Real Fake News

Reality

Beach bums! Sydneysiders ignore social distancing rules as they flock to Bondi to lap up the final days of summer.

 While we've become quite used to the UK Daily Mail tweaking their tales that often say the opposite to what is really happening, today they just published a complete load of balderdash and a real example of that infamous Fake News.

Sydney's Bondi Beach has been closed for 10 days now. Whispers should know as we currently live there.
The beach itself is closed off with barriers and there is a large police presence. While some members of the public manage to occasionally make it to the rocks surrounding both ends of the beach they are soon warned off by vigilant coppers and for at least a week now few have bothered. But not a soul has set foot on the sand nor is able to get past the barriers erected along with huge blinking neon signs stating the beach is closed and police vans parked at all entry points with their lights flashing.
Indeed for at least ten days, the suburb has been like a ghost town. While some walk the boardwalk for exercise they are also warned by numerous police officers to practice "social distancing".

How did the Mail manage to publish this obvious complete fake tale along with photographs purportedly taken last Friday (an overcast day with intermittent light showers). The snaps could not possibly have been taken last Friday nor within the last fortnight.
We know tabloids bend the truth but this is a load of claptrap. Comments on Mail Tales can be interesting. Most on this story indicate the readers actually believe the story is real !

Happy Christmas to our loyal readers

We get around 2500 regular readers from all over the world every day plus a whole more visiting. This sorta sums up Christmas Day in Sydney. It has everything : sand, a beach, cocktails, Bondi, drag queens, sundshine and a few social identities in that crowd.

Dining under the Moon

It's starts under the sun. The inaugural Moveable Feast on the sands of Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach. From the entrepreneurs who gave us the acclaimed Diner en Blanc Sydney, A Moveable Feast was the first of four in a new series of dining experiences set to take place in 2016.

 In attendance were a number of A-list Sydney and international personalities such as Natasha Oakley, Devin Brugman, Kris Smith, Maddy King, Natalie Roser, Laura Csortan, Tim Holmes a Court, Daimon Downey and of course the Bondi Rescue boys.

Lauren Murdoch of Sydney Opera House Concourse venues designed the  menu, presented in the form of a picnic hamper for two with picked Alaskan crab salad with potato, pea, celery heart and tarragon, poached chicken with roasted eggplant, du puy lentils, eggplant caviar, sesame yoghurt hazelnuts and pastel meringue kisses among other culinary delights.  Yum ! Washed down by Piper-Heidsieck. What more could a mere mortal desire?

A Modern Family Get-together

You don't have to go to Darling Harbour to see the stars of the US hit show Modern Family (they're filming there) . The cast and producers are taking advantage of Sydney's fabulous array of restaurants.


Our Modern Family spy popped into exclusive Icebergs at Bondi Beach and spotted Sofia Vergera and her boyfriend Nick Loeb chowing down with Sydney based Porsche racing driver Aaron Zerefos. 
Zerefos who has been flitting between LA and Sydney had a busy start to the year with success at Mount Panorama and has now become a fixture on the Los Angeles social circle
 Last seen- Zerefos and pals speeding off in a  white Range Rover and according to the Shuttle's spy disguised as an Aspidistra : the trio dined the following night at trendy Mr Wong in the city. 
How the other 'arf live !

Smash & Grab at Camilla's

Sydney fashion designer Camilla Franks has had her new Spring / Summer range stolen during a daring smash and grab raid at her Bondi Beach store.  According to the Daily Telegraph two thieves by-passed jewellery and other goods and headed straight for Camilla's new 'Gypsy' range, featured here in our snaps which were photographed at the David Jones' fashion parade last month.

Camila's label has gone from success to success and her floaty caftan style frocks are sold around the Mediterranean and are popular with well heeled ladies on the Côte d'Azur. Two years ago the world's richest woman Gina Rinehart cleaned out one boutique in Cannes by snapping up the store's 40 creations while on a shopping trip. St Tropez local Brigitte Bardot has been spotted featuring several of Camila's designs.

