Exclusive : "Real Estate God Father is a “Pussy Cat”

Troubles in the world of tabloid television : 

Those with long memories may remember the sad case of an electrician who was pounced upon by the then Kerry Packer owned station and program  A Current Affair over purported dodgy repairs to a radio in 1999 in a classic foot-in-the-door style confrontation. The electrician, a Vietnamese refugee committed suicide 2 days later fearing his life had been destroyed. Kerry Packer was said to be distraught by the matter and privately settled a substantial sum of money on the hapless man's family.

Fast forward to 2009 and the program finds itself in hot water over the alleged  hiring of a hit man by the former Mayor of Waverly and local Liberal Party heavyweight who wanted a male hustler given a hard time, tortured and made to do all sorts of sexual nasties. 

The station thought they had coup and instead have found themselves in the dock with young reporter Ben Fordham charged with breaching the Listening Devices Act for secretly recording conversations with the former mayor. The mayor's counsel says he is suffering from Parkinson's and has lost the plot. His sight must be suffering as well. Those of us who know Ben are perplexed how anyone could think the pint sized presenter could torture anyone. 

little Ben

But ACA is being rivaled in their efforts to prolong a perpetual silly season with an attack upon a popular Gold Coast realtor on the CH7 show Today Tonight :

Former top Ray White Salesman Rob Astbury has described his former boss Gary Gannon, the man at the centre of a Gold Coast real estate scandal as a “pussy cat”. He says the recent explosive Today Tonight report on the Seven network, that accused Gannon of real estate fraud, is a beat up, grossly misleading and unfair. The program can be seen here if you click on Trouble on millionaire's row.

Gannon (pictured left) was accused of being possibly the most feared real estate agent in Australia. Gannon and his senior sales representative Michael Kollosche, formerly Astbury’s assistant, were accused of price fixing, market manipulation and death threats to protect their patch known as Hedges Avenue, renowned as the most expensive street for real estate in Australia.

Today Tonight revealed complaints from two people involved in house sales with Gannon and Kollosche, a seller Adrian Slinger and a buyer Rod Lambert, who described proceedings as a scene straight out of the movie The God Father.

Astbury with a very large award

Both were disgruntled over dealings involving their multi million dollar beach front properties .Slinger  refused to pay the agents commission. Lambert, a former Gold Coast real estate agent claimed he was misled as regards the sales price of a house he purchased for over ten million dollars.

Astbury, who is a property developer now based in Thailand, received the award in January 2000 as Ray White's top selling agent in Queensland with sales over five years totalling $70 million says,

“No matter what the pressure a buyer or seller are never forced to sign a sales contract.” He continued, “The real estate industry in Australia is controlled by very stringent laws and if an agent breeches the rules then he can forfeit his licence.’ 

“For years Rod Lambert was a very successful Gold Coast real estate agent before turning to property development. He knows the real estate industry and the official avenues that are available if he has a complaint. Why he would turn to the media, which has presented a clearly biased account of proceedings, is very disappointing.”

And another award-with his proud mum & Brian White

In a media career that spanned 16 years Astbury worked for all three commercial television networks winning many awards for excellence as an investigative sports journalist before turning to real estate on the Gold Coast..

In an exclusive interview Astbury told the Social Shuttle, “Today Tonight arguable took a large slice of liberty by including a recorded telephone interview between Gannon and a former employee Jade Grech.”.

Astbury says, “The dramatic conversation between Gannon and Grech was recorded by Grech a year prior to the Today Tonight segment which was supposed to be based on the dispute between Rod Lambert and Adrian Slinger.”

Astbury’s remarks appeared to be verified when Grech’s sister Sheree Neal told the Gold Coast Bulletin she was 'shocked' when she saw her brother Jade telling Australia in a 'fake' European accent he feared for his life after being threatened by Mr Gannon. Mrs Neal said that after watching the program, she believed her brother became involved in the Today Tonight feature story because he was motivated by money.

Gannon made the now notorious phone call over a year ago after learning that Grech, who owed him $8,500, was about to leave Australia in June 2008. In the call he says to Grech:   "Give me my eight and a half grand tomorrow mate or you're dead".

