We're Back !

A week in the sun on a sensational Fiji island. What bliss, followed by 3 days of some strange stomach bug contacted-we think- on the return flight of an airline we shall not name.
Sadly our New Year's Resolutions were not heeded. The ones we made for others. As always the Daily Telegraph is obsessed with the Ibrahim family with endless gushing stories of this family whose rise in Kings Cross over the past few years has mirrored the downfall of the wonderful and diverse nightclub area of Sydney.

There are other guilty parties though.

Hey guys- when Abe Saffron (right)  Mr Sin, ran the Cross he kept a very low profile. Very. The Shuttle met the Ibrahims many moons ago in The Tunnel, their first nightclub. It was at a PR promotion for something or other and they eagerly begged to be in the social pages (at the time we worked for one of Sydney's Sunday newspapers.) After pleasantries we politely declined. Since then they have risen to great heights aided by a few social writers who should know better. It will all end in tears.

Mystic Meg Moment

The Shuttle's spooky prediction has been fulfilled not 48 hours after we suggested that the UK MailOnline might find space for a tale about Sydney wireless announcer Fifi Box, much beloved off local outlets like the Woman's Day and the magazine publishing wags naughtily refer to as No Idea.
Alas, the MailOnline's wacky tale about Fifi landing a black eye on My Kitchen Rules' host, French born  Manu Feildel has been given it's own shiner. The report on Manu, whose accent has taken on extraordinary guttural Marseille tones since his TV success, has fallen flat with readers. The verdict is in according to Mail fans, most who seem to be Australian in this case and who have damned the British tabloid's reporting :
      

 


Update :
A feature in today's Mail gives a riveting account of Sydney model Tahyna Tozzi (incidentally-discovered by the Shuttle) who today married her boyfriend dancer and choreographer Tristan MacManus.  

Kim in London has some kind words for the loving pair :

"A warm and heartfelt congratulations ... whoever you are"

Paparazzi Wars

Things are not well in the world of the paparazzi.

 We've had Kayne West being arrested over an alleged assault an LA snapper while Russell Brand and Mike Tyson have both had their collars felt over scuffles with snappers . 30Rock star Alex Baldwin is renowned for his biffo bouts with New York photographers while and our National Treasure, actress Nicole Kidman was recently bowled over by an excited pap on a push bike in New York.

Now come a tale of a bust up in Kings Cross between Kidman's bête noire, the paparazzo Jamie Fawcett and another snapper named Max.  Apparently Fawcett was also placed under a  citizen's arrest by a former business partner Ben McDonald and there are claims of broken car mirrors and snaps appeared of Fawcett sporting a black eye before the local constabulary intervened. Fawcett has been the subject of attempted AVO orders in the past from Kidman and Mel B.  Nicole also appeared in court as a witness against him in a libel case against Fairfax Media which Fawcett won but was ordered to pay costs of $1M.

Now a new law has been enacted in California  that prohibits photographers from shooting pics of children without their parents permission. It's mainly aimed at the children of celebrities as swarms of snappers were hanging around school gates to get pics of celebs arriving to pick up their kids. Will such laws spread here?
Sadly gone are the days when the Shuttle and the late gentleman photographer Dave Morgan would be stopped by Tom Cruise , then living in Sydney with Kidman, who would politely ask us if we could leave him alone for a few days. Naturally being very well mannered, we obliged . Once we were rewarded with an invitation to join Tom for lunch and at a game of pool in the local pub.
Meanwhile former high flyer and now bust agency boss Darryn Lyons was last scene riding in a polo event at the Warwick Farm Polo two weeks ago. Rumours that he is reluctant to return to the UK because of the Leveson Inquiry are of course, malicious.

Meow Mix :" Vagina Like a Force Field"

World War 3 has broken out between 2 of Sydney's leading ladies of the media.
 In one corner is perennial TV star Kerri-Anne Kennerley and squaring up to KAK is News Ltd columnist Annette Sharp (right)  in the Daily Telegraph.                 

