Nicole Kidman's Gas Problem

Bill Ranken

Social Shuttle contributor  Bill Ranken brings news of a well-heeled protest group-the Hunter Valley Protection Alliance- opposing coal seam gas mining in the chic and exclusive Southern Highlands where Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have their country base, Bunya Hill.


Ranken , who with his sister Jean owns nearby Lockesley, regarded as one of the state's most glorious pastoral properties says they have been approached by mining companies wishing to set down gas exploration units on their land in return for a share of profits. Although the Ranken's have embraced windmills and solar power Bill says he would never contemplate gas plants on their property as they wreak destruction.

Bunya Hill

Gas mining corporations have been inundating the airwaves with friendly adverts depicting a small obscure gas unit surrounded by fluffy sheep and grazing cows on green hills.
Ranken says the adverts are misleading and gas mining sucks the life out of the earth.

Other residents of the beautiful Southern Highlands and the Hunter Valley with it's dozens of award winning vineyards are being approached says Ranken and the fear is that some will succumb to gas companies offers.

The protest group is hoping to encourage Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban along with other notables in the area including Harry Potter actress Miriam Margoyles , novelist Bryce Courtney, broadcaster Alan Jones, model agency boss Peter Chadwick, Federal Labor minister Peter Garrett and Nutremetic's founder Imelda Roche to join the protests.

Past Highland's residents have included Sir Donald Bradman and P.L.Travers the author of Mary Poppins. The protestors warn that just one gas mine in the area can drill under properties for miles, destroying nutrients in the earth above.

Don Bradman

Bowral resident Miriam Margolyes

 Yesterday came the news that the late Macquarie Bank boss, multi-millionaire and former Liberal party chairman David Clarke who passed away 6 months ago, had funded anti-gas campaigns with millions of dollars and spoke against the mining at local rallies.

Clarke owned the exclusive Poole's Rock vineyard in the Hunter and now his son has said that the executor of Clarke's estate BRI Ferrier has sold Poole's Rock to the gas company AGL without Clarke family knowledge and that AGL are trying to buy up vineyards and properties around the area.

A spokesman for the Hunter Valley Protection Alliance said Clarke, who had anti-mining posters throughout Poole's Rock would be "turning in his grave".

The Downfall of 'Lord' Davenport

The Emmanuel's famous wedding gown

The Shuttle exclusively revealed in December last year that 33 Portland Place, the home of 'Fast Eddie' Edward Davenport was used to film part of The King's Speech. Now the resident of the grand London terrace has been banged up for 8 years in prison for perpetuating one of the most common scams today-the offer to raise non-existent multi-million dollar loans on payment of an up front substantial fee. Dozens of conned souls have lost millions.

Sadly one of Eddie's victims was another Shuttle discovery, the designer Elizabeth Emmanuel who has lost her life savings to the ghastly rogue.
Many moons ago The Shuttle was commissioned by a New York nightclub to bring a host of the newest up and coming British fashion designers to the Big Apple for a series of parades. Elizabeth and her then husband David Emmanuel were two struggling designers operating out of a minuscule West End studio when we chose them as designers of refreshingly new and romantic designs.

The subsequent fashion spread featuring the Emmanuel's clothes in the US prestigious Woman's Wear Daily brought them to the attention of the British media and three years later they were commissioned to design the dress of the century, Princess Diana's famous wedding gown in her marriage to Prince Charles in 1981.

But why did London ever fall for this con-man and is he a symptom of the instant celebrity culture that has invaded British society?.

His pompous website, replete with incorrect spellings of names reeks of self-promotion with a series of snaps of Eddie with a host of movie actors and pop stars.

Most of the pictures were taken at the various events held at Portland Place which Eddie hired out for parties to PR companies. Large West End houses that can be hired by the night are rare so obviously the venue was popular. Most homeowners, except the most desperate are sensible enough to never allow a bunch of wannabes and certainly a film crew to trample their muddy boots through their rooms.

