Hat of The Month !

In an occasional series we bring you an example of How To Wear a Hat and stand out in the crowd with this clear winner. Whispers is sure readers will agree this gentleman carries off this example of superb male millinery with great aplomb and style.
He was a guest at this week's New York Hat Lunch hosted by the women's committee of the Central Park Conservatory held on a superb Spring day in the Big Apple.

This should send Australia's hat making fraternity scrambling back to the drawing board as you can see said gentleman had some pretty stiff competition.
We would hope they'll be inspired for this year's Melbourne Cup and produce their own glorious examples for a local event where a hat is a must.

Perhaps less of the dreaded 'fascinators' that have become popular and some more examples of colour and some larger brims which are probably far greater protection in our skin cancer inducing sun.

Below are some more of the wonderful colour and movement. And let's not forget some whimsy as seem below at Royal Ascot in a creation worn by our own fashion royalty Dame Edna Everage and a late great friend of Whispers Mrs Gertrude Shilling. That creation was designed by her son David Shilling (pictured with his mum) who Whispers imported to Melbourne to be a special guest many moons ago at The Cup as he judged the Fashions in The Field. David's final verdict was : "could try harder".

Bob Sings

For your sheer delight: former PM Bob Hawke sings an operatic version of Waltzing Matilda today at the Woodford Folk Festival in sunny Queensland. Whispers can't work out whether Bob was the inspiration for Sir Les Patterson or visa versa.

Spotted..

Barry Humphries and wife Lizzie Spender were spotted celebrating Lizzie's birthday at Billy Kwongs in Potts Point this week. Joining the celebrations was film director Bruce Beresford who directed Barry in the Barry McKenzie films. Lizzie is 66 and is the daughter of the late famed poet Stephen Spender and his musician wife Natasha.

Picture Post # 43

An occasional series:

Our exclusive photograph of Dame Edna Everage from the set of the new Absolutely Fabulous film in which she has starring role. More than that we are not at liberty to reveal.

Pomp & Ceremony : This is how the French honoured the Australian Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove and Lady Cosgrove when they arrived in Paris to commemorate Anzac Day on April 25th.

A replica of the Palmyra Arch – a 2,000-year-old Syrian architectural landmark believed to have been destroyed by Islamic militant group ISIS – has been erected in London's Trafalgar Square. The loonier sections of the so-called 'truther' movement on the internet claim is it a portal to allow Beelzebub to enter the Earth and take command. All we got was London mayor Boris Johnson.

A Christmas Message from Dame Edna Everage

She's Baaack..

The Scourge of Fleet Street Madame Arcati has succumbed to pressure from her fan base and is back in business. Go here for the latest jottings of the British blogger who strikes fear into the hearts of society and those who dare to comment on it via the pages of the UK's ghastly tabloids.
Alternatively, Madame Aracti's long suffering manager (this is the UK's Dame Edan Everage / Barry Humphries very own Odd Couple) renowned astrologer "to the stars" (why not) Victor Olliver has just published his latest guide to your prospects for the next year. As we only half way through this one why not download his 2015 daily guide. We swear by it and won't even step outside the front door before we have consulted our Lifesurfing paperback.

Clover to The Rescue

  Sydney's esteemed Lord Mayor Clover Moore held a small shindig last week to farewell Town Hall worker Rachel Healy who is leaving to join theatre director Neil Armfield  (actor Geoffrey Rush's best pal) to work on the Adelaide Festival with Armfield. Left pictured are Armfield, Lord Mayor Clover Moor and Rachel.
Alas proceedings were drawn to a sudden halt when a party guest went crashing down in a faint perhaps overcome by the excitement of it all. Leaping into action Clover was by the side of the prone body in seconds and soon administering a cool clothe to the brow of the hapless guest. Below is a snap of all the drama taken by noted Sydney photographer and chronicler of this town's society, William Yang.

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 Australian cultural icon Dame Edna Everage has sent Whispers a doctored snap she also sent to Sir Ian McKellan for his 76th birthday. McKellan was so taken with it he is now using as his profile pic on Facebook.

