Ladies Who Lunch

B/W Chair Susan Diver * TV news reader Natarsha Belling * Mem Fox * Julia Baird * Dame Marie Bashir * Kate Carnell

 The Black and White Charity Committee raises funds for Vision Australia to provide support services for children and their families.  Each year they hold the Women Of Achievement lunch at the Four Season's Hotel at Circular Quay.
This is a great event: every penny raised goes to the charity as the ladies on the B/W Committee, cajole, beg, borrow and steal every aspect of the day. They are all unpaid volunteers and it's a pretty good achievement in itself to be able to draw over 500 attendees as they did this year, to pack the hotel ballroom.
Three distinguished ladies of "achievement" give a speech outlining their career and how they got there. Most started from humble beginnings This years speakers were Mem Fox who is married to the billionaire trucking magnate Lindsay Fox, ABC TV presenter Julia Baird and Kate Carnell former Chief Minister of the ACT and currently the Ombudsman for Small Business.
Among the guests, Gina Rinehart arguably the world's richest woman with a mining fortune and Dame Marie Bashir former NSW Governor, Professor Ross Steele, one of world's great experts on the French language and Olympian Jessica Gallagher.

Judith Crawley * Daniel Trelease * Maria Finlay * Professor Steele* Jessica Gallagher * Mike Levendi

Only The Best

It's one of the world's finest champagnes so when Laurent Perrier announced they were launching two new versions the Shuttle felt that it would be only good manners to help them out.

Sepia is a relatively new bar and restaurant in downtown Sussex Street not far from Chinatown and it's quickly developed a  reputation for it's atmosphere and fine food presided over  by Martin Benn whose credentials are impeccable. Recently from the Boathouse, Glebe's top eatery but formerly Benn was head chef at Tetsuyas.

nice-Natarsha Belling at Laurent Perrier

And Tetsuyas -as anyone worth his salt knows, has received more world awards than one can poke a fork at including being voted amongst the fifty best restaurants in the world for 8 years.  Owner and chef Tetsuya Wakuda has now reached God-like status in his birth country Japan where he commands audiences in the thousands when he makes an appearance there. One of his regular customers David Bowie makes side trips to Sydney just to eat at Tetsuyas.

Georgia Stenmark & Gretel Packer at Sepia

So Marin Benn has been part of that magic and has now brought it to his own establishment, aided by partner Vicki Wild in a New York  type brasserie with Japanese and French influenced food that is quite simply, sensational.

But more on that champagne: Laurent Perrier Ultra Brut and Brut Millesime 2002 which are really quite superb and were served in copious amounts at the tasting.

Taste is far too personal to describe the exquisiteness of these two bubblys. Just go and grab a bottle now as they are on sale at $140 and $120 respectively. You will definitely not be disappointed.
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We've just scored a pair of tickets for Elton John's show at the Hope Estate at Polkolbin in the Hunter Valley in December.

This is how spectaculars always should have been-at one of the world's finest vineyards. Hope have really hit the jackpot with this brilliant concept by joining with promoter Michael Chugg , so much so they have now built their own 19000 seat amphitheatre. Recent shows have included The Who and Neil Diamond.

Pepper's Convent

It makes for one of the most pleasant weekends- a two hour drive to the glorious Hunter (especially in December), stay at one of the cheery hotels and guest houses (we always stay at Peppers, either the guesthouse or the Convent) and dinner at one of dozens of fantastic restaurants in the area and then on to the concert.

But you have to book now!. It will be sold out by September. Book here 
 ## And we will have 2 tickets to be given as prizes for Elton's just announced concert at Star City-there will only be 2000 seats !. More later.