In a piece titled "IT'S a terrible thing to grow old in television '  Sharp has hauled Kennerley over the coals for calling her "anti-woman' in an interview in the coming August edition of the Australian Women's Weekly.  
Sharp, who was once challenged to a bike ride around Sydney by Russell Crowe had already fired a few shots at Kerri-Anne who will be 60 this year in this article about the Logie Awards : 50-somethings used the Logies to remind TV their assets are bountiful. She implies Kennerley had to "move heaven and earth " to score a ticket to the gala TV awards now that she is "out of contract".

Kerri-Anne was dropped from her morning TV show in 2011 after decades at the Nine Network, ironically where Sharp was once in charge of publicity. In 2003 at a gala party at the Nine studios to celebrate 70 years of publishing the Women's Weekly, Kerri-Anne was seated at the table ( a guide to your status at the network)  next to Nine supremo  Kerry Packer .
 

Kerri-Anne & John at the Pol Roger Champagne dinner.

Since Nine dropped her chat show Kerri-Anne has been signed by Kerry Stoke's Seven Network and performed on Dancing With The Stars last year and it's rumoured she may front an interview programme for Seven although Sharp infers that project may not be as solid as Kennerely believes.

Whatever the outcome of this spat, Kerri-Anne is still a popular party-goer and fixture on the social circuit. She attended Baz Luhrmann's Great Gatsby premier last week and earlier was at an exclusive dinner at Chiswick Gardens for Pol Roger champagne as our snaps show. It's not like Kerri-Anne is short of money either or needs the work. 
Toy train lover hubby John Kennerely was one of the brains behind Britain's Littlewoods Pools and made a fortune. The pair have recently moved from a palatial Rose Bay home to trendy Woolahra where John has extended his train set (he has hand built a reproduction of Shrewsbury Station) into the garden.
 At Chiswick Kerri-Anne showed off a new pair of stilettos she had picked up in Rodeo Drive where the pair had just holidayed for a fortnight. This looks like a bunfight that may run and run.
                                                                  

Russell Crowe & Annette Sharp

Perhaps the last word should go to top New York publicist Kelly Cutrone who had a spat in 2011 with Sharp's Daily Telegraph colleague Ros Reines who had a few digs at Cutrone's client Rupert Noffs who is cutting a swathe through New York and the Hamptons under Kelly's well connected wing.  Reines savaged Noffs calling him a social climber and for good measure called Cutrone's Sydney launch of Noff's Gideon Shoe store "tragic" and accused Kelly of "creating mayhem" during her Sydney visit.
Cutrone responded in this Sydney Morning Herald profile of Noffs this March :
"What do I care? Oh, wow, I care if some gossip columnist in f...ing Sydney, Australia hates me? It's like a mosquito in my world." Ouch !. What fun. Just in time to brighten up these foggy Autumn days.

Winning lines : Annette Sharp : "One should not brandish a vagina like a force field and expect a torrent of fawning, hyper-ventilating flattery in return." Superb !

Earth To Sydney Confidential

The old Darlinghust Gaol built in 1840 must have been a foreboding thought for those sentenced to be housed there by the nearby Darlinghurst Criminal Court where the more sensational murder cases are still conducted today.
Being banged up in the tiny and claustrophobic cells for life (for those who avoided the gallows) would have been a mind destroying experience.

These days the Gaol hosts a variety of schools in the arts and catering fields and  it's a lively place of learning.
Last week the National Art School housed there held a fundraiser attended by a number of leading artists including this year's Archibald winner Tim Storrier and, as Rupert Murdoch's top selling Daily Telegraph put it : "revered artist John Olsen".
Accompanying the story is the above photo with the caption " Ros Packer and Tim Storrier."
For the record : this is artist Tim Storrier ( the artist above is John Olsen) at the right :

..and at left  is Ros Packer (at the Bulgari party 2 weeks ago). Both feature often in the Shuttle. (they should read us more often as some leading UK newspapers do to source their stories)
 Rumours are flying thick and fast that a major staff crunch is coming at News Ltd in September and the fear and loathing at the Holt Street HQ is palpable. Perhaps they may re-think the notion of out-sourcing their sub-editing.