 Meanwhile Dame Edna's manager Barry Humphries has been interviewed in The Guardian in his capacity as director of the Adelaide Festival with some comments to make about the noted Australian diplomat Sir Les Patterson pictured below next to Humphries.

And a Tale of Woe : singer and musician Sean Lennon currently on tour in the UK has posted a snap (right)  on his Facebook page of the empty spot in his band's van where their radio was stolen a few days ago in Shepherd's Bush while they were performing. At last estimate his mum Yoko Ono was worth a cool $500M.

Web Finds

Our web spotters include New York based Aussie marketing guru David Art Wales who snapped this friendly gent known to you and me as David Bowie on a flight from New York to Austin. And in Cattle Class !

Above is the Head Belieber, Justin who has supplied this quick video to us of him accepting the Ice Bucket Challenge (whatever that is) viewed below :

Finally the latest from Dame Edna Everage who is now in the second year of her Farewell Tour

Pic of The Week

Our exclusive photograph : Dame Edna Everage shares a box at this week's Royal Command Performance with Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.

Dame Edna takes the West End

It's the final leg of her world-wide farewell tour. Dame Edna Everage opened last night at the Palladium in London's West End and was as always, a huge hit with her grateful audience. Here are a few snaps from the night and the after party. pics :© DavidJensen 2013

A Little Night Music

Last Night of The Proms and Dame Edna Everage sings a special song:

Dame Nellie for Downton Abbey !

Long before the Moonee Ponds' housewife Dame Edna Everage conquered the world, opera diva Dame Nellie Melba was the Antipodean toast of New York , London , Paris and all points were opera was revered.

Aussie Dames of note : Nellie Melba, Enid Lyons , Pattie Menzies , Edna Everage

Now she is to be featured in the next series of Downton Abbey and New Zealand opera star Dame Tiri Te Kanawa is to play Melba. Let's hope she
shows Melba as she was, not only a gifted and loved soprano but a diva of the first order. Melba lives on of course not just because of her gorgeous voice
but via menus around the world with Melba Toast and Peaches Melba  dishes that are yet to disappear.
And that is real stardom !

Topless : Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall !

"Don't do it !" warns Barry Humphries.

Barry was dispensing advice last night at a reception held by Prince Charles and Camilla at Clarence House, their London residence.                                                                                   

And another guest Kylie Minogue had some harsh words for Camilla who has never visted Australia before :"naughty Duchess!".
There were also a group of semi naked New Zealanders dancing for the royals as our video shows (watch for the New Zealand High Commissioner who joins them at the back!)
Guests included a coterie of Australian and New Zealand ex-pats in honour of the royal pair's visit to the colonies in November. They will visit Sydney and Melbourne where Camilla will present the cup to the winner of the famous Melbourne Cup to be held on Tuesday the 6th November.

Humphries warned the Duchess to refrain from standing topless on a hotel balcony :"you never know who could be lurking in the bushes" he said.

Also at the reception :wobble board enthusiast Rolf Harris and writer Kathy Lette who presented Camilla with a jar of Vegemite.

Something in Common : Dracula & Rupert Murdoch

Russell Crowe may be in the frame to play Count Dracula in the 37th film about the legendary Transylvania but he is also tipped to play Rupert Murdoch in a planned film based on the memoirs of journalist Sir Harold Evans.

Harold Evans

Evans was the editor of the Sunday Times from 1967 to 1981 when Rupert Murdoch purchased Times Newspapers after a secret meeting with then PM Margaret Thacher, a fact just revealed in the Leveson Inquiry. He was appointed editor of The Times by Murdoch after extracting an agreement that Rupert would have no editorial input. That feel apart within a year and  Evans resigned, writing his auto-biography Good Times Bad Times in 1984.
He now lives in New York with his wife Tina Brown the former Vanity Fair editor and their 2 children.