Astbury, who worked for Gannon between 1995 and 2000 said, “The telephone conversation certainly sounds threatening but, taken out of context, it is highly misleading.:

"From first hand experience I know how television current affairs television works and this is a classic example where the limits have been stretched. 

Astbury continued, “When the occasion suited, Gary’s abruptness and course language could be alarming and I have elaborated on this extensively in my autobiography “Twice as Hard”, but make no mistake those who really know the man realized under his gruff exterior he is a very generous caring person who would not harm anyone physically. He really is a Pussy Cat. Kick it and it will bite you and that is Gary Gannon.”

According to Peter Jess, who has been appointed to promote Astbury’s soon to be published autobiography called “Twice as Hard” the book has many revelations about real estate, previously untold AFL stories and especially television which Astbury describes as a despicable industry.

“Rob has not spoken to Gannon, Kollosche or anyone from Ray White but his revelations will open a lot of eyes and certainly rock the real estate and television industries.” says Jess.

Read it here first:

from The Sunday Mirror

Following our last story ( see below) about the English rugby team's boat ride on Sydney Harbour with some scantily clad lasses, the UK Daily Mirror has picked up the tale in their Sunday edition.

Apparently the harbour cruise was a celebration for the team's defeat of the Barbarians  the day before in Gosford. 

All perfectly innocent according to the team's manager although the choice of agency to supply the gels to accompany the chaps on the high seas would appear to be an odd choice when one reads the agency's website."Nude waitresses" and "lesbian sex shows" are on offer from the company.

Sharon with the English footballers

And where does the buxom Sharon Sargeant who burst upon the Sydney scene 2 year ago on the arm of top private eye Frank Monte fit into this scene?. She isn't returning our calls at the moment and her assistant says she is busy in negotiations with interested US & UK adult firms who wished to do business with her.

Regular readers may recall Ms Sargeant split from Monte when it was revealed by a daily newspaper that she was the owner of RedVelvet Escorts. Monte called off their planned nuptials and Sharon moved out of his luxurious 10th floor Icon apartment in Potts point, to a northern beaches retreat.

The Mirror tale claims that the girls on the boat were from a rival company but when we saw Sargeant arrive at the Woolloomooloo Wharf she went straight to the English players like a long lost friend. What was noticeable was Sergeant's businesslike appearance (still with ample cleavage visible of course) and the English footballers seemed more than happy to pose with the lady for some happy snaps.Ms Sargeant then walked with the players  to a waiting cruiser which the chaps boarded. As Sargeant waved goodbye the agency girls appeared from the lower deck, one sporting a black g-string.

"Is Sharon involved in the other agency" we asked her assistant. "I couldn't possibly discuss her business" he replied "but she certainly has interests in more than one agency". 

"And can we arrange some nude waitresses or a lesbian sex show through you" we asked. "Of course" was the reply.

Meanwhile after Sharon was featured in Rupert Murdoch's top daily tabloid the Daily Telegraph partying in Las Vegas with one of the USA's top porn stars Claudia Marie, it seems the US lady is cock a hoop over the publicity that reverberated around the world and even appeared in the Hindustan Times. Claudia has now been invited to open a huge Adult convention in Las Vegas next month on the strength of it !

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

Odd news emanating out of Dubai. The son of the countries biggest grocery empire Rodric David has been detained by the government for unspecified reasons . Although he was released he has been ordered to remain in the country until further notice.

Rodric David

 The Davids are one of Australia's wealthiest families and have numerous business interests. Rodric is the chairman and founder of  Emergent Capital, based in Dubai. Is it in connection with the massive downturn in property that has hit the Emirates badly ?. It's reported his detention was over a visa matter but the David family is saying nought.

The Shuttle reported exclusively on the 'Roman'  bash Rodric David threw during the 2000 Olympics, which he co-hosted with the sons of fellow first families, Janus Hooker heir to the L.J Hooker real estate empire and Michael Grace of the Grace Bros department stores. It was described as "the most hedonistic party Sydney had seen for decades". Guests included Olympians Ian Thorpe and Susie O'Neil.

The Royal, her fiancee, the Love Boat and the footballer

Sharon Sargeant

The Social Shuttle attended a small lunch at the uber chic Otto's on  Woolloomooloo Wharf on Wednesday and over a few glasses of Bollinger watched a small tableaux unfold before us . At the next restaurant Mantra a long table of English footballers had assembled for a lively lunch.

