Elle of a Town

 Leggy Elle McPherson jetted into town yesterday morning at the ungodly hour of 6am and while Whispers was invited to greet her at the airport it was just a tad too early.

McPherson is traveling with the famous fashion snapper Gilles Bensimon to shoot  a cover for..Elle Magazine. But more about this after Tuesday when Whispers gets up close and personal with The Body.

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Sydney town is up for grabs today !

The election to decide who runs Sydney Council will be under way from 6am today and despite a field of candidates the word is that it's down to just two : current Lord Mayor Clover Moore who has held the position for 17 years and current councilor and sister of former PM Tony Abbott, Christine Forster. Although Moore has enjoyed great support from young hipster and the gay community, her grasp on the Mayoral robes could be well & truly shaken by Forster who is openly gay. Forster could lure the huge gay and lesbian (and transgender) community away from Clover with her pledge to revitalize the once Golden Mile of Oxford Street that once had over 15 gay nightclubs, bars and hotels but has since been reduced to just 3.

      Christine Forster                                                                                                                  Clover Moore                                         

                                         

The State government's recent new law that gives businesses within the city 2 votes has seen an extra 20,000 or so businesses register to vote and they may overwhelmingly support Forster. A vox pop poll by Whispers today found surprisingly, a lot of support has shifted from Moore to Forster. We should know by tonight if  a new regime sweeps into office at the Town Hall.

They came in their thousands

Even the organizers seemed surprised. The occasion was a protest about Sydney's infamous Lock Out Laws that have been so destructive to Sydney's nightlife in Kings Cross and the so-called Golden Mile of Oxford Street.
       And it's not just venue owners and late night revelers who are suffering. Thousands of jobs are dependent on the nightclub trade as well as hundreds of small supporting businesses like cafes, coffee shops, fast food outlets and even taxi drivers. The Cross and Oxford Street have become like a desert as businesses close every day. In Oxford Street there are dozens of To-Let signs.
      This Sunday, as the anger is quietly building, people flocked to Belmore Park opposite Central Station to express their concern. At least 15000 of them. I think that is a conservative estimate. How the mainstream media report this event will be interesting. Meanwhile around the Star Casino precinct and the various pubs in Pyrmont, just outside of the lock-out area, you can drink 24 hours and alcohol fueled assaults have increased.

Have they got the message yet?

 Late last year Whispers posted a video (below) of a US comedian who is a superb Barack Obama look-alike as he toured Kings Cross in support of attempts to revitalize the former nightclub area of Sydney.


Tonight Whispers had reason to visit the Cross after a small party in Dank Street. Dank Street in Waterloo is a sort of uber design area with million dollar apartments and oh-so-smart designer shops and is home to Luke Mangans latest restaurant Mojo. Pleasing to see that Mojo was filling up as we passed by but Kings Cross?. Dead as the proverbial Dodo. Even the strip joints are closing down. Coffee shops, small fast food outlets are screaming foul. As for cleaning up crime, Whispers was offered drugs twice on our stroll.

Boy Wonder enjoys a glass of wine-before midnight

On Facebook a post by respected art dealer Michael K. Carr drew ire. It was snap of a recent typical sunny Sydney day at the wondrous Boy Charlton Pool that nestles beside the harbour. The snap was of 2 policeman and Sydney's drug sniffer dogs that now invade everywhere and anywhere courtesy of former Labor premier Bob Carr who loved to govern via whatever edict came that week from Rupert Murdoch's downmarket tabloid The Daily Telegraph.
#Some posters say the snap was of dogs during a bomb search.
                  

It's Front Page news

Visiting our doctor in Oxford Street near Whitlam Square this morning brought the sight of even more empty shops, former bars & nightclubs.               

Never mind- you can still drink  24 hours at the glitzy Star Casino and also when the James Packer consortium finally opens the Barangaroo casino there will be no lockout laws and despite what Boy Wonder premier Mike Baird says (he reckons if you need a bottle of wine after midnight there is something strange about you) drinks will flow at all hours at Bangaroo,

further reading : # the screed by Matt Barrie that has ignited a seething undercurrent of furious Sydneysiders distraught at seeing their nightlife vanish overnight.
# The 'raid' by police on a small restaurant serving wine by the glass
# You can also read Boy Wonder's Facebook page defence of the Lock Out Laws- 8000 plus comments and they aren't complimentary. The campaign is just beginning!.

Maxine's Magnificent Gig

She's a welcoming sight to Darlinghurst visitors : drag star Maxi Shield patrols Sydney's Oxford Street like she's owns it. And why not. On freezing winter nights like those we are currently experiencing Maxi warms the cockles of any heart as she happily chats to passersby at the Colombian Hotel on the Golden Mile adding a touch of glamour to the strip, now losing much of it's glitter under new licensing laws that are crucifying inner-city nightlife.
Now Maxi will be the grand hostess at Madonna's 2016 Rebel Heart Tour of Australia where she will host after-parties in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne and hopefully it could lead to a whole new career along the lines of Perez Hilton who does similar around the USA. # Maxi swears that bosom is real.

Kings Cross loss = Double Bay's gain

 Kings Cross' controversial 'lock-out laws' are crucifying nightlife in the famous Sydney night spot suburb (although strip clubs are still thriving) but aiding nearby suburbs not covered by the laws. The gay 'golden mile' of Oxford Street is also finding the going difficult with empty premises popping up overnight. The once vibrant street that contained more gay and lesbian nightclubs during the 80s & 90s per square mile that any other city on the planet is slowly dying. Meanwhile the Cross had, as of yesterday, 45 empty premises available for rent.Benefiting is the harbour side suburb of Double Bay just 2 miles from the Cross which is now booming with packed pubs on the weekend and 2 notable nightclubs that are filled to the rafters from Thursday to Sunday. Local restaurants are often booked out and coffee shops-there are nearly 100 in the Bay alone- are well patronised. Pictured above :  Karim Gharbi & Michael Clarke

Casablanca

The Pelicano restaurant and bar is the venue of choice for the so-called smart set but Casablanca run by Karim Gharbi is giving it a run for it's money. As our exclusive pic shows, recently retired Aussie cricket captain Michael Clarke celebrated his 34th birthday at the venue on Thursday evening.

Pelicano Restaurant & Bar

Oxford Street (left) full of empty shops while Kings Cross' strip joints are surviving

What A Drag !

The Shuttle rarely visits the Golden Mile of Oxford Street Darlinghurst but on rare occasions we call into the infamous/famous Midnight Shift.
We thought it was time to bring some updated snaps of the Hostess With The Mostess, Maxi Shield host of the Shift's cocktail bar and MC extraordinaire.

In fact the last time we visited the Shift is was with actor Rupert Everett who took a shine to the place and a few of the locals. So much so that when he turned up the following day for a lunch in his honour in a restaurant just off Taylor's Square he posed for a snap with  local chef Peter Everett who was to dine with him and then booted him off the table so his new Shift friends could join him.

Below is a video of Maxi Shield at work:

Sydney's Newest Cross-Dresser

There's something about Virgin boss Richard Branson- he loves to slip into a frock at the drop of a hat, or in this case, allegedly after losing a bet.
He seems to have taken quite a fancy to this dark-hued man who is promoted from by-stander to passenger being spoon fed by Richard. Just what is going on here? I think we should be told.

Sydney's drag queen set have been moaning recently about the dearth of young trannies coming through the ranks to entertain on the Golden Mile of Oxford Street. Perhaps Branson can lend a hand !


Right : a previous drag episode saw Branson impersonating the Bride of Frankenstein.