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Showing posts with label The King of Tonga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The King of Tonga. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Diana: the gift that keeps on giving

Brisbane based writer John Morgan has published the latest in a long line of Princess Diana death books claiming that Diana’s post-mortem samples were switched with those of another woman.

He says that the cover-up could only have been ordered by The Queen.

Morgan says in the UK Daily Express that : "There is a lot of evidence which points to the toxicology testing being carried out on samples that did not come from the body of Princess Diana,... and that the documents were, along with others, withheld from the inquest jury"

"The evidence I have studied indicates that there are two lots of samples. One belongs to Diana, which is held by the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Paget, and the other lot are samples from another body and held by Charing Cross Hospital.

“Diana’s UK post-mortem samples were switched ahead of the toxicology testing.”
I am asking why?” So are we. It seems that Diana had been drinking on the fateful night and this is a possible reason as according to a Fulham mortuary worker her "stomach smelled strongly of alcohol".
But then Diana's body was supposedly embalmed in France before it was returned to London. And why was a mortuary attendant sniffing around Diana's stomach ?
All these questions and more maybe answered in "Diana Inquest: Part 4: The British Cover-Up "
apparently the fourth volume in the saga.

Needless to say the tome has been warmly received by Mohamed Fayed who calls the book "heroic".

Tupou IV
Fayed has reportedly backed a 90-minute film "Unlawful Killing," by British actor and director Keith Allen which contains a "shocking "photo of a dying Diana which will be shown for the first time. Despite the fact the snap can be viewed on the interent and really isn't  all that shocking.

 Diana conspiracies have become Mohamed Fayed's raison d'ĂȘtre and he has accused Prince Phillip in the past of conspiring to murder Diana and Dodi.

Just 2 weeks ago at the wedding of HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton ,  royal 'watcher' James Whittaker was reporting live for the Nine network when he announced the arrival of Dodi Fayed at Westminster Abbey.

Fayed

"I mean Mohamed Fayed" he soon corrected himself, and then commented how gracious it was that the royal family had invited the hapless former owner of Harrods and father of Dodi who died with Diana in the Paris smash.

The portly figure in a morning suit and bedecked with medals was in fact, Tupou IV, the King of Tonga.

William's grandmother HRH The Queen was crowned in 1953 and one guest was Tupou's grandmother, the enormous girthed Queen Salote of Tonga who held an umbrella aloft shielding her and an aide as they travelled in a coach to Buck House in the pouring rain.

Princess Marina who was watched the passing parade with the writer Noel Coward asked who she was.
"Queen Salote" said Coward.
"And who is that with her ?" said Marina. " her lunch " responded Coward !

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Famous Last Words:
As the shenanigans of the enterprising Ibrahim family-owners of nightclubs and unidentified enterprises, plays out in the media and the courts- now with 2 nights of gun shots being pumped into various Ibrahim abodes by unknown would be assassins, we noted the words of a NSW Detective commenting on the mayhem.

Fadi Ibrahim is currently appearing in the Central Criminal Court, alleged to have conspired to bump off a man who he believed was one of the hooded men who pumped a dozen bullets into he and his girlfriend as they sat in a Lamborghini outside his North side house two years ago.

"This isn't acceptable" said the copper outside the court "and I advise the Ibrahim family to keep a very low profile so they go about their business unnoticed" while in the background, the diminutive Fadi in a snappy Italian suit and mirrored sunglasses clambered into a brand new silver, million dollar Rolls Royce Phantom!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Designing Woman

"When in doubt, redesign the client ".
That's a quote from the excellent architectural writer on the Sydney Morning Herald, Elizabeth Farrelly one of our most ardent critics of the property developers who have blighted the Sydney skyline with ghastly concrete and glass monstrosities.

The term came to mind at last night's party at Charles Billich's Art Bar for Bondi fashion designer Tahli Jatali.


another Billich art work !
The Shuttle was there by mistake.

Collared earlier in the day by Art Bar manager Karim Gharbi ( who calls his PR company KGB), your hard of hearing scribe thought he was inviting us to a bash for Tupou .

That's His Royal Majesty George Tapou V, the King of Tonga. He is, after all a guest in town of  Charles and wife Christa Billich. Charles is painting his official portrait.
We knew we were at the wrong party when a reams of 20 somethings piled in.

Dr Wayne Young & friend
Amongst them was the Harley Street trained Dr Wayne M.Young , who runs the FreshFace Clinic.

 Dr Young as a precocious 6 year old child in South Africa often informed his mother when she frowned at him, that her  wrinkles could become permanent if the wind changed. He knew he had found his calling.