Much food and fines wines were consumed by the hearty lads and soon an arrival caught our eye. Sharon Sargeant, former fiancee of the noted private eye about town Frank Monte and  recently outed as the  boss of the upmarket RedVelvet Escorts and Model Agency, walked brusquely down the wharf in a smart military style outfit to greet the footie players. Business cards were exchanged, happy snaps taken and mobile phones were running hot. Something was afoot.

Soon a gleaming gin palace glided into the wharf and by co-incidence moored next to the spanking new $8M vessel, Ghost owned by the clever young 'accountant to the stars' Anthony Bell who guides the financial affairs of most of the top local movie stars. Bell keeps Ghost permanently docked at Woolloomooloo with a staff of 3 in order to hold informal business meetings with clients like Russell Crowe who lives at the end of the wharf in a  2 story  penthouse.

sailing  into destiny

The Shuttle party finished lunch and ambled over to Ghost where we were to join a small party for an afternoon harbour cruise in honour of the  visiting  Chancellor of the  St John Eye Hospital in Jerusalem, Dr John Talbot and wife Esme.

Mike & Zara

As we departed on Ghost the British footballers were now onboard the other vessel and several cheerful young lasses appeared from below, 2 in very fetching skimpy outfits-one in a g-string. We were close enough to exchange 'ahoys' and away we all sailed on our respective tours. Ringing in our ears were the parting words of one of the young ladies aboard the football express.." a happy ending is promised to all..." . What could she have meant ?.

The Royal?. Staying in the same party as our footie visitors at the Hotel Intercontinental, are Zara Phillips and her fiancee MikeTindall . While her mum Princess Anne has been doing Ascot, Zara has attended all the English team's matches in Australia, completely unnoticed. She wasn't aboard the Love Boat.

Department store scandal

Megan Gale and Mark McInnes 

Sad news today as the CEO of the chic department store David Jones, Mark McInnes steps down following a boardroom stoush over his personal relationship with a female staff member.

The shock announcement came in a one line statement although there have been whispers for months now. McInnes who has been at DJs for 13 years completely overhauled the stores after a disastrous flirtation with an imported American CEO who completely mis-read the local market and attempted to turn the 100 year old up-market purveyors of top quality merchandise into a chain of Bloomingdale style stores.

Miranda Kerr & Orlando at Royal Randwick  (c tSS)

McInnes had the city store completely re-furbished back to  it's original style with marble floors, inexpensive but luxurious food halls, grand  floral displays and personal service from white gloved assistants. He also restored the tradition of a pianist at the Elizabeth Street entrance, tinkling away on a grand piano. The punters flocked back and as anyone knows, popping into DJs just for a wander through the emporium is always an afternoon treat.

So successful were McInnes innovations that Mohamed Al Fayed hired the same team who oversaw the decorations, to tart up Harrods.
McInnes was also behind the hiring of supermodels Megan Gale and Miranda Kerr.

Always a gracious host, Mark hosted a lunch at last year's Autumn Carnival at the Royal Randwick Races for the media and various guests with Orlando Bloom and Kerr.

 He will be sadly missed . With a huge promotional budget that paid off in dividends via huge sales for DJs, McInnes will be a hard man to replace. Where he is off to he isn't saying but with a $2Million pay-off, the world is his oyster. As for David Jones, their share price plunged today on the Stock Exchange following Mark's departure.

Bad News for Crocofile Dundee's Paul Hogan

John Cornell, Linda Kozlowski, Paul Hogan & Delvene Delaney (c tSS)

He is estimated to have made a $150M fortune from the Crocodile Dundee films which he wrote and starred in but Paul Hogan is facing a serious battle with the Australian Taxation Office after it was revealed that a complicated series of financial transactions between 2002 and 2005 saw millions of dollars being channeled to Hogan from a number of tax havens.

During that period Hogan and wife Linda Kozlowski moved back to Australia and purchased a sumptuous harbourside mansion in Sydney's before selling up to move back to Los Angeles in early 2006. But the Australian Crime Commission is claiming that Hogan declared himself 'stateless' during the 3 year hiatus and as neither a resident of Australia or the USA paid no tax in either country while at the same time moving millions to various bank accounts from a company registered in the British Virgin Islands. The Commission claims that the company was a sham and owned by Hogan and his partner in his films, John 'Strop' Cornell.

