Double Bay Revival

It should be the shot in the arm the village of Double Bay needs. In November the new Intercontinental Hotel will open in the old premises of the Ritz Carlton Hotel. In it's brief history from the 1980s to the late 1990s , the Ritz was a terrific boost to the fortunes of Double Bay and became the hotel of choice for visiting celebrities like Madonna, presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush Snr, Princess Diana and Bob Dylan.The new Intercontinental promises to be a 5 start venue with a ballroom, top restaurants and a new nightclub which along with the thriving Casablanca just across the road will revive the Bay's nightlife.

# 1: Gossip From The Oprah Negotiations!

A tale in a series from our well placed mole in the Sydney organisers of the Greatest Journey Ever Taken- Oprah Winfrey's December visit to Australia when she plans to bus in 300 of her favourite guests for a sightseeing tour and a grand show at the Sydney Opera House where up to 3000 fans will view her live show.

After initial contacts were made, pleasantries exchanged, a battery of lawyers from either side got down to hard negotiations via video conferencing.

As the first day wore on neckties were loosened, fresh bottles of water consumed, coffee pots re-filled and the US side began to go in heavy.

The Aussie legal eagles began to sense that the other side where sending out vibes of "well just who the hell are you people ?".

The question they expected finally came towards the end of the day :

" OK guys," said the heavy Bronx accent of the sharp-suited US Oprah attorney as he thumped a table with his open hand-
"we really want to know some of your history so we can be sure you know what you are getting into-just who have you guys handled in the past down there ?"

The Aussie solicitor beamed as he delivered his response- " Are presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush Jr big enough ?. How about the Pope ?"

Bingo !. The ice was broken. It's been plain sailing ever since !

twittering on...

Masterminding the new media career of Melbourne underworld figure-or 'building consultant'. Mick Gatto-is the PR supremo Max Markson who spent the entire lunch Gatto threw for a few pals yesterday at the Woolloomooloo Wharf texting and twittering the latest updates on Gatto's next move.

Max twitters 

Markson hales from Shepherd's Bush in London where he once sold saucepans at a market stall, apparently successfully with his brilliant gift of the gab before he emigrated to Australia in his early 20s. He has since built an amazing publicity and management company-Markson Sparks.

No client is too lowly or grand for Max. From errant 17 year old party-boy Corey Delaney who had 1000 gatecrashers cause havoc at the shindig he threw whilst home alone-grabbing headlines worldwide, to Bill Clinton, Cherie Blair wife of the former British PM and recently the American boxer Sugar Ray Robinson.

Markson has built himself a magnificent palace in Dover Heights just up from Bondi Beach with splendid views out to sea and a cliffside pool that seemingly hangs right over the edge of the 200 metre drop to the rocks below. Never one to miss a trick, you can hire Max's house for a party or product launch for around $15000 a pop.

Now news comes of a former client who has apparently been spotted on day release from the 7 year sentence imposed in 2006 for operating a Ponzi scheme and ripping off a few hundred members of his local Assyrian community-the ebullient Karl Suleman who cut a swathe-if only a short one-through society as he passed himself off as a high-flying financier. He was certainly high flying at various stages-paying $100,000 to lunch with Bill Clinton at a charity bash and then flying the former US president to Melbourne in a Lear jet purchased with a bouncing cheque.

                                                                     Suleman & Bush (c)

Suleman-or Soloman as he was listed at one Jewish charity event, also hosted former US president George Bush Snr at a few parties before the law caught up with him.

As for the former clients who all lost fortunes in his bogus finance company-the local Assyrians who are  Christian Iraqis and are pretty upset about their lost savings-they aren't feeling terribly forgiving at this stage and word is they are planning their own special greeting for Karl when he finally emerges from jail.