They doubted us..

Several loyal readers doubted Whisper's tale that they encountered a very young James Murdoch asleep at a party at the home of the late Lady Mary Fairfax, Fairwater in Sydney's Double Bay.
But it's true and we now show a pic we snapped at the event.
From left to right is billionaire James, son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, Primrose Dunlop and well known News Ltd photographer Frank Viola.

Young James was just 15 a the time and doing "work experience" on his father's newspaper The Sunday Telegraph and accompanied the other two to Lady Mary's. At the time Primrose was writing a social column for the newspaper.
We told how Primrose met the Qantas Trolley Dolly and Egyptian royal Prince Lorenzo Giustinian at the shindig.
Often known as Prince Montesini, Lorenzo says his title is a very old one from the Ottoman Empire.
Sometime later the pair decided to get married and organised their nuptials to be held in Venice as half of Sydney and Melbourne's high society travelled to the canal city for the wedding.
Alas, Prince Lorenzo got cold feet and decamped the night before they were to be married and ran off with his best man Richard Straub while assorted media searched Europe looking for the errant bridegroom.
Meanwhile Primrose, heiress to a considerable stockbroking fortune in Melbourne nabbed a European noble and is now known as Countess Zofia Krasicki v Siecin.

Overdose on Cartier

Naomi Watts looked sensational at the dinner to launch the Cartier exhibition in Canberra at the NGA.

The National Gallery of Australia’s next extraordinary exhibition featuring many of the world’s greatest jewels opens in Canberra on 30 March. Cartier: The Exhibition includes the tiara loaned to Catherine Middleton on her wedding day , a necklace worn by Her Majesty The Queen, Grace Kelly’s engagement ring and Elizabeth Taylor’s ruby and diamond necklace, along with some of the most exquisite pieces from the stunning Cartier Collection.

Below: at the Cartier dinner in Canberra: to launch the exhibition: Countess Zofia Krasicka v. Siecin, Lady Potter AC and Countess Primose Krasicka v. Siecin
For the uninitiated Countess Primose Krasicka is the former Primrose "Pitty Pat" Dunlop who featured in the madcap adventure in Venice when she and her fiance Prince Lorenzo Montesini arrived with the cream of Melbourne society in tow for the pair's expected marriage. At the very last minute Prince Lorenzo got cold feet and ran off with his best man and "life partner" Robert Straub. Straub and Montesini had met whilst doing their National Service during the Vietnam War.
You can read more of Primrose's adventures here.

A 15 year old Murdoch and the groom who eloped with his best man in Venice

Cartier fans and some of their jewels:
The Countess of Cambridge * HM The Queen* Elizabeth Taylor*Grace Kelly*Duchess of Windsor* Dame Nellie Melba

Strangest story of the week

Broadcaster Phillip Adams who chairs the Late Night Live program on the ABC's Radio National is a particular favourite of Whispers. Each day when we are traveling by car we avidly listen to Adam's show when it is re-broadcast. His mixture of guests with their take on world affairs is always fascinating as is Adam's presentation.

But now word reaches us the Adams and an ABC crew have been banned from visiting India. They have been denied visas after planning the trip for weeks. Why? This is a real mystery. Many consider Adams a bit of an old 'lefty'. Indeed former Prime Minister John Howard on one of his regular attacks upon the ABC and the (ill-conceived) view it was too "left wing" famously pondered "where is the right-wing Philip Adams.?"
Australia's media seems to have ignored this bizarre insult which can only be political but India's Hindustan Times has the scoop.

Whispers has spotted Adams around town in the past but he now appears to have retired to the country after selling his magnificent Paddington home. On one memorable occasion we attended a party in Queen Street Woolahra for the launch of the famed Prince Lorenzo Montesini's (left) autobiography, wittingly launched by Philip.

Lord McAlpine Hits Back

With the British media in a feeding frenzy over the claims about the late BBC TV personality Jimmy Savile, it was only a matter of time before matters came to the boil and an innocent was hurt.

Lord McAlpine's Cable Beach Resort

The 'jumping the shark' moment came early Thursday morning when a lightweight, snowy haired breakfast TV host attempted to ambush British PM David Cameron by presenting a list of names he had gathered on the Internet- 'within three minutes". Cameron put the host firmly in his place whilst shushing the presenter's blinking eyed co-host as she tried to butt in.