When Hoges and Strop made the first film in 1986 it was financed by them and produced on a small budget but went on to become a huge box office hit raking in more than $500M worldwide. They both invested heavily in the northern NSW resort of Byron Bay and made tens of millions out of successful ventures there.

Hogan has been fighting in the High Court for 6 years to keep accountancy documents secret after 2 newspaper publishers-Rupert Murdoch's Nationwide News and the Fairfax Media took him to court . Today he lost that fight and was ordered to pay both companies costs which are estimated to be in the region of $15M.

In 2008, Hogan, who lives in the US and has said he paid Australia more tax than he could have, told the Tax Office to ''come and get me, you miserable bastards''. And now it looks like they will with the added weight of the Crime Commission. Hogan had claimed the documents were 'privileged'. The court decided otherwise which now means they can be used by the Crime Commission who have claimed that the actor has avoided paying tax for years.

This doesn't look good for Hoges. His friend Glen Wheatley, the rock band manager received a sentence of 30 months in 2007 for a similar series of financial moves involving $800,000. And even worse- it looks likely the US Inland Revenue will become involved.

the Shuttle scoops Fleet Street-again!

Lord Hamlyn

A Day at The Races

Nearly a week after the Social Shuttle revealed exclusively that the lifetime patron of the famed Sydney dominatrix Madame Lash was the British peer and publisher Paul Hamlyn, Britain's Daily Mail has caught up to speed.

We attended the launch of the Madame Lash biography penned by Sam Everingham last Monday evening at her city residence The Kirk, a deconsecrated Presbyterian Church. While 200 guests were treated to topless acrobats and an opera singer the expected guest of honour Gretel Pinniger -Lash's real name, failed to show despite phoning ahead from her limousine- a former hearse with the numberplate STIFF, to tell our snapper to be prepared and wait outside for her arrival in an outfit she said contained "ten yards of red taffeta and a whip or 2".

Madame at The Kirk

Former Oz Magazine founder and later Kerry Packer executive Richard Walsh launched the book and gave a brief history of Lash expecting the lady to appear at any moment. She never arrived.

 Paul Hamlyn, Baron Hamlyn of Edgeworth was born in Germany and fled with his family to the UK in 1933 and became one of the richest publishers in the world with Hamlyn Books (born Paul Hamburger he chose the name Hamlyn from a telephone book). When he died in 2001 he left an enormous fortune including a $500M charity foundation plus a yearly stipend to Gretel with the stipulation his name never be revealed by her.

Clyde Packer (left) with Sir Frank and Kerry

It was always common knowledge that Hamlyn was Pinniger's benefactor. He was introduced to Madame Lash by Clyde Packer, brother of Kerry Packer. Clyde was considered to be Sir Frank Packer's business heir but after a public spat with his father he sold his share of the publishing business to brother  Kerry for $4M in the 1960's and spent the next 40 years wearing caftans and indulging himself in the counter culture that included hiring  the services of Madame Lash. It was Packer who introduced other wealthy like-minded businessmen like Gordon Barton to Lash.

Hamlyn, who has family members in Sydney visited regularly and would take Lash on trips to Asia. One service that the dominatrix specialised in that is rarely mentioned is that she allowed the whip to be turned on her !. And rarely mentioned is the fact that in her 3 houses-The Kirk, one in Melbourne and a splendid beach house at Palm Beach, she has fully equipped dungeons that includes Nazi officer outfits.

Anna Nicole, Michael, Elvis goodies up for sale

 Show-biz Special :

If you always wanted to own a piece of a dead celebrity this is your chance. At Julien's Auctions in Las Vegas beginning on the 24th June a whole range of star memorabilia is up for sale with some fabulously tasteful pieces including a medical swab from Elvis Presley (expected to sell for about $1000). 

Just think of the assortment of drugs in that swab-percodan,Quaalude, Seconal, Ritalin-the lot. Just sit yourself on a toilet seat with a peanut butter sandwich and you too can feel like The King.

Our personal favourite is Janis Joplin's arrest photos. The best she's ever looked !.

There's a mass of stuff from Michael Jackson's estate including just about everything he ever wore and a few pieces from the Neverland Ranch including a "security badge' to bring out the inner bossy pedo in you.