33 Portland Place

                                                                         
Tales abounded from those who hired Portland Place of Eddie's penchant for attending every bash with his own snapper and muscling in on the action by button-holing any celebrity for a snap. Boy George is reputed to have said after posing with Eddie :"who the fuck was that?. I thought he must be the butler"

The British tabloids duly reported every phony aspect of Eddie's life as though it were fact, from the hired luxury cars and planes that Eddie claimed to be his to his supposed wealth and never twigged to the fact that Davenport's family tree seems oddly free of aristocratic titles yet he claimed his was an inherited one.

As for Portland Place-it was purchased for a small sum in a highly dubious deal that some have likened to a classic pea and thimble trick. So clever was the dream Davenport weaved when obtaining the lease  that government officials from the impovererished country of Sierra Leone who owned the premises (and may still) are still scratching their heads as to how Fast Eddie ended up with the deeds to the graceful mansion.

British newspapers are still slipping up on facts-one has claimed that Eddie's Thai 'girlfriend' was in tears in the court. "Girl friend?" Eddie may feel right at home amongst the chaps at Wandsworth Prison.
As for the Daily Mail's decimation and exposure of Fast Edward Davenport's exagerated claims of wealth, perhaps they could have mentioned the magazine that leant credence to the Davenport Fantasy : The Mail on Sunday!

Kylie Minogue :Phone Hacked

Kylie Minogue supsects her mobile phone may have been hacked when she was suffering from breast cancer.in 2005.

Speaking to a London newspaper after receiving an honorary degree from Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford,  the singer says in response to being asked if her phone was hacked : "It may have been."
 
Kylie received an honorary Doctor of Health Sciences for her work to promote cancer awareness

Lots of Flavour in This Latte

Jane King celebrates her success

It appeared quietly on the scene twelve months ago: Latte Life the free newspaper for Sydney's ritzy Double Bay and has gone from strength to strength doubling it's circulation.

Publisher Jane King wasn't phased by the fairly intimidating competition, The Wentworth Courier that has dominated the area for over 60 years. The effect of a smart and snappy alternative was almost instant on the Wenty with King's opposition suddenly upping the ante and sending out representatives far and wide seeking advertisers and looking for new columnists.

Trish & Lloyd Lomas

                                                                                     
But the public and local residents have taken Latte Life to their hearts and remain loyal. To celebrate this success and their first birthday the newspaper threw a party at another new Double Bay establishment, Mrs Sippi the restaurant and bar that openly quietly not long ago and is packed every night.

Jan & Geoffrey Karpin

Alan Jones sent his apologies but around 70 others turned up to sip wine and dine on Mrs Sippi's great food. Our favourite Elizabeth Bay colourful characters the Karpins dropped in and the landed gentry was represented by a Macarthur Onslow. Top hairdressers Lloyd and Trish Lomas, publicist Dee O'Loghlin and Sun Herald editor-at-large Shelly Horton (who is judge on the new TV show Celebrity Apprentice ) joined a host of local dignitaries at the celebrations and all heartily sang Happy Birthday !

# Spotted sitting at a corner table in Mrs Sippi-Jane Ferguson working away on her iPad. Her famous sister Sarah, the Duchess of York will join her in Sydney soon for a holiday.  You can read Latte Life online here.

Mrs Sippi

                                         

Sub Edit Howlers #2

In our continuing quest to urge respected organisations like Fairfax Newspapers to re-think their plan to lay off 200 journalists, photographers and sub editors, we bring some of the latest howlers that have slipped past editors and been published.

Yesterday morning the news filtered through that American student Amanda Knox had won her appeal in an Italian court over the murder of a flatmate. Tears of joy flowed from Knox's family and friends in the court. One of the UK's most popular tabloids The Daily Mail decided on a different result and flashed the following on their website for a few hours :

And just who will Fairfax be turning to for their new sub-editing services ?. Pagemasters, a division of News Ltd, publishers of The Daily Telegraph in Sydney.

Perhaps no-one has noticed the following captions on a series of photographs on the Tele's website in a feature on "Worst Wardrobe Malfunctions" :

Versace bargain : "it's just not etiquette"

Paris Hilton, Bono of U2, Mick Jagger and the Dubai Royal Family are just some of the slebs who have resided at Palazzo Versace on the Gold Coast.