Playing Evans will be the thinking woman's heart throb Colin Firth. This will be the second time an Aussie actor has played the Citizen Kane of the Antipodes. In the excellent TV  series Selling Hitler based on the phony Hitler Diaries and broadcast in 1991, Dame Edna Everage's manager Barry Humphries was cast as Murdoch. Rupert agreed to the purchase of the diaries after they were endorsed by the historian Hugh Trevor-Roper who later expressed reservations before publication. Despite being informed that the diaries were fakes, Murdoch famously said "publish them anyway, after all we're in show business".

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Dame Edna,Vagina Deniers & Gladioli Interuptus

It was bound to be a night of laughter, memories and tears as Dame Edna Everage took to the stage at the Capitol Theatre to bade farewell at the beginning of her final tour, Eat Pray Laugh !.

The first hour was given over to Sir Les Patterson who despite a severe attack of Montezuma's Revenge insisted on treating audience members to an on-stage BBQ in between Sir Les rushing for relief in a handy stage loo complete with amplified sound effects.

Sir Les introduced his brother Gerard Patterson, a Catholic priest who seemed much taken with Dame Edna's young Asian male pianist despite his correctional ankle bracelet sounding an alarm. According to Les, Gerard is a "card carrying member of the Vagina Deniers Club ".

Maria Venuti

The late Sandy Stone gave a final discourse about his life on Earth before ascending to the heavens in his armchair to the sounds of My Blue Heaven.

Dame Edna's manager Barry Humphries & Lizzie Spender

And then it was time for the grand Dame herself, arriving on an elephant with a decidedly Indian theme. Apparently Dame Edna's manager Barry Humphries has signed Edna to a long Bollywood film contract after mistakenly believing he was signing a Hollywood film contract.

artist John Olsen

Bruce Beresford

This was a night with Dame Edna at her best and those in the 'ashtrays' and upstairs circle were invited to "cling on like fruit bats" with the star promising to glance at them occasionally in direct proportion to their ticket prices. We heard the latest on her children, the dress designer Kenny and her daughter Val Mai with her numerous piercings who is in show biz as well, performing at the women's only Clit Clat Club in Marrickville.

Various hapless audience members were grilled as to their bedroom decor and few were spared Edna's pithy comments. The finale was as expected, with every audience member, stomachs aching from laughter provided with their own gladioli and a standing ovation to wish the Dame farewell.
And a final appearance from Barry Humphries with thanks to the audience and a hope that they would all attend the next farewell tour.

As for Dame Edna's future plans-she's been telling a UK newspaper that a biographical film of her life is in the planning :"little Carey Mulligan will be playing me, Helen Mirren will play my grandmother and that dear little Judy Dench will be my bridesmaid Madge".
It's just the beginning of Dame Edna's world tour and at 78 years of age could be her last. Run don't walk and get tickets now wherever you are. They're going like hotcakes and it's a seriously funny night of laughs.

Hats Off To Royal Ascot

The sensational win by Black Caviar in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at the Royal Ascot races has brought local attention to the annual British racing season. Ascot was made famous by the film My Fair Lady and the outfits and hats featured in the movie set off a trend that has just gotten more and more over the top over the decades.

One who set a standard that most have struggled to top was Mrs Gertrude Shilling. She was the mother of one of the UK's most inventive and famous milliners, David Shilling whose hats are now featured in the Victoria & Albert Museum.

 He was the guest of Myer at the Melbourne Cup one year  (courtesy of the Shuttle) where he judged fashions.

Here are some of the most over the top toppers that appeared this year and some pics of Dame Edna Everage when she arrived one year in the 1980s wearing an homage to the Sydney Opera House complete with circling sharks and up-staged Mrs Shilling.

Gertrude & Ronald Shilling at Ascot

Her husband Ronald Shilling was furious as the press flocked around Dame Edna taking photographs : "at least my wife is a real woman" hissed Ronald to the throng.

"We can't all be perfect" responded Dame Edna
right : David Shilling & his mother Gertrude