                            right : Camilla Franks - below : the Gypsy range.

Read more here.

A Paris Autumn

Taking in the gorgeous Autumn weather today at Bondi, the Shuttle came across "party girl" Paris Hilton who is town for the opening of Star casino's Marquee club tonight......

Rick Stein Marries

How times have changed.
Around ten years ago Sarah Burns, then a publicist for Harper Collins publishers invited the Shuttle to a book promotion at a trendy hotel in Kings Cross.

There were several guests there including two British chefs Ainsley Harriott and Rick Stein.

While Stein was chatting to Sarah we asked them to pose for a snap which they reluctantly did. We didn't know that evening that Fleet Street had sent signals to the Sydney paparazzi to watch out for Stein and his 'secret girlfriend' believe to be blond Australian publicist.

By the following evening our photograph of the pair had swept around the world. Over the next few years Stein and Burns played a cat and mouse game with the Shuttle when they appeared at various foodie events in Sydney, quickly parting whenever we hovered nearby. One evening Sarah admonished us, albeit in friendly fashion, for exposing their affair to the world.

Yesterday Sarah Burns married Rick Stein at Bondi Beach and both sat down for a wedding feast at Maurice Terzini's Icebergs, the chic restaurant with what Stein says is "the best view in the world".

What a difference a few years have made.

Four weeks ago Rick and Sarah were more than happy to pose at the The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2012 launch.

Ain't love grand.

Ethical Shoes- No Sweat !

Rupert & Matt Noffs at the opening of Gideon Shoes

As long ago as 1991 the writer and 'futurist' Faith Popcorn predicted that ethical manufacturing businesses were the coming wave of the future. Now a new 'ethical' shoe store has opened in Bondi Beach -Gideon Shoes, the brainchild of brothers Matt and Rupert Noffs. They threw a small party to celebrate.

Chrissy Pisotto & Tali Jatali

The Noff brothers come from a family with a history in charitable works.

Their grandfather was the much loved Rev Ted Noffs who opened the Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross in 1964. The Wayside was a drop in centre for down and outs, drug addicts , prostitutes in fact just about anyone who needed to a friendly shoulder to lean on. Ted was famous for his non-judgemental acceptance of anyone no matter what their circumstances were.

Ted had a stroke in 1987 and sunk into a coma where he lingered, finally passing away in 1995. At his funeral in the city the streets where packed with an assortment of people-Hells Angels, schoolkids, captains of industry, powerful politicians, policemen and society figures.
                                                              

musician Damian Downey

When Matt and Rupert decided to start manufacturing their own shoe designs they headed of to Asia but were horrified by the conditions of factory workers there so decided to have them made back home where they are now hand produced. Not only do they refuse to support sweat shops they have a long history of supporting the disadvantaged.

Operating out of the Ted Noffs Foundation run by Ted's son Wesley, Matt and his wife Naomi  started the Street University a retreat for Western Sydney street kids. Rupert opened a unique thrift shop-One Noffs in Randwick where donated clothes are re-styled by fashion students into entirely new garments.

Rupert Noffs, Prince William & Kevin Rudd

The seal of approval was put on the Noff's charity works last year when former PM Kevin Rudd visited them with HRH Prince William.

So forget about your overpriced N*kes run up by Vietnamese kids  (send them some money direct instead) and check out Gideon Shoes which really are fantastic and made of the finest Kangaroo and Cane Toad leather.

You can even have them tweaked to your own design. And they're mighty comfortable.

## over 2300 people have clicked onto our Gideon Shoes report with over 400 from the USA while 4 have emailed to ask if Gideon Shoes are available in the US. That we do not know although there are rumours they may be opening a shop in New York (where I'm sure they'd 'walk' out of the store).
Go to the Gideon website here for the latest news and email them direct-they're a friendly bunch ! :