 There isn’t another hotel or residential resort in Australia that can invoke such recognition and reaction with it's Italian extravagance.Now living the lifestyle of a celebrity is no longer exclusive for high rollers or the rich and famous at an establishment listed in the prestigious Leading Hotels of The World.

Gold Coast real-estate agent Rob Astbury has just listed a  three bedroom residential apartment at Palazzo Versace for just $1,450,000. Some would describe it as an unbelievable bargain but Astbury told the Shuttle “I have been informed that using the words “Versace and bargain” in the same sentence is just not etiquette.” 

The reality is after an unprecedented property boom the Gold Coast is now undergoing a major price correcting and nothing is exempt, not even Palazzo Versace. After a decade working with a property developer in Thailand  Astbury has returned to the Gold Coast where he was once crowned the top Ray White sales person in Queensland. Winning two prestigious marketing awards Astbury is renowned for his theme “still the ONE”. It was the call sign of Channel 9 where Astbury built a reputation as the top sports journalist in Australia.

Despite one of the toughest Gold Coast markets ever  Astbury has had nine sales in three months totalling over $8.7 million and attributes his success to thinking outside the square when marketing prestige real estate.

And who is buying into the Gold Coast ?. Just about everyone who is anyone in Sydney and Melbourne has a holiday unit on the Gold Coast but the word is that Middle East oil sheiks and millionaires are snapping up properties at the top end of the market viewing Queensland as one of the safest spots on earth to invest. The Shuttle also hears that billionaire James Packer is looking for the quintessential property to complement the extravagant Vauclause mansion he is currently building.

Elena Ioukhnovitch

Rob Astbury

Astbury recently teamed up with glamorous Gold Coast resident and agent Elena Ioukhnovitch. The pair is now making an assault on marketing properties in Mermaid Beach including Hedges and Albatross Avenues long renowned as “Millionaire Row” with some of the most expensive real estate in Australia.

In the past month Rob and Elena have listed several properties ranging from a three bedroom apartment at the tightly held Broadbeach On The Park to a spectacular three level residence at 203 Hedges Avenue, both boasting absolute beach frontage.

On The Park is a boutique six level building with one apartment per floor reduced from $3,000,000 to $1,625,000. Three years ago at the height of the boom 203 Hedges sold for $9 million and today it can be snapped up for $6,950,000. With three bedrooms, a private movie theatre and roof top swimming pool there is parking for six cars in the basement.

Astbury’s website www.robastbury.com.au has complete details, photos and videos of the large price range of properties listed including a spectacular 700 square metre Broadbeach Penthouse for $4.9 million and a stunning four bedroom beach house at La Sabbia for $4 million.

Sass & Bide Wow London

Sass & Bide showed off their Spring/Summer 2012 at the Royal Opera House in London on Friday.

front row-actress Bonnie Wright

Paloma Faith's a fan

Designers Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton mixed patterns with textures and coloured prints including batik, polka dots, neon, sequins and metallic leather work in crisp  clean, modern shapes and cut. The mix of long body-skimming silhouettes, dresses,tube tops and skirts, draped dresses and jackets drew hearty applause.

Paddington hairdresser Renya Xydis flew into London to do the hair. Lucky girl-with 2 top clients in Sass & Bide and Collette Dinnigan she spends much of the year jetting to Paris, London and New York but as they say, someone has to do it.

Here's Sydney fashion identity Paula Joye's video of the parade and backstage:

Julian Assange's Dangerous Ideas

There are still seats for this long weekend's Festival Of Dangerous Ideas with Julian Assange (by video link-up) as a key speaker.

David Marr

Phillip Nitschke

Other speakers include gay former High Court justice Michael Kirby, former leader of the Democrats Cheryl Kernot, asylum seeker advocate and barrister Julian Burnside, journalists Catherine Lumby, Kate Adie and Roy Masters, the man who wants to force the wealthy to pay more taxes Dick Smith and assisted suicide campaigner Phillip Nitschke.

Subjects discussed will include All Women are Sluts, Footballers are Barbarians, The Media Have No Morals, Psychopaths Make The World Go Round and many more.

