Cayman’s new governor, Jane Owen, got her first taste of Cayman on Saturday evening at a reception on the lawn of Pedro St. James, where she was feted with local music, dance, poetry and food.
Owen, along with her daughter Phoebe Donnelly, 23, were guests of honour at the official reception hosted by the government, which included a cross section of Cayman society.
The governor said in the short time since she arrived on Friday, she has been impressed by the friendliness of the people, some of whom greeted her and her daughter when they took their first swim in the ocean in front of her new home, Government House, on Seven Mile Beach.
“I feel that over the last day and a half, I have really had a wonderful welcome to your beautiful islands,” she said.
“Along with my daughter Phoebe, we’ve really felt a sense of Cayman kindness. Even this morning, when we took our first dip in the sea, lots of people came along to say hello, which was really, really nice.”
She said it has been “great settling into Government House, I think, without doubt, the most beautiful home that I have ever lived in and that I will ever live in”.
As well as the governor and her daughter, Government House also has another new resident – their black Labrador, Benji.
Owen said the animal was still “very confused by the change in temperature, who left a rather chilly United Kingdom a couple of days ago”.
While many met the new governor at the evening reception, more will have a chance to meet her at the annual garden party at Government House to celebrate the British monarch’s birthday.
The official birthday of King Charles III is on 17 June, though a date for the garden party has yet to be finalised.
As well as stepping into the former home and role of Martyn Roper, who departed Cayman last month after serving four and a half years as governor, Owen said she would be following in his footsteps by taking part in the Deputy Governor’s 5K run, scheduled for Sunday, 30 April, albeit at a slower pace, as she intended to walk it. Roper was a regular sight at weekend 5Ks and the annual Cayman Islands Marathon relay and could often be found running along Seven Mile Beach.
“I spent a long time trying to explain to the deputy governor that not every governor can run very fast and that my experience next Sunday will be at a leisurely walking pace,” she said, urging others in the audience to join her on the 5K.
The governor, who turned 60 last week, added that she was looking forward to travelling throughout the Cayman Islands, so “I can really understand and explore the unique culture and heritage that you all represent”.
She said she believed Cayman and the UK shared a unique relationship, “a partnership of trust and respect… that we need to continue to grow in an ever-changing world”.
Speaking from a stage erected on the Pedro lawn, she told guests, “I stand before you tonight with a real mix of both humility and real excitement about what we can do together.”
Paying tribute to the people gathered at the event, and the wider community, she said the focus of the evening should be on them and the “breadth of experience and inspiration that you bring”.
She added, “Because, in quite a long career as a diplomat, living in various different countries around the world, it has always struck me that nearly everywhere the real recipe for successful forward movement and governance has to involve a dynamic mix of many different parts of society. And it really does not matter that within the different parts, different groups have their own priorities and interests; they may have different skills, different approaches, but strength is drawn from the depth and balance they bring when they come together.”
Premier Wayne Panton, in his welcome speech to the new governor, explained the significance of holding her reception at Pedro St. James, noting that it is known as the “birthplace of democracy” in Cayman as it was the site of a meeting in 1831 at which it was decided to form the islands’ first elected government.
It was also where the declaration to end slavery in the British Empire was read in 1835.
The governor toured the historic building prior to the reception.
‘Pace yourself’
The premier gave Owen a few helpful tips on navigating her way through the many social events she will be invited to during her time here, telling her “pace yourself”, as one of the ways Caymanians like to show hospitality to people is to feed them.
He especially cautioned her on the delights and calories of Cayman’s famous heavy cakes.
“You taste it a little bit, don’t try to eat the whole thing, because you’ll go from svelte and slim to my size in weeks,” he joked.
Panton also advised her that she would need all the diplomatic skills she had garnered in her decades of service when it came to letting the proud heavy-cake bakers in the various districts know their heavy cakes are “absolutely the best, without offending the others”.
In response, the governor said she looked forward to the experience of eating heavy cake, though “in careful amounts”.
On a more serious note, the premier noted that the arrival of Governor Owen – the first representative of the Crown to be appointed to Cayman under King Charles III – was a “very significant moment that symbolises the beginning of a new era for governance in the Cayman Islands”.
The governor has a busy week ahead, holding several meetings with officials, attending her first Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, and visiting the Sister Islands on Saturday.
Owen was officially sworn in as governor on Friday afternoon in the House of Parliament.
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