Oxford Street News

This wondrous lady above is the delectable Maxine Maurine Shield who holds sway at the famous Oxford Street gay nightclub the Midnight Shift. Maxi has just been announced as the Entertainer of The Year at the Diva (drag) Awards and quite right too. Maxi will also serve as Hostess at Madonna's tour next year as the Ultimate Door Bitch (but she's really very nice)
Below is X Factor judge Dannii Minogue who took a turn last Sunday at Justin Hemmes'  Beresford Hotel as Bingo Caller at Tranny Bingo. They raise funds for charity. No matter how much they try to kill of Sydney's nightlife with the restrictive Lockout Laws they can't keep a good woman down. Or a man. Or a tranny for that matter.

Getting Hitched

 Our pic shows State MP Alex Greenwich (the Shuttle's favourite politician from the Russian Nobility) Nadia Neuman and the Federal member for Sydney Tanya Plibersek MP at the beautiful and historic Strand Arcade for the launch on Tuesday of the Mondial Australian Marriage Equality Ring.                                                                                                                                 

Available in 18 carat rose, white or yellow gold, 9 carat gold or silver all profits made from the sale of the ring will be donated to Australian Marriage Equality and contribute toward continued lobbying and education of equal marriage rights in Australia. 
It's available on-line here or in the Strand at Mondial-ask for Nadia who does expert fittings.
And look : all these celebrities are wearing them !

Dannii Minogue                                      Rachael Taylor                                 Deni Hynes

Wharf4Ward A Winner

Sam & Kochie from The Morning Show were in good humour as were Peter Overton and Karl Stefanovic

Dannii Minogue says You Can                                             X-Factor finalist Jae Waetford visits the You Can centre

 The third annual Sony Foundation Wharf4Ward at the Finger Wharf in Woolloomooloo was another stellar success raising over $700,000 for the new Sydney You Can Centre. You Can is a joint initiative of Sony Foundation and CanTeen to support young people who have been affected by cancer. And the stars turned out including X-Factor judges Dannii Minogue and Ronan Keating and numerous TV presenters and entertainers.

sharing a joke : Jessica Rowe , Natarsha Belling & Ita Buttrose.         Titomatic and Boxing champ Jeff Fenech

Dannii Minogue went on a Luvvie bender

Singer Samantha Jade shows how to arrive.

Storm Uechtrit & Ronan Keating, Troy Casser-Daley....and what where these waiters and the snapper doing ?

rules made to be broken especially at The Garden For Life Bar created by Alex Zabotto -Bentley

Shock Video:Dannii Minogue in Three-in-a-Bath Romp

MOVE OVER X Factor and Australia's Got Talent. Long before these shows were discovering young talent- from 1971 to 1988 Young Talent Time was presenting a host of new Aussie kids with some who went onto become major world stars.

On January 22nd YTT (as it is known ) returns to the Ten Network after a 24 year absence with a new cast of kids and Rob Mills as host (the originator of the show and presenter John Young is producer).

Tina Arena, John Bowles, Debra Byrne and Jamie Redfern are just some but the most notable discoveries had to be Dannii Minogue and her big sister Kylie Minogue.

Off course Dannii became one of YTT''s top stars after appearing on the programme when she was 9 and eventually featured every week. At 15 she introduced 17 year old Kylie during a promotion for The Hendersons in which Kylie had scored her first acting role. Eventually Kylie would be come a YTT regular and the rest is history.

Tina Arena (left)

Debra Byrne

Tina Arena stills tours and sings and is a huge star in France. John Bowles is travelling the world appearing in stage shows, Jamie Redfern, who was taken to the USA at age 14 to tour with Liberace (and hang out with Michael Jackson-the first of a series of young Aussie performers to attract MJ's attentions) runs a talent school and agency in Melbourne while Debra Byrne appeared just last week at the opening of Annie at The Star casino, accompanying her 9 year old grand -daughter who appears in the show.

And Kylie of course rules the world ! Below is a rare video we have uncovered (most of the video taped shows were recorded over and lost forever) of Dannii romping in a bathtub with a boy and girl !
(the title of the post?..we did work on a Fleet Street tabloid once)

Oscar Wilde, Bosie, Gay Marriage & The Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras

Two letters written by Oscar Wilde's lover Lord Alfred Douglas have been discovered in the Sydney State Library and put on display to co-incide with this Saturday's Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Bosie

The letters were written to one of Bosie's lovers Maurice Schwabe, who was banished to Australia by his family the year of Oscar Wilde's trial which scandalised Victorian England.

Schwabe was an old schoolfriend of Alfred Taylor who ran London's most notorious male brothel frequented by Wilde.

When Bosie was at Oxford he gave an old suit to a rent boy named Alfred Wood

In a pocket of that suit were the letters from Wilde in which he wrote of Bosie's "kissable lips". Wood found the letters and was soon blackmailing Oscar. Wilde paid 30 pounds for the letters but began an affair with Woods. It was to be his undoing.

Bosie bitterly complains in the 2 letters found in the library about Woods and what he is doing to Wilde.

On March 19th, 1893 Bosie opens one letter to Schwabe with " Darling Pretty Boy" and ends with:

''Goodbye now my dear darling beautiful Maurice; I send you all my love and millions of kisses all over your beautiful body. I am your loving boy-wife, or your little bitch if you prefer it . Bosie.''

Boy-wife ?. Bitch.  So nothing new there. The language hasn't changed-just the way of celebrating the lifestyle when 10,000 performers will troll up Oxford Street in stilettos on Saturday night watched by possibly a quarter of a million spectators. If they were alive no doubt Wilde and Bosie would be in the official Mardi Gras box at Taylor's Square with Dannii Minogue and Chris Crocker.

It's not known what Schwabe's fate was in Sydney. Previously he had travelled with Oscar and Bosie to Paris and had stayed at the Savoy with Wilde. His uncle  Frank Lockwood was the solicitor-general in London and had Schwabe's association with Wilde suppressed and his name was never mentioned during Wilde's trial.

Sydney in the 1890s

But if the family thought they were sending their son far away to avoid the depraved attractions found in London they were mistaken

With  female immigrants to the new colony in short supply Sydney had a notorious reputation throughout the Pacific as a den of iniquity with it's sly grog shops and male bordellos littered around the inner city areas of Darlinghurst and The Rocks.

When an offender was arrested for prostitution his police record was stamped with K.A.M.P- "known as male prostitute". It is claimed it was the beginning of the use of the word 'camp' in association with gayness ! Perhaps Maurice had felt right at home.

Dannii and Friends

Courtney Act with Dannii & Kris

To Matt Moran's Aria Restaurant balcony for a small party to launch Foxtels' Danni Minogue: Style Queen, a three part documentary series following Dannii as she prepares to embark on one of the biggest challenges in her career and a brand new chapter of her life – launching her brand-new fashion range Project D.

Dannii allowed cameras access in the run up to her dream business at the same time juggling all the other important elements in her life; TV, music, writing her autobiography,red-carpet events, modelling, her boyfriend Kris Smith, travelling between London and Australia for Australia’s Got Talent – and her most important job – impending motherhood.

Dannii was in top form and she was joined by partner Kris  and her partner in Project D Tabitha Somerset Webb with a surprise visit from Courtney Act who has just returned from a tour of the USA and the UK. We loved Kris's spectacles even though he admitted he doesn't actually need them but they do make him look intelligent.

One small faux pas - Dannii having a Tony Abbott moment  when responding  to a question while being interviewed : "sh*t happens!"..not a popular phrase today.

Dannii also revealed that she is eager to have another baby.