Skye hits 60

 right: party girl Skye Leckie with fashion journalist Melissa Hoyer

Skye Leckie has reached 60 (believe me, that seems very young to some of us) and she held a shindig to celebrate at her Southern Highlands farm. Skye recently featured in the "reality" TV show Filthy Rich & Homeless where she lived on the streets for a time to see just what it was like. It made for riveting TV especially for a lady who enjoys a fairly sumptuous house in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs with her family and husband, the former TV boss David Leckie plus a pretty nice stretch of land in the ritzy south. As a dedicated charity worker- she's helped raise $millions for the children's hospital in Randwick Skye put her expertise to work and housed one homeless family she met during her homeless experiment.

Check out the magnificent hat on guest Jonathan Ward in our snap. Jonathan is the designer for the famed R.W.Williams and his fashions feature in stores around the world.
There to cheer on Skye: publicists Deeta Colvin and Nikki Andrews who between them created the legendary Cointreau Balls that guests flocked to from all over the world during their heyday in the roaring nineties.
********************************************************************************

Our exclusive snap here shows film director Baz Luhrmann who is now living in New York and developing new film projects.

Last week he was in Queensland celebrating here with the QLD Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and the occasion: Baz is to film a new biopic of Elvis Presley on the Gold Coast. I guess it has a passing resemblance to Memphis.

When worlds collide

PR supremo Deeta Colvin (pictured on the right) hosted a get-together this week as many of Sydney's top publicists joined Colvin who once reigned over Australia's glam social scene of the 1990s. Colvin was the mastermind behind the legendary Cointreau Balls of which Whispers attended many. They were some of the best bun fights this scribe has seen around the world. Hundreds of guests would be collected in limousines to be transported to a secret location for dinner and dancing wearing the prescribed costume theme for that year. Locations were varied from dis-used warehouses to a circus marquee in the wilds of the Wanda Beach sand hills, transformed into a fun palace for the night with top chefs catering and of course, those limos on hand to take one home which of course meant, over-indulgence was the order of the night

The several language speaking Deeta is married to heavyweight lawyer Rod McGeoh one of the clever masterminds behind securing the 2000 Olympics for Sydney. When the successful bid was announced the then Olympics boss and Spanish aristocrat  Juan Antonio Samaranch visited Sydney to look over the preparations as they proceeded.
Whispers recalls being at one small reception for Samaranch at which stage, the artist Charles Billich enters the scene. Spying a Billich print in the corner of the room McGeoh inquired why it was there and was told it was to be a gift to Samaranch. Shaking his head McGeoh responded "are you seriously giving him that"?.

The colorful wife of Billich, Christa Billich (left) was this week described as a "close friend" of the Playboy boss Hugh Hefner who died this week. A late arrival at the rather tacky Playboy Mansion, which can be hired for corporate events, it was only in the last couple of years that the Billichs descended upon the LA house. Perhaps Christa sneaked past the guards to the Hef's private quarters which the public were forbidden to enter and visited the ailing Hefner who had been bedridden for the past three years.

Sad passing as David Grant dies

David Grant and partner Katerina

Special events organizer David Grant has died from a brain tumor at age 55. David was the genius behind the legendary Cointreau Balls organized by PR supremos Deeta Colvin and Nikki Andrews. A few hundred select people including international guests were ferried by limousine to secret locations all over Sydney to be greeted by unforgettable scenarios created by the genius Grant.

David then went onto design shindigs at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was soon in demand by Olympic Committees around the world who commissioned him to organize their parties and social events. These had to be perfect considering the dignitaries including crowned heads of state who attend. Along the way he was hired by US presidents and world leaders to put together unforgettable events. David was a much loved personality, funny and charming who always remembered every person and every name. A sad loss indeed and most especially for his family- wife Katerina who David married this September and sons Seigfried, Max, Jack and Lewis, his parents, Bill and Maggie and brothers, Michael and Peter, and first wife, Lisa.

# Unforgettable Cointreau Balls included a circus tent on the sand hills at Wanda near Cronulla, Beach and various factories around Sydney and the Maritime Museum with a Titanic theme.. Guests would be collected by limo (impossible to book one for the night) and delivered to an unknown location to dine on cuisine by Sydney's best chefs, sip champagne and of course, drink Cointreau.  Below: scenes from the Cointreau Ball

Turning off The Tap

the old Sydney Tabernacle - now the Eternity Theatre

Darlinghurst's Tap Gallery closes permanently tomorrow much to the relief off neighbours in the upwardly mobile East Sydney suburb. No doubt a smart architect's office or advertising agency will arise in it's place.
Whispers has never actually been to the Tap but it was popular with Sydney's hard-core group of gate-crashers who would be acceptable if they brought something to the party, like at least personality- that was good enough reason to never enter it's doors.
The other was for very good reasons like safety. the Tap began giving live "performances" some time ago with rather large audiences. The problem is that they never had fire safety doors. That's an
 insult to all the other theatres and galleries that spend a small fortune complying with safety laws apart from the shocking matter of risking visitor's safety.
The Tap's persistent claims for help from Sydney Council who shut down Tap's performance space have also fallen on deaf ears much for the same reasons. Council did not have or were not prepared to rent premises to a gallery that flouts safety laws. Council should be applauded for that.

