Fashion moment

To the glorious Sydney Opera House for a preview of department store David Jones upcoming fashion season.
The northern hall of the Opera House really is quite sensational especially in the day time. Stunning views across the harbour to the Harbour Bridge and Luna Park ('Just For Fun').
And of course.. the fashions...what fun.

A rip-off

Whispers has attended numerous New Year's Eve events in Sydney and 4 at the Sydney Opera

House and the Lord Mayor's Party. We were there when Kylie Minogue launched the famous fireworks and once discovered the US actress Sarah Michelle Geller (left) sitting quietly among the party goers.
While the party's were great fun getting there was something else. You can't drive into the city on NYE and you can't get a taxi when leaving. You spend an hour forging your way through a millions of people and end up walking back to a spot like Kings Cross where, if sensible, you parked your car early in the day.
It's still the same of course so it's very handy now to have a pal who lives in one of Surry Hill's tallest apartment blocks that has a commanding view of the Harbour and the sensational fireworks.

Which brings us to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald and Lord Mayor Clover Moore's outrage at how private business and the NSW State Government are co-opting the fireworks event- arguably the most spectacular in the world- and profiteering off an event paid for by City of Sydney ratepayers (me !) to the tune of $5M each year.
She is correct. The best solution would be to tax every entity that charges, what can be quite exorbitant entrance fees because they just happen to have a handy location to view the fireworks.

'It's complicated': how your NYE celebrations are being privatised

 New Year’s Eve in Sydney was always a simple affair. Dusting off that picnic rug, it was as easy as making a few salads and buying some bread rolls with a chook, putting some white wine into the cooler bag and organising the family to get to the best vantage point to watch the fireworks. What's more, it was free.

 READ THE FULL STORY HERE : SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

Fairfax Clanger of The Year

It's that Silly Season time of the year when tabloids print endless round-ups of yesterday's stale offerings so here is Whisper's take which we think is the Clanger of The Year.
It's a tale about our most wonderful Opera star  who took the stages of the great Opera Houses of the world by storm and dominated for several decades.
We refer of course to the late great Dame Joan Sutherland who may be turning in her grave if she read this tale in the Sydney Morning Herald to find the Sydney Opera House- where she appeared in so many triumphant performances including her final public concert (watched by Whispers) is to re-name it's theatre the Joan Sullivan Theatre (who she?)

Perhaps they are all in the local pub celebrating New Year's Eve early. Even on their uncorrected Google web search the Mysterious Joan Sullivan lurks.

Hugh Jackman & Sydney's New Year's Eve

Actor Hugh Jackman who stars in the film The Greatest Showman is aiding in the organising of the sensational New Year's Eve fireworks that will be on display on Sydney Harbour on Sunday night. The Sydney celebrations are usually the first in the world and are viewed by 100s of millions around the planet. What fantastic publicity for Jackman's new flick!
Below is Hugh at the Sydney Opera House and below that a trailer for The Greatest Showman.

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week

They're strutting the catwalk at the Sydney Opera House. Sydney's fashion week has gone off with a bang with and dozens of designers are salivating over huge orders they hope will follow.

Who said fashion was dead? Here are some scenes from the last few days. Enjoy.

P.J. O'Rourke: 'Dangerous State of The Nation" at Sydney Opera House

 Best-selling author P.J. O'Rourke is heading straight to our stage to deliver his Dangerous State of the Nation.  Roaming foreign affairs correspondent for Rolling Stone magazine for 20 years,  He is also a libertarian Republican satirist who recently reluctantly backed Hilary Clinton as "the second-worst thing that can happen to [America]." Former gonzo Editor of National Lampoon and writer of Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government, he is now the H.L Mencken Research Fellow at the Cato Institute.  TICKETS HERE for August 9th.
Read Susan Chenery's interview with O'Rourke in The Saturday Paper

Vivid Sydney

Whispers ventured out on a chilly night with our Box Brownie to check out the cities colourful Vivd Sydney festival.

Cate in Black. Again

The faces on the paparazzi said it all. Superstar Cate Blanchett a great supporter of the local ACCTA Awards was in black again. It may have been a gorgeous Armani gown but as one well known snapper said : "one pic of Cate in black is pretty much like another. They just don't sell very well."

He probably has a point. Look at our snap of Blanchett at the ACTTA Awards 3 years ago in that amazing red dress. This pic taken by your humble scribe has been used over and over in European glossy magazines.
 Below is our snap of Cate at the Helpmann Awards earlier this year. Black again.

The other disappointment for the media was the expectation that Harrison Ford would attend the awards. Hardly, he has a huge Star Wars launch to attend tonight at the Opera House.

Blanchett received the Longford Lyell Award for outstanding contribution to Australian screen at the ceremony in Sydney.

 

Happy snaps from Le Diner en Blanc

Pip Edwards

Jodi Anasta*Max May*Fiona Faulkner*Andy Cliffe*Katrina Lawrence*Maddy King*Kris Smith

Simon Chalmers*Bianca Chalmers*Grace Huang*Antione Bessis*Aymeric Pasquier*Nikki Goldstein*Bianca Venuti

Four ginomrous crusie ships, one pictured, arrived last week in Sydney Harbour. Perhaps the lucky passengers think this mass white dinner is a normal weekend event !

How do they feed the masses?