Margaret Thatcher with Lord McAlpine (right)

Within 24 hours Lord Alistair McAlpine , the former Conservative Party treasurer had issued a furious denial and one of his accusers had back-pedalled like Speedy Gonzales in reverse, admitting he had made a terrible mistake. There were red faces all round and McAlpine has said he will sue.

Lord McAlpine is a familiar figure around Sydney and was here earlier this year on his way to visit his beloved  Cable Beach Resort which he established in 1979 in the pearling town of Broome in the Northern Territory.
In the late 1990s McAlpine hosted an unforgettable party at Sydney's Hotel Intercontinental which he owned at the time, to promote Broome.
He arrived amongst the city traffic on a towering camel, no mean feat for the diminutive Baron. Guests were invited to a lavish dinner and left later that evening each bearing a deck chair as a memento.

Pitty Pat's intern James Murdoch

Lorenzo & Pitty Pat

At one stage Lord McAlpine also dated Primrose 'Pitty Pat' Dunlop, the Melbourne socialite and heiress who at the time was writing a social column for Rupert Murdoch's Sunday Telegraph and carting a 15 year old intern around with her by the name of James Murdoch. James had a low boredom threshold and would fall asleep at parties
Pitty Pat ended up marrying the Polish Count Krasicki after a disastrous engagement to Qantas flight attendant Prince Lorenzo Monetsini who famously ran off with his bridegroom leaving Pitty Pat at the altar at the glorious Cipriani Hotel in Venice along with 100 socialite guests who had flown in from Melbourne , Sydney London and New York, some still arriving as the groom fled to Harry's Bar, clambering out of water taxis to attend the 'wedding of the year'.  
Lord McAlpine now lives in Italy with his wife and is presumably in contact with the finest British libel lawyers. Such is the rich tapestry of life.
You can listen to an  interview Lord McAlpine gave to ABC  Kimberley in March this year here.



**Earth to News Ltd : Lord McAlpine was not a Member of Parliament  or a politician.

In The Houses Of The Muses

Martin Browne, Susie Hagon,Ross Steele

Photographer Susie Hagon has published her second book of photographs: In The Houses Of The Muses.

It’s a collection of portraits of Australian identities and scenes from Alexandria in Egypt where Susie has been involved in the project Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the ambitious scheme to re-build the fabled Royal Library of Alexandria reputedly burnt to the ground by Julius Caesar in 48BC.

The project was the brainchild of Egyptian noble and Alexandrian born Prince Lorenzo Montesini, or to give him his full title : Prince Giustiniani, Count of the Phanaar, Knight of Saint Sophia and Baron Alexandroff.  

Hal Salter

John & Caroline Laws

A launch party organised by French language expert Professorr Ross Steele was held at the Wagner Gallery in Paddington and drew a diverse crowd including racing identity Angela Belle Sweeney, Prince Lorenzo, social figures like Robert Hampshire and Glen Marie Frost, renowned winemaker Brian McGuigan, artist Kerry Lester, folk song expert Warren Fahey, Caroline Laws (Susie’s mum ) and her step-father radio tsar John Laws. Antique dealer Martin Browne did the honours and launched the book.

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (by Susie Hagon)

Kerrie Lester

Angela Belle McSweeney

Contact the Wagner Gallery on 02)9360 6069 or go to Susie’s website to enquire about copies of the book.

Transgender Airline Takes Off

 Where else but Thailand would an airline have a policy of hiring transgender trolley dollys ?.

Thanyarat Jiraphatpakorn

Known as kathoeys or ladyboys and called the 'third sex', transgender Thais are a common sight all over Thailand and they blend into the culture in every way. When a Thai boy tells his mum and dad he plans to change his sex, the discussion is most likely about whether the family can afford the operation rather than shocked exclamations.

Tiffanys

Now a new Thai airline called PC Air has hired three transgender flight attendants including the winner of the 2007 Miss Tiffany beauty pageant 23 year old Thanyarat Jiraphatpakorn . Tiffanys is a world famous cabaret theatre in the seaside resort of Pattaya near Bangkok and hundreds of tourists flock to the extravagant floor shows to see the beautiful ladyboy chorus lines every night of the week.