Tabloid Tales :"Kate's Pregnant!"

Daily Telegraph

Australia's top selling tabloid The Daily Telegraph (proprietor : Rupert Murdoch) brings us the tale of how dozens of magazines world-wide have reported the false claim that Prince William's bride Kate is pregnant.

A 'staff writer' tells us how "a tally of incorrect US gossip mag covers shows their editors have made fake hay while the sun remained behind clouds this year" when reporting the non-existent pregnancies of Kate Middleton, Kim Kardashian, Angelina Jolie and more.

These mad claims were brought undone when that US TV network of repute Fox News ( proprietor : Rupert Murdoch) compiled the list of glossy magazines which made the phoney claim.

Our staff writer even has a dig at the Oz glossy New Idea (referred to as No Idea by industry wags) which also fell for the Kate Middleton 'pregnancy' claim.

Alas, our News Corp scribe missed one small fact in his/her mention of the New Idea. Just who was the source for their claim?.

Step forward a 'royal photographer' who is interviewed for the cover piece that screams :
YES. KATE'S PREGNANT!...Exclusive interview with official royal photographer

New Idea

The snapper in question and "royal insider" is Arthur Edwards who gushed to New Idea :" Kate looked great but I just got a feeling she wasn't quite herself".

And just who does our 'royal insider' take his royal photographs for ? (from the press pen along with every other photographer)...why the popular top selling UK tabloid The Sun (proprietor : Rupert Murdoch)

They follow us wherever we go

More on Sharon Sargeant and the tale of the "England rugby stars relax on boat full of stripper" in Britain's Sunday Mirror.

Australia's Daily Telegraph has picked up the story of the British footballers and their Sydney Harbour cruise :

"Rah-rahs lured by sirens on Harbour."  click for story

 The Shuttle put a phone call through to Ms Sargeant's assistant 'Richard' today to see if he could shed any light on just how many escort agencies Ms Sargeant owns. "None of your business" was the curt reply as he slammed down the receiver.

We decided to telephone the office of the private investigator Frank Monte who was once engaged to Ms Sargeant.  "Does Mr Monte know any details about his former flame's business?".

"If he did I doubt he would tell you" replied the girl who answered the phone." I'll ask him to call you-I think he knows where you live, doesn't he?"

Now a Top Murdoch reporter admits visiting gay sauna

Gay sauna visitor Paul Kent

Whilst his comrades are laying into the hapless former Transport Minister David Campbell for paying a visit to a gay sauna-an entirely legal act without any parliamentary rules broken, a Daily Telegraph reporter Paul Kent who won the 2009 Features Editor of The Year award at the News Awards has admitted he has also visited Kens Karate Klub the now famous gay sauna bath-house in Sydney's Kensington. (interested readers who feel they would like to partake in activities at Kens-just drive along Anzac Parade and look for Peters Of Kensington the glitzy bridal gift store. It's right next door)

In a piece wittily entitled 'All Bets and Towels Were Off" Kent gives us an account of his visit to the 'Roman orgy swap meet' as he describes it including a dungeon room with chains hanging from the roof and a bondage rack against the wall (a colleague emails me that surely Kent is confused and was  describing Rupert Murdoch's office), cell like rooms equipped with rubber gym mats and a relaxing visit to the pool room with it's perspex roof so visitors on the floor above could witness what was happening in the pool below in which Kent ominously says "much had happened". What can he mean ?. Had someone unkindly deflated the water wings , let out the air from the rubber ducky lilos?. Annoyingly, Kent leaves out all the saucy parts we want to hear.

He also peeked into the video room where someone was watching a film called Hombres! (possibly waiting until the credits rolled so he could catch the film's title.

