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Au revoir, Ambassador

Published:Friday | May 16, 2014 | 12:00 AM
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Oswald Harding (left) and his wife, Custos of St Andrew Marigold, Harding converse with Roman Catholic Archbishop Reverend Charles Dufour.
From left: Shri Pratap Singh, Arun Kashyap and Dhiru Tanna catch up at a farewell reception for the French Ambassador at her Hillcrest residence.
Trinidad and Tobago High Commissioner Dr Iva Gloudon makes a beautiful entrance.
One last hearty laugh among friends from left: Maria Jacqueline Mendoza, French Ambassador Ginette de Matha and Dhiru Tanna.
Father Samuel Alloggia (left) playing the violin as Pierre Lemaire, assistant director of the School of Drama, performs for the Ambassador.
French Ambassador HE Ginette de Matha and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade A.J. Nicholson share a final dance.
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Jody-Anne Lawrence, Lifestyle Writer

"Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well." Quoting Voltaire was how Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade A.J. Nicholson described French Ambassador Ginette de Matha at a farewell reception held at her residence at 13 Hillcrest Avenue on Wednesday.

There were mixed feelings among the guests, seeing a friend one more time but having to say good-bye. This tinge of sadness was reflected in the faces of all present thinking what Nicholson said, she will be missed.

After four years in Jamaica, de Matha said her good-byes promising to keep it short, but saying everything that needed to be said. She said she will miss everything about Jamaica, from its green hilly terrain to the beautiful blue skies and sea. She was grateful for the people she has met who made her feel like at home, and the acceptance of Jamaicans of the French culture. It was a farewell that was topped with an artistic parting gift from Pierre Lemaire, assistant director of the School of Drama at Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, and Father Samuel Alloggia.

Nicholson snuck in a dance as those in attendance bid farewell to an ambassador and friend.