 Pictured is the amazing scene at the 4th annual Le Diner en Blanc at the Sydney Opera House. And what a view!. There were a staggering 4000 guests and I'm reliably informed every single one was watered and fed in timely fashion. This event has been happening around the world since 1988 and is now celebrated in 60 cities in 25 countries. But do they all have such a spectacular location as our glorious harbour?. Naturally every guest must wear white- that's the theme -and they even pack up after themselves and leave the place spotless. I think I'll book my table for 2016.

Healthy Fruit

 It's not every day one is confronted by a live breathing platter of fruit. The opening night party for the revamped Cruise Bar at Circular Quay was an eye-opener. Leggy bodies were covered in all manner of goodies like luscious grapes, bananas, peaches and berries of all kind. And you don't always see guests eager to scoff their daily supply of vitamins with healthy fruit but this was a food platter extraordinaire. We didn't wait to see what would be revealed once the food had been consumed. Far too well mannered.
News of live food platters has swept social media and even newspapers in the UK are running the tale with headlines like "Outrage!" and"Guests shocked !". So that's another successful PR coup then.

## When Hollywood star Keannu Reeves was living in Sydney while he filmed the Matrix movies, the Cruise Bar was one of his favourite hangouts. Whispers often spotted him there in the afternoons, quietly sipping a latte and reading a book or just taking in the sensational view of the Sydney Opera House which is directly across the bay.

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

Has high profile barrister Charles Waterstreet noticed this image of his Archibald winning portrait?

It's on the corner of Park & Elizabeth Streets in Sydney not a stones throw from his chambers. It's plastered on the outside of a uni-sex convenience.
There's a joke somewhere in there about briefs etc

Nearly Time

2015 is going to be a really fab year. That's according to the Shuttle's trusted astrologer Victor Olliver and our resident mystic the mysterious Madame Guyon, a Roman Catholic nun channeled via a spooky old lady who lives downstairs.
The Shuttle will see in the New Year in style (?) at the Sydney Opera House (after picking our way through 200,000 revelers- surely golf carts should be provided) at the Lord Mayor's Party. We may pop into the celebrations upstairs where they are serving Pommery & Bollinger (try and keep us away!).
Here's a little snap from earlier tonight of the esteemed Lord Mayor Clover Moore, our favourite Hollywood movie star who is organising tonight's party, Jack Thompson and the gloriously named Fortunato Foti of Foti Fireworks who is responsible for the most sensational fireworks on the planet. 
And a Happy New Year to all our readers.

More Dramas at the Opera House

Pussies Riot

 One day after soprano Tamar Iveri was "released from her contract" with the Australian Opera : the Shuttle first revealed her homophobic Facebook rants : a new drama has cropped up with the annual Festival of Dangerous Ideas .

 The Sydney Opera House has withdrawn writer Uthman Badar from the festival after a twitter campaign. The Sydney based Muslim speaker and activist was to ask why western countries act as a 'moral judge' in the matter of honour killings. His photo-published here- has vanished from the Dangerous Ideas website.
Never fear : there is a line-up of controversial names appearing with former PM Malcolm Fraser and ex-pollie Mark Latham, writers Salman Rushdie and John Pilger and some Russian controversy with the infamous Pussy Riot. Tickets are available here.

NYE Fireworks with Jack Thompson

"G'Day Sydney, I have to say that I am really excited to be nominated as the Creative Ambassador for 2014 Sydney New Year's Eve. What an honour!  To be chosen to represent my "home town" in this way; To share with you all the celebration of this beautiful city on New Year's Eve. "

Picture Post

The future King & Queen of Australia (etc) are in town showing off their son and heir Prince George.
We've tracked down a snap of grandma Her Maj on a previous tour in 1954 looking quite splendid in a canary yellow Norman Hartnell gown. Katherine's yellow frock is by Roksanda Ilincic.

Meanwhile in Melbourne last week at the Supernova Pop Culture Festival Austin Power's Mini Me actor Verne Troyer  ( above) was a guest. 

 Next month in Sydney get set for a tour in May of Cirque Mother Africa pictured here at their last gig at Dollywood with the irrepressible Dolly Parton.
 Check out the Shuttle's Youtube interview with Le Dolly.

A Spare $100M ?

$100 million- that's the going price for a house regarded as one of Sydney's finest, certainly the most expensive.
Elaine in Double Bay  has been in the Fairfax publishing family since 1891 and is next door to Fairwater still home to Lady Mary Fairfax and which also doubles up as the Monaco Consulate (Lady Mary is Honorary Consul).

The Shuttle has partied at Elaine many times- it was rented for many years by society figure Elizabeth Fox (pictured on the right). One of it's best features is a full sized ball room that opens out onto expansive lawns that lead to a private beach with views across the harbour to the Sydney Opera House.
 Elaine's current owner John B.Fairfax is selling his home unlike sister-in-law Lady Mary, she has willed Fairwater to the National Trust with the stipulation that her staff live there rent-free for the rest of their lives..

Meet Sid The Camel

It's become one of Sydney's favourite January events- the annual opening of the St George open air cinema by the harbour at Mrs Macquarie's Chair. Fine food and wine, a sea breeze, an incomparable location and always a latest release.
pictured left : Robyn Davidson & Mia Wasikowska with Sid the camel



This year's offering is Tracks, an adaptation of Robyn Davidson's memoir of the same name, chronicling the author's nine-month journey on camels across the Australian desert.
Directed by John Curran and staring the very lovely Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Tovey and Adam Driver.

Robyn Davidson was there as was the film's producer Emile Sherman who picked up an Oscar for The King's Speech.      right : Jessica Tovey

Robyn Davidson, Jessica Tovey,Mia Wasikowska, Emile Sherman and Caroline Sherman