Prime Minister News with Boris the Bore

Retiring British Prime Minister Theresa May was at a party last week discussing her plans after she leaves Number 10, Downing Street. Although May will stay on as an MP she was overheard saying she would love a really good holiday after her successor takes over. May confided she had always wanted to visit Uluru in the Northern Territory with the added bonus- it was about as far away from the halls of Westminster as she could get.

                                     

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

Theresa May's successor, former London Mayor and Foreign Minister Boris Johnston spent a gap year as a teaching assistant at Timbertop at Geelong Grammar School teaching maths. A group of old Geelong Grammar students were at Double Bay's Sheaf pub last week discussing old times when one ex-student brought up the memory of being taught by the next UK PM. Asked his impression of Johnson he responded : "I can't remember much about him- he was affable but boring and pretty forgettable". Ouch!.

Hope ?

 The man considered to be the mastermind behind the shambles successful BREXIT campaign Nigel Farage is soon to grace our shores. While the political party he started, UKIP stumbles from disaster to election disaster, the MEP (Member of European Parliament)  who finds little time to actually spend in Brussels will tour Australia for 5 days spruiking his message in September. Farage will also visit New Zealand. Perhaps he'll be telling the New Zealanders they need to break away from Australia.
A "VIP" ticket to his events will be around $500 but you get to attend a backstage cocktail party or you can pay $250 for a photo with him or you can fork out nearly $1000 for a pre-show dinner with Farage. 
Most people should be aware that things are not going well in the UK Parliament as they wrestle with just how to manage the split from the rest of Europe. One major problem is the Custom's Union between Ireland and North Ireland which now enjoys unfettered access with the EU saying this must cease. To date several large corporations have threatened they may have to leave Britain and base themselves in Europe for easy access. The giant Airbus Corp being just one but there are fears several big banks may also decide to HQ in France or Germany.
Never mind, Nige is quoted as saying he will bring his Oz listeners "a message of hope and optimism". Perhaps he's specifically targeting that at current PM Malcolm Turnbull who needs all help he can get at present. What a shame Whispers happens to be busy that night. Whenever it is.
                                                  *****************************
 

Trigger Warning ! 
 Over night on Twitter the following message appeared from the UKIP MEP Neil Hamilton. 

Apparently some chap called Milo has joined the party with a conspiracy apparatchik from the bizarre US Alex Jones show along with Sargon of Akkad whoever that is.

Barefoot Contessa Moment

Prince Charles and Camila demonstrate they are real people by walking onto the sand at Surfer's Paradise beach. She is barefoot- he wears suede shoes which many are complaining about. We have no view either way. Others claim the Duchess of Cornwall read a magazine during the opening ceremony. Whispers is reliably informed she was actually reading the program for the Commonwealth Games opening night gala events. Perhaps she was trying to check what time the misery would end.

The Feud #7

Lord Sugar wishes Piers Morgan Happy Mother's Day.

Lord Sugar Strikes #3

An occasional series:

An instant update:

Arise Sir Frank

Completely nu-noticed by the Mainstream Media possibly because No Kardashian was harmed during the making of this news, it didn't involve the late Princess Diana and Meghan Markle has nothing to do with it, but one of Australia's richest men has been knighted by Her Majesty, Queen of Australia,

Plain old Frank Lowy worth a reputed $8Billion who lives in Sydney's Bellevue Hill now becomes Sir Frank Lowy. Lowy is the mastermind of the giant Westfield Shopping plazas that now dot the landscape in Australia, the US and the UK. He was quietly knighted a month ago. One of Britain's largest Westfield is in the shadow of the dreadful Grenfeel building in West London. The Brits have taken to them like ducks to water.
And it was not for the services of confusing shoppers world-wide as to where they parked their car in a Westfield car-park, rather for his services to industry which have been considerable certainly in his adopted Australia where he arrived as a penniless refugee after WW2. You could read more of Sir Frank's fascinating history here.

Lord Alan Sugar Vs Piers Morgan #2

The Palace issues a warning..

Arise Lord Abbott

A plan is underway to ennoble former prime minister Tony Abbott so he can aid the UK in their battle to "stop the boats".
Would Abbott accept the invitation to take the ermine? Oh yes he would. Read about in the UK's Daily Telegraph.

Cleo Clanger

Feel for the staff of Cleo Magazine who probably read today via the Daily Telegraph that they would lose their jobs as the magazine closes. Cleo came as part of the package when the James Packer sold out his publishing interests to the giant German Bauer Media Group in 2012.

