"Little Black Bastard"

An eagle-eyed regular Whisper's reader (we have thousands) draws our attention to the photograph we published of the late Stephen Hawkings (with walking stick) marching to protest the Vietnam War with Vanessa Redgrave, writer Tariq Ali and others in the late 1960s.
Directly behind Hawkings and holding the banner is a very young Australian dancer, actor, director and choreographer Noel Tovey.
Tovey is part Aboriginal and enjoyed a very successful theatre career in the UK including teaching at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre and the world famous RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art). At one stage he also ran a successful Art Deco antique store in London.
His autobiography Little Black Bastard is recommended reading.
The title refers to an earlier life as a teen in Melbourne when he worked as a male hustler for a time . The insult was hurled at him by coppers as they shoved him into a cell after arresting him.
By co-incidence Whispers just borrowed Tovey's second book And Then I Found Me from the local library.

The last time Whispers encountered Noel was at an event at the Sydney Town Hall where the guest of honour was then PM John Howard. As Howard got up to speak Tovey hurled some choice insults at Howard over the Iraq War, and then stormed out of the building.

Vale Stephen Hawking

OK he's not a "social" figure as such but he's the real Mr Universe. It's heartening to read the numerous tributes to Stephen Hawking who was so inspirational for so many given his physical limitations.
 Whispers never actually met him but we did once attend a presser for him. It's very hard to describe the feeling of being in the same room as Hawking. It's not something you ever forget.What can we say..others are saying it so much better.
Here is one our favourite pix of the great scientist. It's Stephen Hawking (with the walking sticks) before he was confined to that wheel chair. He was attending a protest about the disastrous Vietnam War in the 1960s.
# As a callow youth Whispers wagged school to attend a similar anti-Vietnam War demonstration in Sydney as the visiting US President Lyndon Baines Johnson was to drive by. The then NSW (corrupt) premier Robin Askin had coined the phrase "all the way with LBJ" and accompanied the President in his limo. As the US President's motorcade sped down College Street a bunch of us demonstrators surged out onto the road and temporarily stopped the President's car.
Askin ordered his driver to "drive over the bastards !". Fortunately he didn't but it became a small moment in history.
# Note: the very beautiful actress Vanessa Redgrave on the right.

Old Pals Party

FORTY years ago this Sunday, hero of the left and Labor Party icon Gough Whitlam ended 23 years of Liberal Party rule when he became Prime Minister.

Lulworth House resident Jeanne Little

On Friday the current Labor PM Julia Gillard survived the News Ltd led onslaught about...well no-one knows quite what except for the Opposition's repeated claims, echoing Rupert Murdoch's The Australian  that she "had questions to answer".
In her closing speech to Parliament for the year Ms Gillard paid tribute to Gough and his triumphs :ending Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War, free university education, universal healthcare and the recognition of China, now out biggest trading partner.
As the Shuttle revealed in early 2011, 96 year old Gough, who Sir David Frost described as "the most intellectual political leader he had interviewed"  is now living in the luxury nursing home  Lulworth House in Elizabeth Bay.
On Sunday the Whitlam clan will join Gough to celebrate his remarkable win in '72.

Gough, Neville & Harry M.

Perhaps Gough's fellow residents will pop in for a drink. The entertainer Jeanne Little who sadly is suffering from altheimers but still recognises people, and his fellow Labor great Neville Wran who was NSW Premier for 10 years, and the promoter Harry M.Miller . Our spy says Harry greatly enjoys breakfasting with Neville, despite the fact it was Wran's government that jailed Harry for 10 months in 1982 over the Tickertek fraud.