Cheryl Kernot

One very popular discussion will be Gays And lesbians Have no Place in The Class Room with gay Sydney Morning Herald writer David Marr and Jim Wallace from the Australian Christian Lobby. And one to take your rotten fruit to: Is Torture Necessary? with Marc Thiessen a former speechwriter for George W.Bush who will tell us why he advocates water torture.

Everything takes place at the Sydney Opera House so book now as it's going to be a wet weekend and the event will be a sell out!

Tickets here.

Cody Mania Is Upon Us

The Shuttle's discovery Cody Simpson arrives back in town tomorrow so get set for Cody Mania as he does the rounds of promotional appearances.

At the ripe old age of 14 Cody has been steadily building a huge following in the USA but now he's been taken under the wing of manager Scooter Braun. And Braun is the one who rocketed Justin Beiber to stardom with his clever mix of studio producer Usher, choice of songs and the moulding of his image. Justin is now 17 and getting a bit long in the tooth as newcomers like Cody and 14 year old Jack Vidgen dog his footsteps.

Simpson was discovered via the same route as Beiber, posting his videos on YouTube. Atlantic records snapped him up in 2009 and moved he and his family from the Gold Coast to LA. His latest release Coast To Coast is no12 in the US charts . Next Thursday he will appear at  Warringah Mall and on Friday at  the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Expect chaos.

There are plenty of YouTube videos of Cody Simpson but this one is rather nice-singing a song he wrote.

Stephan Elliott Has A Hit

The Shuttle has a preview of Stephan Elliott's new film A Few Best Men and the word in the industry is that Stephan has a major hit on his hands.


Tim Draxyl, Xavier Samuel (Twilight: Eclipse, Bait, Anonymous), Kris Marshall (Death At A Funeral, Easy Virtue), Kevin Bishop (The Kevin Bishop Show, Star Stories) and Olivia Newton-John star in the film about a Outback wedding gone totally wrong.

Stephan Elliott first struck fame with the Oscar winner he wrote and directed, The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert.


Our spy on the US show-biz bible Variety who has seen the rough cut reckons it will be a summer smash hit and that Olivia puts in an outstanding performance.

Few Best Men stars : Tim Draxyl, Kevin Bishop, Xavier Samuel, Kris Marshall at Tropfest in March

Naomi Watts at The NYC Ballet

                               With photographs by Patrick McMullan www.patrickmcmullan.com

When actors Attack! Naomi Watts & Sarah Jessica Parker go for each other's throats

WHILE  her co-star from the film Edgar, Leonardo DiCaprio is winning hearts and minds in Sydney on the set of The Great Gatsby, Aussie actress Naomi Watts has been hitting the social circuit in New York. Last week she attended the world premiere of Paul McCartney's Ocean Kingdom for the New York City Ballet 2012 Fall Gala, McCartney's first original orchestral score for dance.

Stella McCartney, Naomi Watts, Sarah Jessica ParkerJessica Seinfeld

Apart from Edgar ( a surety for Oscar nominations ) due for release in 2012, Watts has two films due around the same time -The Impossible and Movie 43 a comedy with Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet and Uma Thurmann.

Critics haven't been too kind to McCartney with his first ballet score. The Huff Post says it's "a ballet not much worth cheering" and of the A-List opening night crowd "Every single person in that theater ... is there for one reason -- not for the ballet, because of Paul ".

Paul McCartney & Nancy Shevell

The New York Time's says “Ocean’s Kingdom,” is in no way an important addition to the corpus of ballet music, but it deserves a better staging than the one it’s been given by New York City Ballet."

The New York Observer says : "Ocean’s Kingdom is a fairy story with no subtext, no resonance—it’s not about anything except its water-logged plot. " Ouch!. 

James McCartney & Lorne Michaels

Still, the after party was great fun from all reports and that's what matters to us here on the Shuttle.

Dylan Lauren, Ralph Lauren, Ricky Lauren, David Lauren

The event was a family affair with Paul's kids  Stella McCartney and James there to cheer on their dad's show as was soon-to-be bride Nancy Shevell.
 Also on hand, a host of Laurens with the newly married David Lauren and his dad Ralph Lauren.

