florida; and Digicel's Foundation Chair, the fab Lisa Lewis, will share the same birthday.

Come next Wednesday, October the 12, the fab Janice Christie; former Argentinian Deputy Head of Mission Daniel Pepa, now in Bueños Aires; the affable Anthony Duhaney; the inimitable Winston Bartley, of Hedonism II; the stunning Nicolette Simpson; and the lovely Shanieka Kimone Fletcher will be blowing out candles on their birthday cakes, in celebration of another year of the good life.

Next Thursday will see the celebrated Chef Taka, of East Japanese in the Market Place and Majestic Sushi in the Gardens of Villa Ronai; Cher Scott, now in New York; the lovely Jennifer Stanigar, now in Raleigh, North Carolina; fitness doyenne and north coast habitué Cindy Lane-Ross of Mobile, Alabama, all making it a very special day of celebration.

Belated birthday wishes to entrepreneur and golfing enthusiast Ian Garbutt, who celebrated his 60th on Tuesday, the 4th. More anon on his fab celebration at his upper St Andrew home last Saturday!

And congratulations to the lovely Jodian Richards, who celebrated yesterday. Many happy returns all around.

And mon congrats to Veronica Campbell-Brown, on giving back to the community through the Veronica Campbell-Brown Foundation. The Olympic champion and UNESCO goodwill ambassador has been making good on her promise to give back. Congrats, too, on her Dignity Day initiative, to be observed on October 20.

Hope Zoo comes alive

Then, my dears, it was a spectacularly sunny day at the Hope Zoo last Friday, as regional security boss Kenny Benjamin, the founding chairman of the Guardsman Group, who recently added the Hope Zoo to his portfolio, welcomed throngs of guests to a luncheon. He outlined his redevelopment plans for the zoo with a view of making it one of, if not the most sought-after attractions in the Caribbean.

Lunch was in the affectionately known 'Tree House' decorated in organic style, using lots of bamboo, lush plants, animal skins and a few hand-painted Indian tapestries. Lunch was a delightful mix of Jamaican and Indian cuisine.

The chairman (Benjamin) welcomed everyone and invited special guest, Education Minister Andrew Holness, to speak to the Government's planned involvement in the project. He spoke of the brilliance of twinning the Ministry of Education and the zoo, citing that the attraction represents a great educational facility and a positive plus not just for the redevelopment of the zoo itself, but also its expansion as an educational tool.

In his address, Benjamin spoke about the direction in which he planned to take the Hope Zoo, including the addition of classrooms equipped with audio-visual technology and presentation of a 45-minute video to students and their teachers who book in advance. That will be followed by a guided tour of the zoo at a subsidised entry fee. Benjamin appealed to all of Jamaica to join him in making the zoo the most wonderful place for family bonding.

Guests were taken on a virtual reality tour of what the Hope Zoo is expected to become under Benjamin's stewardship. This was then followed by an actual tour of the existing facilities, to give everyone a first-hand view of the scope of work to be done, and what has already been done over the past six months.

This included a viewing of the the massive refurbishing of existing cages; landscaping and reforestation, including the addition of hundreds of mature palms; the replacement of curb walls and thatched roofs and the relocation of Benjamin's own private collection of animals and exotic birds to their new home at the Hope Zoo, including a collection of spectacular macaws.

Among the distinguished guests were: Opposition Spokesman on Education Ronald Thwaites; Opposition Spokesman on Tourism Dr Wykekam McNeill and wife Sheila Benjamin-McNeill; Audrey Sewell, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education, Dr Marc Panton, Dr Robert Thomas president of the Jamaica veterinarian association, Dr Osbil Watson, director of Veterinary Services division of the Ministry of Agriculture; Glynne Manley; The Gleaner's Oliver Clarke; the elegant Bernadette Matalon; Robert MacMillan; the lovely Minna Israel; Dr Dhiru and Dr Laura Tanna; renowned architect Evan Williams; special adviser to the minister of education Dr Rebecca Tortello Greenland; Dr Saphire Longmore Dropinski; Carol Rose Brown from the Ministry of Tourism; Leslie Chung; Aubyn and Tamara Hill; Robert Lalor; Jean Lowrie-Chin; The Jamaica Observer's Ed Khouri; and The Gleaner's Managing Director Christopher Barnes; plus a number of others.