Ottos' lunch- for a good cause

Those hard working ladies of the Black & White Charity Committee have a lunch on Tuesday 14th November at the uber restaurant Ottos on the Finger Wharf in Woolloomooloo. The guest of honor will be the previous NSW Governor Dame Marie Bashir and she's well worth the price of admission alone, quite apart from Ottos' superb food.
Tickets can be bought here. There will be loads of great prizes and remember- every penny raised at these functions goes to support services for children and their families.
# You may even spot superstar actor Russell Crowe escorting a group of refugees to his sensational penthouse which is at the end of the wharf.

Is it The End for the Black & White Committee?

Short answer is no but certainly in it's present form. The last of it's type, the Black & White Committee's annual ball at the Sydney Town Hall will be the last in it's present form. The Black & White Derby - where bright young gals reel in little wooden horses- is kaput. At this year's event the 80 year old tradition was put to bed.
But the Black & White Committee who have raised tens of millions of  $$$ over it's 80 year history will emerge next year in an exciting new form and we'll be the first to being you the news. Until then, here are a few snaps from the evening and a short video to show you what you missed. The B&W hard working ladies raise much needed funds for Vision Australia.

Lunching With Dame Edna Everage

Sad to see young Cody Simpson got egged yesterday at his Miranda appearance just like Justin Beiber did on his visit here last month.

One star who would make mince meat of anyone foolish enough to upstage her is Australia's roving ambassador abroad Dame Edna Everage.

There are still some tickets available for Dame Edna's appearance at the Black & White Charity Committee's Woman of Achievement lunch at the Four Seasons Hotel on Tuesday June 21st. These lunch time events sell out quickly so hurry up and go to the B&W website here.

Edna will be joined by former Art Gallery of Australia director Betty Churcher and our favourite NSW Governor Her Excellency Marie Bashir.
If you have never been to one of these events they're pretty good fun. A top lunch followed by each of the special guests giving a twenty minute talk about their career and as you can imagine, Dame Edna's talk will be hilariously funny and is bound to run well over time. Take the afternoon off-you won't get out under 3 hours.

Ticket prices are $295 (stage side table), $200 (ballroom) or $155 in the hotel's top restaurant Kables with a live feed. In fact there are always huge screens in the ballroom so grab a seat anywhere even with strangers as they are always a friendly lot. Phone 02 9327 5698.

Governor Marie Bashir

It's the 75th anniversary of the B&W charity and remember-every single penny raised goes to Vision Australia Children's Services. These ladies strong arm (no, they're really very nice) everyone to donate their services including the Shuttle who will be there with bells on (and paying !)

We'll be filming the event so watch out for that but in the meantime here is a small reminder of what to expect: