Gina parties in New York

Gina Rinehart & Audrey Gruss

Whisper's New York spy disguised as an Upper East Side socialite has spotted Australia's richest person and the world's richest woman Gina Rinehart at several parties around town as our exclusive snaps show.
On the weekend Gina attended a White Tea garden party at the ritzy Southampton home, Fairwind thrown by philanthropist Audrey Gruss. That was to launch four new products in Gruss' Hope Fragrance where 100% of profits go to the Hope for Depression Research Foundation, a charity started by Gruss in honour of her mother Hope who suffered from depression most of her life. The guest list comprised of many of the US names from the Social Register: Sharon Bush, Kathy Hilton and Luce Churchill. Yes, they are all related to famed gents with the same moniker.

Michael Milken * David Koch

 A few days later Rinehart also attended a charity fundraiser for the Prostrate Cancer Foundation hosted by Michael Milken once jailed for two years and fined $600M for selling 'junk bonds'.  Milken has successfully re-invented himself as a charity fundraiser. That party was also attended by David Koch of the influential Koch brothers, As far as wealth goes, Koch is worth an estimated $47B, Gina Rinehart currently is worth around $12B personally while Milken gets by with just a lazy $1B. Rinehart has a New York penthouse which sensibly has a drive-in elevator for one's limousine which travels to your apartment so your feet never need touch the pavement. How the other half live!

Hair included

Here is the latest snap of Lord Alan Sugar on his boat the Lady A having his hair cut. You can almost see those ex-Biba art deco lady lamps in the background. All of this- except Mr Sugar and hair stylist, can be yours for under $20M.
The boat is moored off the beautiful island of Capri where Sugar has a holiday villa. Give Lord Sugar a call and maybe he'll put you up for the week-end as you inspect his ship. For details- see story below.
# you can always follow Lord Sugar on his twitter feed and in fact he is encouraging more followers so he can beat Piers Morgan's number.

Alan's Boat For Sale

The late tycoon Alan Bond's floating palace is for sale if you have $17M to spare  Once named the Southern Cross 111 in honour of his yachting success with the America's Cup the 181-foot long yacht accommodates 12 guests in 6 cabins and has a crew of 15. 

 Built in Japan in 1986 for the subsequently disgraced Australian tycoon who died in 2015, the vessel was bought by Lord Alan Sugar after Bond's death.

Lord & Lady Sugar

Sugar, better known as the host of the British reality TV series The Apprentice re-named the boat   The Lady A after his wife Ann and it's described as a “unique market opportunity” and “one of the most distinctive yachts on the water” by brokers.

When Sugar is not castigating President Donald Trump he indulges in an on-line battering of the UK TV host Piers Morgan who in the past he has called a "Trump toady". Now he has decided the yacht is surplus to his needs. It's moored off the romantic Isle of Capri where Sugar has a holiday home.

You can find more information at the ship brokers Edmiston. 

We've provided a few snaps of the luxury interior which one wag described as "looking like it was furnished by Ikea". How rude! Mind you those 'art deco' Lady Lamps look suspiciously like the floor stock from the legendary 1970s London department store BIBA which lasted about 3 years before closing with the fittings sold off for a song in a fire sale.

Restaurant News

 Twitter, Facebook, the blogosphere is abuzz with news of a scathing review of top chef Neil Perry's Rockpool Bar & Grill in Perth.
Titled :  "your $326 dinner was the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten' our reviewer minces no words:
" From the moment I stepped through your ten-foot-high Japanese-influenced doors and into your airline hangar dining hall, the experience was the most joyless I have ever had involving food. I’m not just talking about the high end stuff. I’m talking about $8.50 kebabs ordered by the roadside at three in the morning after nights out with the lads. I’m talking about failed experiments cooking alone when too drunk to go to the shops. I’m talking about childhood stand-offs with parents ending with me blocking my nose, scarfing the turnip and running from the table crying. Your food was worse, Rockpool Bar and Grill Perth. And you charged me $326."
The blog is authored by someone called  scheissenbedauern ( pictured in his 'selfie')who apparently lives in Brisbane and even that fine city has rankled the poor chap as he explains:
"I recently visited Brisbane for the first time. I never wanted to see Brisbane but got sent for work. I spent the first hour walking around thinking, it’s true, Brisbane sucks. I even wrote some text messages to people. “In Brisbane. It’s everything I expected.”

Read  scheissenbedauern's jottings here. You may also like his other pieces including his lament about supermodel Megan Gale who apparently blocked him on Twitter.
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 In 2010 the Shuttle reported on a ripple of outrage that had run through the Bangkok establishment with the arrival of Australian chef David Thompson  ( pictured above second right) and his Nahm restaurant. "Coals to Newcastle" was the theme, but Thompson has succeeded brilliantly and won over his critics.
Nahm has been named not just in the Best 50 Asian restaurants in the world but is now Number One !
Well we told you so having eaten Thompson's supperb Thai food many times. But don't take our word for it : not only is Thompson Tom Cruise's favourite chef but he also creates banquets for the Thai Royal Family.

Melbourne Tops Sydney

Melbourne has been declared the world's most livable city by the Economic Intelligence Unit (of the Economist Magazine)  out of 140 others. Sydney came in 7th, Adelaide was 6th and Perth 9th. The locations are judged on stability, culture and environment,  healthcare, infrastructure and education. Vienna was second while Vancouver third.

Melbourne                            Adelaide                                                       Sydney

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jerry Hall's new Aussie bloke

Jerry at a Sydney party last month

Warwick Hemsley

The rumour began just over ten days ago-Jerry Hall was being squired around town by a new man. This week his identity was revealed : Warwick Hemsley, a millionaire Perth businessman who is on the board of numerous A- listed companies. 

Jerry is residing in Perth for an upcoming appearance of her memorable role in The Graduate, in which she appears nude on stage and which opens tomorrow night.  

Eileen Bond

Hemsley has impeccable art credentials as well. He is on the Council of the National Gallery in Canberra and was Deputy Chairman of the West Australian Opera Company and was Chairman of the Australia Day Council of Western Australia. He was instrumental in bringing about the current exhibition in Canberra :Masterpieces from Paris: Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and beyond: Post-impressionism from the Musée D’Orsay.

Hall and Hemsley were spotted arm in arm at a party given in Jerry's honour at Eileen 'Big Red' Bond's up-market Peppermint Grove mansion on Tuesday night. Bond, ex-wife of Alan Bond and Hall are old friends-they met through theatre producer John Reid, the former manager of Elton John.

Move over Imelda Marcos !

Lang Hancock

Our favorite local Filipino gal made good Rose Hancock Porteous is about to be immortalised in song and on stage with the gala premiere of  Prix D’Amour (The Price of Love) a musical based upon the life of the former nurse and maid who snared the heart of her billionaire patient.

Prix D’Amour was written by  Paul Dion of Merimbula.and is to be presented at the local Twyford Hall  with a show that promises laughter, tears, singing and dancing. No mention yet if the beloved Rose's drug conviction for forging a script for sleeping pills features. Surely the incident is an ideal moment for a dreamtime sequence or a dramatic interlude, perhaps just at the end of the first half. 

The musical is based upon the book "Rose" by Robert Wainwright.

It poses the question : was Rose a gold-digger or was she a woman misunderstood by the values of two vastly different cultures?. The mind boggles.

This is the story of a woman who began life as a small town girl but became one of Australia's wealthiest and most eccentric socialites.

the Prix D'Amour cast

Rose was born in Silay City in the Philippines and was the granddaughter of a Philippine Revolution war hero. Her father was a friend of Ferdinand Marcos.

It has been claimed that loved blossomed between Rose and the ailing Hancock when she was watching TV reports of the dramatic fall of the Marcos regime that was broadcast live. At one stage after  the Marcos clan had scrambled aboard a US helicopter to flee to Hawaii, with a dozen Louis Vuitton suitcases crammed with US dollars- Imelda turning to her tearful and loyal servants proclaiming  "I leave with nothing but your love" diamond bracelets cascading down her wrist-.a camera crossed to the then Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans who was one of the first visitors to the former presidential palace. 

Evans described for the cameras the chaos he found as he toured the palace and his puzzlement on coming across Imelda's bedroom where he opened a chest and discovered a variety of brightly coloured objects, holding one one up for the viewers to reveal a very large purple veined dildo. Evans feigned ignorance as to the dildo's use wondering  aloud what Imelda could possibly do with such a strange object.. (Rose also has a collection of shoes just like Imelda).

Ms Hancock nee Lacson  flew in to a rage, issuing Filipino curses and hurled a vase at the telly.

Startled from his oxygen tent , the West Australian mining magnate Land Hancock shot up to see the fiery dark haired downstairs maid with eyes flashing in anger- love was borne and the rest is history.

In his later years Lang languished in the same bedroom  whilst his loving bride /nurse entertained Perth's elite in the downstairs ballroom of their love nest, Prix L'Amour, occasionally ushering a few into his bedroom like a tour group. Will all these wonderful moments be put to song and dance in Prix D'Amour ?.

Sadly Rose will not be attending the world premier. She is still recovering from a stroke late last year. Prix D'Amour opens on July 30th.

We bring you again some clips of our Rose in action and , click here to hear one of the wonderful toons from Prix D'Amour !