Joyce Maynge for Qantas ?

Just last week SBS television screened the popular and classic Thai film Beautiful Boxer, the true story of Parinya Jaroenphon, a young Buddhist monk who became a top Thai boxer while struggling with his sexual identity. Parinya eventually earned enough money in the tough boxing rings of Chonburi while wearing full make-up during bouts to pay for his sex reassignment surgery with the blessing of his parents.

Will the idea catch on ?. As our picture shows, Richard Branson with his world wide Virgin Blue Airlines may be flirting with the idea already and although Thailand has the largest number of transgenders in the world, Australia could give them a run for their money.

Prince Lorenzo

With the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras season hotting up perhaps Qantas could set out on an recruitment drive up Oxford Street.
Priscilla Queen of The Desert has already shown the world what we are made of, or were once made of. It's never quite made clear in the film if all the drag queens have had the 'snip'n'tuck' and Sydney's six foot drag queens delight in keeping it a secret as to whether they have 'gone all the way' down there !.

Qantas has form here for setting trends and hiring trolley dollys of all descriptions and they were the first airline to offer joint family benefits to same sex couples. And  in Aussie egalitarian culture social beginnings of any form have never been a barrier. Now retired but once famous for ditching his prospective bride in Venice for the best man, for years the Egyptian royal Prince Lorenzo Montesini Giustiniani   could be found serving passengers in the first class section at the pointy end of the plane.

A 15 year old Murdoch and the groom who eloped with his best man in Venice

 Pictured left: James Murdoch, Primrose Dunlop and News Ltd snapper Frank Viola.

Calling in for a brief visit to artist Mary Shackman's exhibition at the Charles Hewitt Gallery was our favourite Egyptian royal, Prince Lorenzo Montesini Giustiniani with the new man in his life, a large handsome fellow Egyptian by the name of Remy.

Prince Lorenzo (right) and Remy

An Alexandrian by birth, Lorenzo heads the Australian Friends of the Alexandrian Library in Egypt. His stylish autobiography MyLife and Other Misdemeanours was released by Penguin in 1999 in which Lorenzo recalled with enormous gusto his early years in Egypt,his arrival in Australia, his military service in Vietnam, and his tumultuous relationship with his late partner Robert Straub along with the events surrounding a certain wedding in Venice.

left at the altar-Pitty Pat

It's 20 years since most of Sydney and Melbourne society travelled en mass to Venice for the nuptials of Lorenzo and Primrose 'Pitty Pat' Dunlop, the daughter of establishment figures Sir Ian and Lady Potter. He had the title-she had the cash. A future inheritance estimated then at nearly $200M. Was it love?. Although the 2 had previously met when they both lived in Melbourne it seems love blossomed after a chance meeting at a soiree at Lady Mary Fairfax's home in Darling Point, Fairwater which doubles as the Monaco consulate. Lady Mary has hosted many parties for visiting royalty like Prince Albert of Monaco and the British royals.
Lorenzo was a guest and Pitty Pat was covering the party for the social column she wrote for the Sunday Telegraph. Her newspaper work experience junior for the night was a 15 year old James Murdoch , son of Rupert and now boss of the UK News Ltd corporation. While the 2 lovers eyed each other off, young James promptly fell asleep on a sofa on his first night on the job

The wedding was never to be. Lorenzo got cold feet the night before the ceremony and fled for parts unknown with his lover Robert Straub, his best man. The bride was left waiting at the altar. Montesini and Straub had met when they were army conscripts in the Vietnam War and had been together ever since working as Qantas trolley dolly's. Straub passed away about 14 years ago from cancer.

Mary Shackman & Elizabeth Fox

Prince Lorenzo tells tSS plans are well underway after initial teething problems, with a new Hollywood production company to immortalise the events on film. With a script written by award winning writer Louis Nowra who wrote K-19: The Widowmaker, Map of the Human Heart and the much celebrated Cosi, and director Stephan Elliot of Priscilla Queen of The Desert fame.

Lorenzo now travels between Sydney and Alexandria to check on his pet project the Bibliotheca Alexandrina that stands on the spot reputedly where the once famous Royal Library of Alexandria stood during the Ptolemaic dynasty, built in honour of Alexander the Great.

