Kingsley Cooper and lady love, Romae Gordon, having a good time at his birthday party, held at Pulse headquarters on Trafalgar Road on Wednesday night.
Well, to say that there are a number of disappointed people around after last weeks' fiasco would be the understatement of the season.
Suffice it to say, however, that at least one of the players who was contracted to perform as stylist, was left stranded with an apartment full of shoes, accessories and other accoutrement. Talk about a flop! Well, this was not just a flop, it was the mother of all flops, and all the chickens have not yet come home to roost, and when they do, it promises to be an even more unpleasant scenario. Wait for it.
Then, people are still raving over last weekends' crab-fest, near Savanna-la-Mar at Busha Clarke's Paradise Park beachfront estate! In the jargon of the pop culture 'it sell off!' And already those who guested at the fab event are making plans to return same time, same place, next year!
About the age of Gemini
Now, it's definitely all about the age of Gemini, as among the fab people celebrating are: the very charming Barbara Blake-Hanna, who celebrates her birthday today, celebrated photographer Brian Rosen, who shares the same birthday with former film commissioner Del Crooks on Sunday June 7. The beautiful and talented Gina Rey Forest and the lovely Anne-Marie McNeill formerly of Hedonism III and high priestess of partying, now a resident of Belize, will celebrate their birthday on Tuesday the 9th. And Skip Edwards of Chicago will celebrate his special day on the 10th.
Belated greetings also to the lovely Beverley East and the fab Sandra Samuels - who both celebrated on the 31st of May! Political dynamo Paul Burke celebrated his on Tuesday, June 2, and style icon and charmer, Pulse founder Kingsley Cooper, celebrated his special day on Wednesday, June 3!
In the throes of prepping for his much beloved and anticipated Caribbean Fashionweek, the visionary Cooper was all work and no play, as he opted to forego any celebration to mark his birthday. But that was his position, not necessarily that of his staff. So, unbeknownst to the Pulse team leader, his staff got together and decided that simply ignoring the birthday of the lawyer-turned-successful marketing and promotional guru, and head of the Caribbean's largest and most successful modelling agency, was not an option! So a few calls went out to a very short list of friends to join them in cocktails for the occasion!
Well, it was champagne toasts as a handful of friends gathered at the Trafalgar Road Pulse headquarters on Wednesday evening, to break bread and make merry.
Air of admiration, respect
Kingsley Cooper gets a 'chups' and a gift from long-time friend and colleague, Hilary Phillips, QC. - photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
It was a beaming Cooper who strolled into the penthouse offices atop the Pulse complex, looking his dapper self, to warm and ringing applause after 8 p.m., and, from there on in, it was nothing but a love-fest as guests sipped on cocktails. There was no mistaking the air of admiration and respect that draped the office suite. And when the esteemed Hilary Phillips, QC, took the podium and toasted the birthday boy and friend of longstanding, and then opened the mic to those present, what followed was nothing short of a beautiful quilt of testimonials that would have warmed the cockles of even the most hardened of hearts!
Jeff Cobham followed Phillips, and in a glowing testimonial, congratulated Cooper and his dedication and hard work over the years that went into the building of Pulse, and the empowerment it has afforded our nation's young women in its more than three decades of operations. But it was Nicole Hines, the former banker who left banking to become a marketing dynamo at Pulse, who spoke glowingly of her boss, that visibly moved him, by her summation on behalf of the staff. It was all very touching! Cooper was no less so in his response, only promising to work harder to continue making Pulse a symbol of hope and a vehicle to transport people to their dreams in the years and decades ahead, as well as promising that this Caribbean Fashionweek, the ninth year, will be the biggest and best to date!
Little wonder here, as designers from the US, India, South Africa, Ghana, the United Kingdom, Romania, British Virgin Islands, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados are all coming to join the very best of Jamaican designers to showcase their creations to the world. Y'all know we are talking one hot tamale here! The real fabulous news is, it all starts next week!
This week, however, its all about Hedonism II in fabulous Negril, at the crowning of its Ultimate Men of Hedonism Resorts and the selection of its calendar hunks for 2010!