The last word on the closing of the Tap Gallery goes to the owner who has been talking to various local newspapers about the lack of financial help from Council who have just spent $millions on restoring the Sydney Tabernacle right across the road from the Tap and turning it into the wonderful Eternity Theatre (with all the correct safety features) along with planned renovations to a Community Centre on the opposite side of the road: on one hand she was extolling her promotion of unknown artists over the years (most who still remain unknown today) and was quoted as saying: "now I will have to dump all the art into a skip". As for the claim that Tap fitted new fire doors at a wasted cost of $10,000 (apparently raised via donations ) -the building has been sold- and that this was the responsibility of the building's owner, what was not revealed is that the owner happens to be a relative.
                                           *****************************
Also soon to close it's doors and already in receivership is Kings Cross nightclub Hugos Lounge which has hosted numerous visiting stars over the years like Kim Kardashian and Mick Jagger.

Eastern Suburb's newspaper LatteLife hosted a recent party there and many moons ago Whispers also celebrated with a dinner party at Hugos with guests like New York's uber social snapper Patrick McMullan, PR supremo Deeta Colvin and the late Lady Sonia McMahon.
Hugos, despite the best efforts of owner Dave Evans, brother of controversial chef Peter Evans, is yet another victim of the new lock-out laws that is devastating Kings Cross and Oxford Street.
So Vale Hugos, we will miss you & thanks for the fun over the years.

A Swell Birthday Present

Laurent Boidevezi, Maryanne Shearer & Boris de Vroomen

We admit to being a tad jealous of this award as we love the product. Maryanne Shearer is the lucky recipient of the 2012 Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award. 
  
The award was presented at a lunch at Cafe Sydney restaurant by Veuve's International Director Laurent Boidevezi, appropriately on International Women's Day last  Thursday (other notable events-Europe's biggest selling tabloid Bild has promised no more nudes will appear in the publication!). 
The lunch was attended by some of Australia's best known business women including NSW Governor Marie Bashir, Deeta Colvin, Janet Holmes à Court, film producer Rebel Penfold Russell and our favourite pearl producer Marilynne Paspaley.

Ronni Khan of OzHarvest

Maryanne Shearer is the founder and CEO of Tea Too P/L (T2) and while everyone else was pondering whether a Cafe con leche was superior to an Espresso Con Panna or if the intricacies of an Latticino really were appreciated by the inner city latte crowd, she realised there was a huge gap in the market-tea drinkers were demanding, but not getting much more than their morning cup of Billy Tea. 
And thus 16 years ago an empire was born with Maryanne now employing 300 people with 30 stores throughout Australia selling her superb premium blends of tea.

But not only does Ms Shearer get the well deserved accolade from Veuve Clicquot-the awards were held jointly in 16 countries to celebrate female innovation and achievements in business -she will fly to Reims in France and, this is the good part-she'll receive a bottle of champagne on Madame Clicquot's birthday every December 16.
Also receiving an award for innovation was Ronni Khan who runs OzHarvest Food Rescue a non profit company that collects and delivers surplus food to charities. And that is something worth raising your glass to.

A Date in New York City

Diary note for our New York readers (around 500 a day !)

photograph by Patrick McMullan (c) PMc

A missive arrives from New York (and America's) most famous social photographer Patrick McMullan (left):

"Next Wednesday I, alongside Jacqui Rosshandler and Arthur Shorin, am co-hosting a really exciting launch party for the revolutionary breath freshener, EATWHATEVER. It should be an absolutely 'kissable' event! Limited copies of my book KISS KISS will be available to buy and have signed. So check out the invite below, RSVP to eatwhatever@gita-group.com and meet up with us at the Museum of Sex next Wednesday at 8:30PM. Hope to see you all there!"

No party in New York , Miami or Los Angeles is complete without McMullan or one of his trusted snappers present. He visited Australia in the late 90's ( courtesy of the Social Shuttle) and hosted an exhibition in Kings Cross on the premises that are now Hugo's nightclub and welcomed a host of local social figures like Lady Sonia McMahon, Kirk Pengilly from INXS, Min Keating and Deeta Colvin. There's talk that McMullan may visit Sydney and Melbourne in the near future to check out the local scene.

Read Patrick's internet magazine PMc here.

Bizarre venues

To the Carriageworks in downtown Redfern for the performance of Dita Von Teese in her Cointreauversial burlesque show.

Or so we thought it was the Carriageworks. The marvellous former railway carriage workrooms are in fact 2 venues with the same name. One on the west side of Redfern and one on the south. Equally as huge and both with the same name. Which is all very confusing.

Cointreau is a ghastly drink that completely dehydrates you and gives you the most evil hangover ever. But we love their parties. When ace publicist Deeta Colvin ran the legendary Cointreau Balls every year from 1989 to 1999 invitations were the most sought after all year. People flew from all over the globe to attend the fancy dress galas that were always held in secret venues with guests bussed to an fro in fleets of limos.

No-one drank Cointreau of course. They all stuck to French champagne. At the very last ball in '98 when the budget was clipped, they only served the sickly liqueur. Everyone knew the game was up.

Ms Von Teese is a lovely girl but waiting nearly 2 hours for a ten minute performance was a bit much. Especially when the only alcohol on offer is Cointreau.

Earlier in the night the Shuttle attended the World Champions Ball at Doltone House down by the harbour. Or so we thought it was Doltone House.

Like dozens of others who were deposited in taxis and limos at what we thought was Doltone House (which it was). We were then told by a helpful attendant that it was actually another Doltone House a hundred yards down the road (it was three hundred). Which didn't please the ladies in long gowns and stilettos.

Why would you name two venues Doltone House? . It's hardly a riveting name.

We went to met Usain Bolt, the world champion Jamaican runner who was also the youngest ever Olympic Gold Medal winner. He holds a host of unbeaten records as well which makes him the fastest man on 2 legs on Earth.

Usian wanted to meet some local wildlife so the obligatory Koala Bear and a Kangaroo Joey were trotted out for him and we all oohed and ahhed over them.

And the name of Koala and the Joey?..both were called 'Sidney'!