Anna's doggy's bed

 

Anna Nicole Smith must have collected every bit of Marilyn Monroe tat going. Dozens of handbags with Marilyn's face, mugs, photos, it's all up for sale including some of Anna Nicole's own "art". Gorgeous. And her doggies bed and her fake Louis Vuitton suitcase.

A masterpiece by Anna Nicolle

 

There's something for everyone including from those still breathing-Bob Dylan, Britney Spears and check out Ozzy Osbourne's dreadful office 'suite' which they think may bring $800!. Yuk 

You can bid online here.

                                                   

A Rose By Any Other Name...

As the dust settled in Perth's Langley Park earlier this week and the billionaire's protesting over  a new mining tax were safely ensconced in their limos, our thoughts wandered to the whereabouts of the wondrous Rose Hancock Porteous , Perth socialite who thrilled and delighted a nation when as a humble maid for the late mining magnate Lang Hancock, she married  the ailing tycoon when he was 74 and she 38.

Rose, in a city that was not easy to shock with the antics of an Alan Bond who first snared a nation by winning the prestige America's Cup in 1983 outraging the conservative New York Yacht Club that had held the trophy since 1851, and then snared tens of thousands of investors in dud schemes, or a Laurie Connell who launched a merchant bank with a few hundred million dollars borrowed from the state government which all disappeared in a puff of smoke, Rose Hancock was breath of fresh air edging out Bond's wife "Big Red" Eileen as the western city's major society queen.

Rose & Lang

Rose and Lang built a love nest for themselves-Prix L'Amour, a 50 room gala palace overlooking the Swan River and in the upper class Perth suburb of Peppermint Grove where champagne and caviar parties  abounded and swells from all over the country, bussed in on Rose's private jet, danced the  night away-whilst Lang languished upstairs in an oxygen tent.

Lang's daughter Gina Rinehart from a previous marriage never saw eye to eye with Rose and bitter legal fights followed Hancock's death and stories of dodgy wills abounded and there were tales of Lang being poisoned and so on.

Prix L'Amour

But Rose got Prix L'Amour and a tidy sum  and married a real estate agent William Porteous 3 months after Lang's death and together they razed Prix L'Amour to the ground, sold off blocks of the land for tens of millions and built themselves their own smaller love nest in it's place. Drug charges followed and court battles over legal fees but our Rose survived it all.

Now news comes that Rose has had a stroke and is recovering at home. Her facebook page has remained strangely silent with the last post being on the Dec 9th 2009 saying "So many lovely fans!". The previous one on May 17th she says "oh I still love my Willie!", presumably referring to husband William who is caring for Rose at home.

The Shuttle encountered Rose a few times when she travelled to Sydney. The first was at the premier of the FoxTel cable TV show "Beauty and The Beast" where she was a panelist along with others like Ita Buttrose and  the One Nation politician Pauline Hanson. Hanson made a derogatory comment about Asians at which point Rose stood up and swore at Hanson in Filipino and stormed out, clambered into a Roller and tore off in a cloud of dust!

Now we've uncovered a wonderful video of Rose on youtube as she castigates her staff while getting ready for one her legendary lunch parties. Enjoy-

Join the Billionaire's Club!

Dress to Oppress ! Twiggy Forrest

It was a sight to warm the hearts of Capitalists everywhere-Australia's richest woman Gina Rinehart demonstrating against the proposed mining tax that will be increased to 40% on future profits.

 Never have the well heeled  battlers come out in force and together for such a common cause. Billionaire's and the nation's 3 richest people-Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest, the corpulent Clive Palmer and our Gina, daughter of the late billionaire Lang Hancock who married his Filipino nurse Rose-in twin set and pearls shouting herself hoarse on the back of a flat bed truck on the well manicured lawns of Perth's Langley Park, screeching about PM Kevin Rudd's proposed tax that will kick in 2012 and replace a royalty system currently paid.

No Tax Gina Rinehart

Gina's ex-step mum Rose

 'Twiggy' Forrest is one our favourites-hovering between the richest and second richest man in the country depending on share price and always pictured at these events in a worker's orange flouro jacket and miner's helmet-sparkling clean-before clambering into his chauffeured Beemer and speeding off to the boardroom.