Paul McCartney takes a bow at the opening night of Ocean Kingdom

All photographs by Patrick McMullan (C) www.patrickmcmullan.com

Poppy, Paris, J.K & Anne

Poppy Montgomery

Press Association (c)

As Chancellor of Edinburgh University, Princess Anne was on hand too present Harry Potter author J.K.Rowling with a Benefactors Award.
Rowling donated $15M to the University to establish a new Multiple Sclerosis (MS)unit. Rowing is pretty generous with her donations but considering she has an $1B fortune she can probably afford to be. Her mother died of MS in 1990.  It was on a slow train journey that she conceived of the idea of Potter traveling to a Hogwarts. Which gives a whole new meaning to British rail delays.

Hilton giving the money while she was in Mumbai.PIC/SATYAJIT DESAI

Meanwhile Australian actress Poppy Montgomery is to play Rowling in an unauthorised bio-pic of the writer detailing her rise to fame from an impoverished single mum to the world's richest author.

And Paris Hilton has caused a family squabble when she handed a $100 note to a beggar in Mumbai. The unfortunate lady who handed it to her brother-in-law to exchange for local currency set off a fight that ended with the note being torn into pieces.

Paris just tweeted :

ParisHilton 

How can I reach this woman & send her even more in her currency? Can whoever interviewed her tweet me please? 

1 hour ago

 

See, even party girls have their little problems. 

Heroic Broadcaster Of The Week

Mark Esterhuysen- Junior News anchor/ desk editor at Primedia Broadcasting




Quick biog :Mark worked as a lifeguard at Sun City  before heading to the UK where I worked as an activity instructor for young children.
He then worked as a waiter at a four star restaurant in Rock, Cornwall before also waiting tables in Looe Cornwall. Upon beginning tertiary education at the University of Pretoria, he began work as a news anchor at community radio station Tuks FM 107.2.. as a Pedi and Zulu tutor for the African Languages Department of UP. .. a Spanish-English interpreter for a Mexican tour group during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and until today  a news anchor at Eyewitness News in Johannesburg.

Read his blog here . Let's make him a star!

Cate Blanchett Talks About The Future

Cate Blanchett and her husband Andrew Upton are one of the great theatre success stories. Not only has their marriage remained strong but their ability to work together has been a spectacular success for the Sydney Theatre Company.

With two major plays under their belts-A Streetcar Named Desire and Uncle Vanya, both of which wowed audiences in Australia and the USA where hard bitten critics on the Washington Post and the New York Times heaped praise upon the productions, the pair have also attracted major sponsors to the struggling theatre company including fashion designer Giorgio Armani.

They have just announced the 2012 season and there are some surprises in store with some old favourites re-surfacing including Dylan Thomas's Under Milkwood opening in May with the mellifluous tones of actor Jack Thompson.

Jacqueline McKenzie

In January Peter Evans presents a bold new production of George Bernard Shaw’s enduring classic of wicked wordplay Pygmalion with Jessica Marais playing Eliza Doolittle.

Two of Australia’s most respected actors, Pamela Rabe and Hugo Weaving ( who acted in Uncle Vanya) play the deliciously deviant Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses while the Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre's Sex With Strangers opens in September with Jacqueline McKenzie.
You can book tickets here.

Cate and Andrew also spoke to Richard Glover on the ABC's Drivetime show about their theatre work and the recent attacks upon Cate when she openly backed a Climate Change tax. Cate also revealed her first acting inspiration was seeing the great Melbourne stage actor Frank Thring (left) on stage and thought that if she could get away with playing Bob Dylan, she thought she could play Thring in a biopic about his life.

 Irreverent/ Irrelevant facts :
# The Shuttle attended the premiere of Don't Look Now and sat behind Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton. They chatted all the way through the film until Cate appeared on screen.
# Frank Thring's father Frank W.Thring invented the clapperboard, still used in film making today.
# Frank Thring appeared in numerous Australian movies including Ned Kelly (1970), Skippy (1968) and Mad Max (1985) but was in demand for Hollywood costume epics where he acted in El Cid, The Vikings, Hercules Returns, King Of Kings where plays Herod and Ben Hur where he played Pontius Pilate.

Here is a clip recorded not long before Frank died in 1994 with him at his best :