Also at Mary's exhibition was Elizabeth Fox, once labelled as Australia's Secret Weapon during the bid for the 2000 Olympics when she managed to secure the 3 crucial winning bid votes from South America including that of her home country Columbia. She never told us how it was done.

troubles in the Imperial Court of Priscilla

     It was the venue where they filmed the Academy Award winning film Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert.

 Forget Crocodile Dundee, the mega hit films that showed real Aussie men carry big knives-Priscilla, shot at the Imperial Hotel in Newtown showed that plenty of real blokes carry big handbags as well.

     The hotel has been something of a gay icon for donkey's years but since it closed it's doors in 2007 for a make-over, it's been embroiled in a court battle over patron numbers.

        Owner Shadd Danesi  reckons he needs at least a reasonable 700 patrons a night to cover the enormous costs of building a proper showcase for the drag stars who strut the boards and entertain a clientele that isn't strictly out for a quick pick-up for the night but seek glam premises and a bit of classy entertainment. And it doesn't come much classier than Sydney's coterie of 6 foot something cocks in frocks who know how to entertain with biting wit.

      But mean locals and the City Council are trying to put the kybosh on that with just 300, and the owner has spent half a million dollars in legal fees alone fighting debilitating court cases .

     It's reminiscent of the battles that happened in chic Paddington-once the home of artists, alternatives, gays and lesbians and just about anyone who felt they didn't fit in elsewhere.

      Plus the amazing Windsor Castle Hotel that was packed every night with every sexual gender and persuasion and some that haven't even been invented yet. The place rocked like no other and the huge immigrant population of Italian and Greek neighbours and the Aussie working class locals didn't give a hoot. They just loved the colour and movement.

     Now you couldn't swing a sequined handbag without knocking out a stockbroker, corporate raider or banker who scowls at anyone in pre-2008 2009 BMW while the sad old Windsor gets a solicitor's warning letter if a patron speaks above a whisper.

   This Nimbyism has been the scourge of Sydney with it's myriad of inner city pockets of wonderful suburbs-many built by convicts for the working classes ,whilst their betters lived in the outer suburbs.

       But now the situations are reversed with the 'artistic' 'types being increasingly moved further and further out whilst corporate types nab the trendiest burbs and then moan about the very aspects that made the area so interesting in the first place.

     A pub like the Imperial, an art deco splendour and one of the few left of the era should be encouraged to ply it's trade to as many folk as possible and if local residents don't like it, they shouldn't have purchased there in the first place. Or they should understand real economics- every dollar the Imperial spends on upgrading and attracting patrons probably adds another 2 to the value of their property.

     However owner Shadd Danesi , ever optimistic has launched a quest to find an artist to re-create a giant red stilletto-something like this-which he wants to place above the entrance. God forbid, that should really have locals fuming and council officers crying foul.

   tSS once worked with Priscilla writer and director Stephan Elliot (left) making wedding and music videos. After the success of Priscilla, Elliot had Hollywood at his feet  (tSS is still working on that one)  but was mortified by the shady characters he met there and fled to London.          

     Whilst his fortunes floundered for a while his recent film 'Easy Virtue' opened to critical aclaim everywhere and he has 2 more flicks in development.

      And there are still plans to one day film the mad saga (with a script by writer Louis Nowra ) of the cancelled wedding of Prince Lorenzo Montesini, the ex-Qantas trolly dolly who travelled to Venice to marry  heiress Primrose 'Pitty Pat' Dunlop with half of Sydney and Melbourne society in tow. In a fit of nerves, Lorenzo  ran off with the best man Robert Straub the night before the wedding.

                                               Pitty Pat & Prince Lorenzo in happier days

     **************************************************************************

TigerGate fashion statement :

     tSS came across marketing executive Sharon Sargeant , the current sqeeze of celebrity gumshoe Frank Monte lunching with a gal pal at Potts Point eatery Lotus in this fetching t-shirt. Sharon says she met the great philandering golfer in an LA hotel bar 3 years ago with mutual friends. They all chatted for about half and hour over a drink and then everyone went their seperate ways.

     But ever since Tiger's tale has gone ballistic she's been plagued by celebrity agents wanting to know if she would like to "sell her story". "But there's nought to tell  " protests Sharon..and sick of the pestering she decided to put it in print.