Reshufflings, departures and celebrations

Chester Francis-Jackson, Contributor

And so, after much prompting and prodding, the Cabinet reshuffle has finally been delivered!

Wonderful to see the principled Clive Mullings back in the inner sanctum, but one can't help wondering if his return had anything to do with his stated position of not seeking reelection.

Anyway, my dears, sad to see MP Karl Samuda out of the power circle as his was a voice of reason. Now, poor Dorothy has no one to blame but herself for her fall from grace, as she hardly distinguished herself during her ministerial tenure, and her "manhandling" of the now infamous extradition request painted her in the most awkward of lights!

The supreme irony here, however, is that Solicitor General Douglas Leys has been asked to temporarily assume one of her portfolios, and the prime minister, regarded by many as the architect in chief of the Manatt imbroglio, still has his job!

Anyway my dears, we party on!

Now, the month of July is definitely the month of independence as the Canadians, celebrate Canada Day on July 1; the Americans celebrate on July 4; the Venezuelans celebrate on July 5; and, of course, there is Bastille Day, July 14, when the French, celebrate their revolution.

Personnel changes

And speaking of the national day celebrations of our friends and neighbours, dears, it's that time of the year again when the diplomatic and social scene is faced with a number of personnel changes, as some ambassadors will soon be taking their leave of our shores.

Among those expected to depart soon will be the head of delegation of the European Union, Ambassador Marco Mazzocchi Alemanni and his wife Fiela; head of mission German Embassy, Ambassador Jurgen Engel and his wife Ana Martha; and the beloved Mexican Ambassador Her Excellency Leonora Rueda.

As we say bon voyage to the departing envoys and their spouses, we commend them on their tour of duty here, which was used to advance relations between their home country and their hosts, and so we say walk good, as they get ready to take their leave!

Then the mountaineering bug has definitely taken hold of former JDF officer and Al Jazeera news presenter, Darren Jordon. The world adventurer has added another impressive summit to his mountaineering exploits. Two weeks ago, he successfully made it to the top of Gran Paradiso, Italy's highest mountain, which stands at 4,061 metres tall.

And this is coming on the back of Jordon's feat late last year, when he scaled Africa's highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro. On this outing, however, the army officer-turned-news presenter did a double, as he also scaled the iconic French peak of Pointe Lachenal (3,613 metres) in the French Alps, which sits close to the one of the world's highest cable cars, the Aguille du Midi.

But it was not all peaches and cream for the young mountaineer as, after spending time in Chamonix, the popular French skiing resort, under the watchful eye of one of the area's leading guiding services, the Mont Blanc Guides, Jordon and his fellow mountaineers had to abort their main mission of climbing Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Western Europe, due to extreme weather.

Then, of course, there are birthdays and all sorts of other fab celebrations all around, so pumpkins, let the celebrations begin in earnest!

Birthdays

And so happy birthday wishes to the wife of former Canadian high commissioner, the very charming Louise Valle, who celebrates her birthday today, as her country marks its 144th year of independence, as it celebrates Canada Day.

Also celebrating on July 1 are: the multi-talented Paul Hamilton; Donovan Mayne; Nardia McKenzie, formerly of Montego Bay, currently resident of Toronto, Canada; and Bryan Reid, formerly of Hedonism III, now resident of Ontario, Canada.

Celebrating tomorrow will be: attorney and socialite Andrea Bickhoff-Benjamin; beauty, socialite and medical doctor who recently added psychiatry to her credits, the lovely Dr Saphire Longmore-Dropinski; entrepreneur Kimani Robinson; the fab Sheryn Hilton-Parker; the lovely Ava-Maria Campbell, over there in Montego Bay; the charming Camille Hines, in Toronto, Canada; David Palmer, formerly of MI-Phone, now in Atlanta, Georgia; and north coast habitué and Atlanta resident, the lovely Yoki Martin.

On Sunday the 3rd, among those celebrating will be: the lovely Sandy Chue-Alexander; the charming Rebecca Harper; the fab Jacquie Henry; Joshua White, formerly of Kingston, now in Whitby, Ontario; and the lovely Tanya Pessoa, from Montego Bay, now resident of the Big Apple.

The 4th of July will see: John Dahl and the lovely Michelle Dawson-Smith.

On Tuesday the 5th: businessman Billy Woung; Wesley Saulter; Trevor Francis, formerly of Kingston, now resident of Los Angeles; and Jake Linstead, private of the British Army, in Dagenham, United Kingdom, all share the same birthday.

On Wednesday the 6th: Jackie Knight-Campbell; Dale Marks; American model and actor Elimu Nelson share the same birthday!

And on Thursday the 7th, the celebrants include: celebrated criminal defence attorney and government Senator Tom Tavares-Finson; and the lovely Sheila Morris, in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, will blow out the candles on another fab birthday cake!

Then belated birthday wishes to: former Chief Justice The Hon. Lensley Wolfe; international reggae singer and entertainer Freddie McGreggor; and the lovely Betty-May Ashley - who all celebrated on Monday the 27th.

Monsignor Father Richard Albert, who celebrated a special birthday on Wednesday the 29th, as well as the 35th year of ministering in Jamaica. More anon here!

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