Thursdaytalk - the hottest topics on the cocktail circuit

1 One highly placed and well-connected one is said to have recently smuggled a pet monkey into the island from South America, circumventing all the protocol required to import such animals. Well, seems like the pet was not at all impressed by his new luxurious surroundings and so violently attacked the son of the 'smuggler' - biting and scratching him severely, which saw the child being rushed abroad for medical attention. Now the child is on rabies watch, and needless to say, nobody is amused!

2 The word from some in the international community is that the multinational organisations have lost faith in the finance minister. They say this and the on-again off-again tax measures might well see another delay in the expected IMF deal.

3 When the wife said the new year would not catch her on the island, the husband thought it was a joke, as he said it's a line he had heard before. Well, she now calls Canada home and the children are enrolled in school there. So he is now looking for a buyer for the business!

4 The alternative lifestyle New Year's Eve party seems to have been completely sold out up in the hills.

5 As the talk about the need for economic restraint continues, guests who attended the party at Pigeon Island over the holidays are still complaining about the minister who showed up at the private function in a government helicopter. They are demanding an explanation for the largesse.

6 Some are saying the high-profile absence from the big fund-raising event, and the high-profile presence at the other event famous for cass-cass, is symptomatic of what is wrong with the current administration. They have their priorities all wrong!