But it's Kent's visit to the sauna room where he gives information that could be of great use for our many gay readers. Kent entered the sauna and sweated away with 2 other men in silence. Just as the heat got to him-one man stood up and left. According to Kent this is an invitation to follow the man to one of those gym mat cubicles so he was forced to stay much longer in the sauna. But he doesn't say why.Too shy ? Didn't fancy him?. I wish he had been more specific

Kent says he was identified as a 'newbie' but only spent 45 minutes at the sauna. He's certainly a fast learner in gaydar.

As for Ken 'Candy' Johnson the owner of Ken's, I tried to get him on the phone today for a  comment but his assistant said he wasn't available. I'd say he's at St Mary's Cathedral lighting a hundred candles and thanking the Lord for the million dollars worth of free publicity.

For more News Ltd froth and bubble, visit  their on-line lightweight 'Punch' magazine where former Daily Telegraph editor David Penberthy offers up an article :

"David Campbell has a lesser right to privacy than an ordinary citizen, for a number of reasons"

Penberthy was the editor of the Telegraph up until a while ago when he ran the disastrous front page saucy pics reputed to be of a young Pauline Hanson, the ex-politician, in frilly underwear, supplied by the paparazzi Jamie Fawcett. The pics turned out to be of  a lass from a Russian dating site.

Being relatively young Penberthy may like to research back to a former era when the Labor Party's Paul Keating was facing the so-called 1993 "unwinnable" election (which he won) against a right wing Liberal Party leader John Hewson whose policies included driving out of Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory the plethora of sex supermarkets that dominate the landscape. (Porn cannot be sold in states but only the 2 territories), The Conservatives abandoned the policy when the Eros Association in Canberra that represents the sex industry threatened to expose the hundreds of politicians -from all parties-who visited Canberra's dozens of brothels and porn shops.

We all know Rupert has thrown his weight behind the Liberal Party and has PM Kevin Rudd in his sights. I doubt an expose on the intimate lives of politicians, including the married Federal Liberal Party senator who also frequents a city gay sauna and the half dozen married closeted gay conservative MPs we know of, will go down well with the boss. Especially if he really does have those chains and bondage rack in his office.

Murdoch's "pervert" vanishes !

      Perhaps it's the influence of Rupert Murdoch's son-in-law Mathew Freud, a UK "communications" expert who abhors some of his dad-in-law's enterprises like the wacky Fox News in the USA. Has he become a moral arbiter for the giant worldwide News Corp conglomerate and if so, how far is his reach ?
      This morning in the first edition of Rupert's much loved Daily Telegraph, and in the early morning editions of each of the tabloids throughout Australia, editors with hearts of gold declared the launch of a "Save The Perve " campaign.

     An unfortunate chap had been spotted viewing some saucy snaps of the gorgeous Miranda Kerr, the current squeeze of movie star Orlando Bloom, on a late night TV news broadcast as one of his co-workers fronted the camera explaining the latest financial news.

     We caught a glimpse of the hapless man's face as he turned to stare at the camera . A fleeting look of horror descended. He was busted.

    The video went viral throughout the world. 

     The wheels were soon in motion as an eager editor launched his selfless campaign dreamed up by a enterprising journalist, to save the poor man's business career.

    .

       As tSS sipped an early morning cuppa we pondered how long this latest lunacy would last. But phones were already in meltdown as bleary eyed lawyers from the respected firm, Messers Sue Grabbit and Runn were summonsed from their slumbers.

    Couriers were soon on their way with angry letters of demand. The editor of GQ Magazine from where Miranda's pics had emanted was fuming. Kerr's modelling agent was livid. Even the embarrassed "porn" viewer saw a brief ray of sunlight in his misery as he faced suspension, as the magic word "libel" was mentioned far and wide.

    It was all over by mid-day. The Tele's heartfelt pleas to save the man's career were dashed, along with that of the hapless hack who dreamed up the idea and who probably hoped to earn a place at the feet of the great Murdoch. The piece vanished from the net. Early editions were pulped.

  

   And how was this  all too brief campaign to Save The Perve  illustrated ? Why with a saucy snap of Miranda of course !

Another gratuitous snap of Miranda.


update : the man has kept his job.

ps : ninemsn still carries a "perve" story-there could still be some big cash in this  !