The idea of this tax is the more the mining corporations make-most with their headquarters based in Geneva or the Cayman Islands, the more the government will make on minerals dug out of the ground  and the more the government will raise in taxes on a finite resource that will run out one day. 

Whilst China booms so do we and with building programs there that will see Aussie mineral deposits that have kept the country afloat for 2 decades , sought after for years to come , the government reckons the common people should be getting a bigger share of what basically belongs to the nation. The billionaires aren't having any of that nonsense and reckon the Mandarin speaking Rudd is on the way to become a full blown Communist (while China is well on the way to becoming a capitalist giant). 

Clive Palmer

Of course mining actually does little to improve the country. No infrastructure is built-just bloody great holes in the ground from which the precious minerals are extracted and then these mining giants  just move on

Someone has badly planned this PR cock-up. The miner's union wouldn't have a bar of it so it was left to the bosses to pitch in a few hundred million dollars for a TV advert campaign. But having a handful of mining corporation bosses-with US , British and European accents weeping over lost billions in profits was always going to end in tears and having one corporation which wasn't stock market listed (hence it's share price wouldn't be affected) announce it was upping stakes and moving out only to discover it was actually expanding it's drilling operations soon backfired.

Not only will these corporations  be able to deduct all investment in their mineral searches , they will only pay tax on super profits at 40% which is reckoned by the Treasury to raise an extra $9Billion a year.

As a flushed Gina led a chorus of mine managers (on about $250K a year) in a rousing chant of-

"Axe the tax..axe the tax"..she paused for a minute and shouted "what do want for Australia again?"...one impertinent sod shouted "the Wallabies  to win on Saturday !".( the rugby team  are playing the English team at Subiaco oval in Perth).

The Shuttle has forwarded Gina, Clive and Twiggy's and names to be entered in the Roll of Honour at the prestige USA organisation Billionaire's For Wealthcare who regularly turn up in limos at anti-Barack Obama parades against socialised health care.

Motto : Appearances Are Everything-Dress to Impress and Oppress !

Alastair Campbell's "hate lessons" from Paul Keating

In his new book The Alastair Campbell Diaries Prelude to Power 1994-1997, released in the UK on Thursday the man regarded as the mastermind behind Tony Blair says he travelled to Australia in 1995 to get some tips from then Labor Prime Minster Paul Keating on how to handle Rupert Murdoch and how to "hate" the Conservatives.

Keating was PM from 1991 to 1996 when he was defeated by John Howard who set about on a 10 year campaign to return Australia to the 1950's before he was finally booted from his own seat in 2007 by Labor's Kevin Rudd.

Paul Keating : 'hate lessons'

Keating's defeat in '96 sent him into a huge mental decline where he disappeared from public view for a  year. Not because he lost but he hated Howard so much. Keating's quips and put-downs in Parliament  were legendary. Parliamentary Question Time has been dull from the day he left.

On John Howard :

"What we have got is a dead carcass, swinging in the breeze, but nobody will cut it down to replace him."  

"He's wound up like a thousand day clock..." 

"He has more hide than a team of elephants." 

On former Liberal leader the perma- tanned Andrew Peacock who was dating actress Shirley MacLaine:

"...what we have here is an intellectual rust bucket." 

"I suppose that the Honorable Gentleman's hair, like his intellect, will recede into the darkness." 

"It is the first time the Honorable Gentleman has got out from under the sunlamp."  

 On the Liberal Party when they were in Opposition:

"I'm not running a seminar for dullards on the other side."

"Those opposite could not operate a tart shop"

"These intellectual hobos"

Our favourite was during the 2007 General Election when the Murdoch media was getting stuck into Kevin Rudd on the campaign trail and printed a facile story about Rudd having lunch with 2 political  lobbyists  -the former premier of West Australia Brian Burke (who spent time in jail) and his partner Julian Grills .

"the Arthur Daley of WA politics"

The controversy raged for days ramped up by Murdoch's tabloids until it was defused by Keating  when he described Burke & Grills as the

" Arthur Daley and Terry of West Australia politics-no-one takes them seriously"

 He then went on to describe the flailing Howard as like a " little desiccated coconut under pressure and attacking anything he can get his hands on". 

 Howard lost the election 2 months later in a massive swing to Labor.