He scolded the Shuttle when we told him his fame as a plastic surgeon of note had spread far and wide. Channelling Dame Edna Everage and her 'face furniture' gorgeous sets of spectacles, he sniffed -" I am a face designer !".

We noticed another guest when she sailed by tailed by a film crew.

J'anus McG
 Her name, rather intrigingly was J'anus McG. J'anus was wearing a snappy short dress and at the back there appeared to be a sales tag hanging from the zipper. Upon informing her young J'anus responded :

" Oh I'm a celebrity and designers lend me clothes to wear at parties. I have to show the designer's tag so people know who made the creation".

The clever name of the designer of this particular frock appeared to be: $299 (including sales tax). Upon further enquiry J'anus tells us her current show biz career involves  "holding up signs on Deal or No Deal".

Justin Melvey
There was one 'major' celebrity-the very handsome Justin Melvey, ex Home & Away and Bold & The Beautiful star. Justin is staring on a new cable TV series on Foxtel titled The Phone and says he has a Hollywood film role lined up in 2011 opposite Gwyneth Paltrow.


the KGB prunes
 Finally it was time for Tahli Jatali to arrive. She had been circling the block for 30 minutes with a team of models in 3 Lamborghini's. Tahli wanted to ensure there was a maximum of guests to greet her spectacular arrival.

Manager Karim of the KGB helpfully herded a few dozen guests towards the front door to give the appearance of a crowd and then attacked the over-hanging foliage of a tree outside in order that the Lamborghini's could easily slip beneath.

Tahli alighted, rather clumsily from the low slung vehicles and lined up with a few models in bikinis all wearing very dark sunglasses.

We took our leave as 2 feverish paparazzi repeatedly yelled "looking this way please'..all eyes this way !"

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On the subject of  'face designing' we would like to present a series of snaps from our sister site,
 New York Social Diary run be the excellent veteran journalist David Patrick Columbia.

What strikes us about these gorgeous ladies who lunch in the Big Apple is the marvellous freshness of face and their natural beauty, No need for face designing with this lot !

Saturday, October 23, 2010

A Royal Visit !

The King & Charles Billich
 Visiting foreign potentates are rare in the Emerald City but this week  George TupouV, the current King of Tonga returned for further sittings for an official portrait being produced by controversial Sydney based artist Charles Billich.

Charles and wife Christa Billich lent their Rock's gallery for a reception for the King hosted by the Tongan Honorary  Consul Generals Bill Waterhouse and his daughter Louise Raedler-Waterhouse. Bill and Lousie were both at young bookmaker Tom Warehouse's website launch last week and said they were looking forward to George Tupou V's visit.

Tongan born Lorna Tonga sang the national anthems of both countries whilst a Croatian born cellist entertained guests ( Charles , born in Croatia once fought in the Croatian Underground).

His Majesty's empire consists of about 169 islands spread over about 800 kilometres with a population of 102,000 (2009). When the King visits his subjects, he travels in a London taxi although he has an ancient Austin Princess for more formal occasions. He once owned Tonga's electricity supply (the source of the Royal Family's wealth) which he generously sold to the nation some time ago for $20M.

The Tongan Royal Palace

His financial adviser is the  Saudi arms dealer Adnan Kashoggi. The King once contemplated setting up Tonga as a repository for tax exile corporations but was persuaded it wouldn't go down too well with former rulers Great Britain, a source for foreign aid to the perpetually struggling empire of the King.



A  Billich work of art
 
The Social Shuttle's Bill Ranken, a rural expert was once invited to Tonga by George V's mother Queen Salote to advise on her flock of royal sheep.

 He found all 50 of them in a pen at the back door of the Royal Palace, a rambling colonial style bungalow.

Quite how His Majesty finally settled on Billich as the chosen artist for his official portrait is steeped in mystery. Billich is hugely successful but critics sneer at his work claiming it is akin to commercial art.

The King said on ABC television about Charles : ""Well the thing is a lot of artists are actually better than what they think they are,"

"Donatello for example was apprenticed as a plasterer, Michelangelo thought he was a sculptor. Charles Billich - I like his drawings better than his paintings."

Hopefully his choice of Billich was for his love of his work rather than an investment. The Billich's recently opened Art Bar in Kings Cross, decorated with Charles' paintings is struggling and looks set to close with few art works sold. Those attached to the ceiling remain in place.

At Lawson Menzies Auction house in Glebe, a few months ago a Billich print was presented with great flourish at the weekly art sale. It went for the princely sum of $1. That's the bid accepted when the seller doesn't want the goods returned.