First published 44 years ago with the venerable Packer favorite Ita Buttrose as editor (a shout-out to Ita who Whispers found themselves with in a Surry Hills post office queue just a few days ago), Cleo was aimed at an older female audience. Recently their Bachelor Of The Year awards have received plenty of publicity (aided by some self-important publicists who seemed oblivious to the rapidly changing world of media). Circulation has hovered around 53000 a year with a claimed readership of 173000 and a claimed 300,000 online readers.
But just look at Whispers'(thesocialshuttle.com) online readership (left : Google's figures) . Daily views are around 2300 with monthly views around 72000 which is not dissimilar to a monthly magazine or a local newspaper (and a shout out to our daily 300 approx readers who are in Russia). Of course it's very hard to compare and many factors influence readership but compared to a blog run by 1.5 (part timer) and a dyslexic cat who claims to be the sub-editor, something must give in these print publications and the large staff needed to run them.

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

 

Meanwhile as the Happy Couple, Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall announce their engagement, Don Rupioni's beloved Sun Newspaper is under investigation for claims it was also involved in phone hacking. We couldn't help but notice a recent cover. As one irreverent wag from that august publication put it : "how dare they, that's our job"

Gratuitous One Direction Photo

Did you just watch the Royal Variety Performance?.  Fact: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11 of Australia (Great Britain and Her Dominions) cost British taxpayers roughly $99M yearly. The British Tourism Board estimates that the income derived from tourism because of the history of GB and the Royal Family is from $700M to $900M per year (in 2013 5.8 million tourists visited a royal palace).
You do the maths.  That's a long winded way of introducing our exclusive photo from the 2014 Royal Variety Performance of the Most Famous Pop Band That Ever Lived- One Direction !!

Royal Ascot, Royal Secrets

Please watch the video first as an introduction : that's a command from Her Maj, Queen of Australia (UK, Canada etc etc and so on) who is seen in our exclusive snap arriving at the pollies' Mid-Winter Ball in Canberra last week.

           It's very chilly in Sydney with a wind howling down from the snowfields but in London it's bright and sunny and that time of the year for Wimbledon, Windsor Polo and the races at Royal Ascot. Plenty of pics have been published of famous Aussies in the VIP Box at the tennis but here are our exclusive snaps of ritzy Double Bay hairdresser Joh Bailey who has taken Ascot by storm. And doesn't he look elegant? (no idea who the lady in top hat is but she looks great)
 Joh is a fine horseman himself so he has a great interest in the beasts and when he isn't tending to the locks of Sydney society matrons or visiting celebs like the Duchess of York or movie legend Jane Fonda- seen with Joh in our snap - he's appearing at gymkhanas and horse trials. At present he's moved on from the grand Belgravia mansion he was staying in and is now in Paris. Ain't life grand for some !

## The Shuttle has attended Ascot twice. Many moons ago we traveled in style in a Range Rover with a good friend Stephen Barry who worked at Buck Palace.  Amazingly, Barry's car was waved through at blocked intersections by police as they spotted him bearing down on them. They held up traffic as we sailed past. It's then we learned the car was owned by Barry's employer Prince Charles and he had borrowed it for the day. Being painted a special blue supplied by British Paints, a colour reserved for the Royals (right), it's how we discovered that all British police are trained in spotting the special coloured cars to ensure smooth passage of VIPs. Like us.
                                                       ******************
          Below is a pic of the Windsor Polo and the Cartier Cup. It's a splendid snap and we love the lady in front. Apparently in one of our snaps is a royal impersonator and in our other snap it's a genuine Royal. We can't tell which is which, perhaps you can!

New Found Fame

Bondi resident, popular swim wear designer and TV fashion commentator Tali Jatali ( pictured right) is enjoying her new found fame as a "London socialite" as reported in a Saturday newspaper last week.

Although Tali has visited the UK a number of times she tells the Shuttle she hasn't really had time to crack the social scene in Old Blighty but perhaps her fame precedes her. Tali was attending the New Years Day party at Catalina Restaurant on the first day of the New Year at a bash organised by Damien Downey of former Sneaky Sound System fame. Although billionaire James Packer- a friend of Downey's - was meant to attend he failed to appear.
Meanwhile on Tali's Facebook page friends have been having fun with her new status. What a hoot !