P.J Keating on the attack:

Famous courtesan freaks out !

 Sucessful publisher Todd Tai networks at First Thursday

OK so we hooked you with a headline-go to the story below for the tale of Madame Lash. 

Off the luxury car home in  Kings Cross of the amiable Tony Graziana's  Scuderia Graziani where one can pick up a Lamborghini, Porsche or Mercedes. Each month he is holding a bash to raise money for the Fred Hollows Foundation with his  First Thursday parties. This is a great cause-the Fred Hollows Foundation goes to places like Afghanistan and Africa looking after the sight of desperately poor people.

First Thursday is a sort of 'networking' party for young business people which is just what they were doing on Thursday night like crazy with silent auctions for all sorts of luxury goods like Tancredi jewelry.

Entertainment included the Irish comedian Paul Martell who is one of those old fashion joke tellers but he really is hilarious as the act builds up as you can see in the clip below. With a few celebrities and good looking folk, these regular nights are going to become popular very fast so you should consider booking tickets early.

Next month the guest comedian will be Austen Tayshus- one of the very very best. To attend you should contact Helle@RazorBrandAgency.com.

Adpro Management supplied the gorgeous beauties at the party-they are also a model agency -and that's another reason to attend. Business and beauty should always be combined, is our motto !. Fast cars, beautiful women, wine and song and all in a good cause.

What more could you want ?

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

Where was Gretel on her big night ? 

 Hundreds turned up at The Kirk to celebrate the birthday and book launch for Madame Lash except the lady herself. As far as we can ascertain, the fetishist has fallen out with the author of the book, Sam Everingham.

The Kirk (it has a dungeon)

The Shuttle received a rousing cheer when we assisted up the steep stairs of the Kirk in a gentlemanly fashion, the ex-fiancee of private investigator Frank Monte- Sharon Sargeant who arrived at the same time as we did.

Sharon Sargeant

As the crowd parted  on the red carpet they assumed it was Madame Lash making a grand entrance.  Sargeant has received an extraordinary amount of publicity recently and been flooded with offers from the USA -for what we aren't quite sure yet but presumably it's something to do with the revelation she is the boss of the RedVelvet Escort and Model Agency.

Madame Lash's "autobiography" is the highly entertaining tale of one of Australia's most colourful women  (we've read it) and dominatrix.  Wowsers beware! Gretel Pinniger, aka Madame Lash artist and courtesan to the rich and famous has been shocking and outraging Australia for decades. Never shy of publicity, this daughter of a handsome war hero and philanderer from the Melbourne establishment once wanted to become a nun.

Instead, she threw her leather-clad body into a wild world of sex, drugs and riotous parties. She danced with Elton John, catered to Kerry Packer's brother Clyde's more creative sexual fantasies along with the successful transport boss and newspaper owner Gordon Barton and knocked around with Sydney underworld boss Lennie McPherson.

She also found herself a fabulously wealthy patron, who bequeathed her a generous stipend so long as his name is never disclosed by her .
Which doesn't stop us revealing the world's worst kept secret-that patron was the English publisher Paul Hamlyn who made millions when he and his family settled in Britain after escaping Germany before WW2. Hamlyn spent 4 weeks of every year with Madame Lash. We'll leave it to your imagination what  they got up to. But she does have dungeons in all her homes.
There was a tale that she one locked publisher Gordon Barton in the dungeon of her Melbourne house, hanging from a rack and went on a cocaine bender leaving him there for 48 hours before she re-called he was shackled in the basement. Fearing what she would find when she returned,  a delighted Barton tripled the agreed fee, as he was so pleased with the service.                                                 

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

Comedian Paul Martell who was at the premier of the First Thursday charity parties at Scuderia Graziani in East Sydney.

Will the Duchess of York's Oz sister survive the scandal?

Footballer Mark Bosnich & Jane Ferguson

Much muttering amongst PR ranks this week whether the  public relations business of  Sarah, The Duchess of York's Sydney based sister Jane Ferguson will suffer over  the battering of her sister's merry quip that half a million  pounds will do nicely thanks, her tears of joy at the sight of $40,000 in cash and her sensible request for a spare fifty quid for the driver of her loaned Bentley.

Jane has a thriving Australian PR business looking after all manner of prestige clients from Peugeot cars to the famed English fabric designers Osborne & Little. She was also the go-between for the glossy Australian Woman's Day magazine that scored exclusive pics of Sarah's 50th birthday celebrations at the Lanesborough Hotel in London where HRH Prince Andrew obligingly posed for snaps with Sarah and their children. At a fee of $50,000 it was a steal with the pics on-sold world-wide for 6 times as much ( does Sarah just need a better agent ?).

Jane also co-hosted, along with Britain's favourite ex-Royal butler Paul Burrell the TV reality program Australian Princess , said to be inspired by the "fairy tale" romance during the 2000 Sydney Olympics of HRH Prince Frederick of Denmark and Tasmania's Mary Donaldson who was swept of her feet in a Sydney pub as Frederick purchased a round of drinks for the crowd with his platinum Amex card. In a few decades, our Mary will become the Queen of Denmark which is far more exciting than the job she had when we first met her -in a Kings Cross real estate agency flogging expensive over-priced apartments.

One of the guest judges on Australian Princess was  the  daughter-in-law  of an ex- Archbishop of Canterbury, Diana Fisher who started life as a BBC commentator before moving to Oz in 1964 with her husband Sir Humphrey Fisher. Diana  described her experience on Australian Princess as  the low point in a media career which has spanned 60 years that included covering the state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill. But she said it had to happen sometime.

In the introduction to Australian Princess ( which we are sure included at some stage London PR Liz Brewer and that darling of the aristocracy Lady Colin Campbell), Jane helpfully informed us that she had been "brought up around royalty !". Which is no lie, what with her dad, the late Major Ronnie Ferguson being the head of the stables at Windsor Castle . Whether she actually ever got into the big house is a mystery.

Before you scoff, we should point out that some historians  claim both Princess Diana and The Duchess of York (and Jane Ferguson) are distant, be it ever so remote, descendents of Georgina Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire and may well have far more aristocratic blood in their veins than the present occupants of Buck House who so cruelly threw them both out to the wolves.

We digress. Jane wasn't taking calls from the media last week as the ghastly News of The World sting video was broadcast worldwide . There had already been some sort of mix-up when her gorgeous daughter Ayshea  a cousin to Prince's William and Harry had inadvertently spoken out of turn, innocently to a media person, of her recent visits to the rellies in London and, as it is with that family, was banished for a certain cooling period (which could be decades) before being invited back to a family barbeque  at Windsor Castle.

It's claimed today in a Sunday tabloid  that  Jane Ferguson had been "disinvited" from a black-tie charity event last week that she had helped organise.
Absolute tosh. Jane had purposely stayed away knowing that the event  would be crawling with reptiles (like us) and had no wish to draw attention away from the very special cause. Sadly, it actually meant the charity was completely ignored. No Jane, no press.

Instead, she and 2009 Masterchef finalist Lucas Parsons were giving cooking lessons to a select few at the luxurious Point Piper home of American born designer Charlie Brown and her husband, the ex-Israeli paratrooper Danny Avidan.    

Will her clientele list suffer? Good grief no.
Each Sunday millions of viewers are devouring  the TV series Underbelly which is based upon the sordid underworld characters of Kings Cross (many still alive and operating) with one of the main stars often featured on these pages, the handsome John Ibrahim, nightclub owner and security consultant-although the police describe him as a "serious crime figure" -almost achieving hero status and who is on every guest list in town.

 At the same time Rupert Murdoch's beloved Daily Telegraph has hired our favourite ex-detective Roger Rogerson who admitted shooting a few people dead (all in the line of duty) and who was run out of the police force for corruption and jailed, as an expert commentator on the series and the interested can blog with him on Monday mornings where Roger will set you straight on who was a bigger crook than who.

Jane Ferguson, always charming, can look forward to a fabulous year with new clients battering down her door when the clamour dies down !

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

In the next few days-a full report on the party to launch the autobiography of our favourite dominitrix Madame Lash which is being held at The Kirk, the former Presbyterian Church she purchased many years ago and where all manner of spooky events take place.

Gretel, as she is know to her friends  who was once featured on the TV show Eurotrash, also owns the rather splendid Florida House at Palm Beach where snootier residents have complained to the local council over 'renovations' she has in plan. They have no idea who they are dealing with !