Peter and Regina’s Inside Word on Gold Coast gossip
Two Gold Coast men who have been friends for many a year and with more moolah than they can count, have started a scrap over … you guessed it … money. This is why. All this and the Variety race day.
Peter & Regina
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For 15 years legendary doer of good deeds Gael Chudleigh has organised an annual race day at Gold Coast Turf Club (GCTC) for Variety, the Children’s Charity. The premise is simple. Go the races, have a lot of fun and raise much-needed money for disadvantaged children in Queensland. More than 100 supporters gathered in the boardroom of GCTC to enjoy a relaxing day with friends while trying to pick a winner or two. Best of all they will get the chance to do it again next year.
OFF THE RECORD
What separates the rich from us mere mortals paddling about in the shallow end of the fiscal pool is that they really, really love wealth and prestige. How else to explain how two chaps who have been friends for many a year and with more moolah than they can count, have started a scrap over … you guessed it … money.
The actual cost is a trifling amount but one thinks the other is not paying his fair share and has expressed his displeasure.
Now they are at loggerheads, the friendship is fractured and the way it is going it will soon be lawyers at 10 paces. Hopefully sanity can prevail and they can go back to doing what they do best – banking big bucks.
We all heard of the movie 50 First Dates about a man’s love for a girl with short-term memory loss and his continual woo, woo, wooing (sorry, just channelling Daffy Duck) of her via the continual first dates.
One female among us has a similar track record but her first dates have nothing to do with her memory and everything to do with her exacting demands to find Mister Right.
When quizzed about the number of men – dates, nothing else – she confessed that over the past three years it was close to 100. That’s a lot of small talk, coffee and meals but somehow she can’t seem to recognise that the root cause of the problem may be her excessively high standards.
She can obviously attract men’s attention but whatever they are pitching she can’t get past the fact that she considers them not good enough. A long life of singledom awaits unless she can recalibrate her search for perfection.
There is one major drawback to being ever so slightly on the wrong side of the law. Get it wrong and you proceed directly to jail and do not collect $200.
Manage to make crime pay and then you have the problem of what to do with your ill-gotten gains.
Modern technology and new laws makes it easier for various authorities to track the money no matter where it is stashed. As one slightly dodgy dude has discovered as he is constantly moving his stash to try and stay one step ahead of those who try to retrieve his loot.
Crime doesn’t pay kiddies.
REMEMBER WHEN:
If you are thinking this is a promotional shot for The Singing Mullets taken in the mid-90s, the answer is no.
It is a memory of Glenn Wheatley, who sadly died last week, with John Farnham and this paper’s very own snapper extraordinaire, Glenn Hampson.
We photographed John many times over the years from his early 4GG promotional visits to various concerts. Always easy going and friendly and a delight to work with and Glenn Wheatley was often somewhere in the background.
The saddest time was around 1984 when John did a concert in the Surfers International showroom. He was between careers, after Sadie and before The Voice, still had that magnificent voice but was considered old hat. The crowd was sparse, his band hadn’t arrived and a pianist was found at the last minute.
He turned to the pianist and gave him the key for the opening song – no rehearsal obviously. The pianist couldn’t do it and John, ever the professional, shrugged and said, “You play it and I’ll fit in with you.”
A true professional in every sense.
FASHION IS THE FUTURE
One thing the city has always been known for is people having a go. Simone Hickey, the driving force behind Gold Coast Fashion Week, is just such a person.
Her dream is for our city to have a fully-fledged celebration of all things to do with clothes and design and for the past three years she has worked towards making that a reality.
Sections include swim, sport and runway with models ranging from 13 to 70 years young and a priority given to designers who use sustainable fabrics.
An extra two events have been added to the program which allows for more sponsors to get on board. The aim is to have an event that is so much more than just fashion with opportunities for internships, mentoring, media exposure and a partnership with Entrepreneur Education to enable students some real hands-on experience.
Coming soon.
GUESS WHO DON’T SUE
It is always a mystery how someone from a perfectly normal background could allow a teensy bit of success to change them so dramatically.
Such is the case with this dame who was overheard berating a waitress for not immediately carrying out a nonsensical demand.
In a packed cafe, which due to Covid was short-staffed, madam decided she simply had to have a special dish created for her. The poor girl, masked and muffled, tried to explain that the chefs were rushed off their feet and simply couldn’t make the order.
If “Off with her head!” was possible, this enraged queen would have executed everyone in the joint for disobeying her command.
COAST’S BIGGEST FREELOADER
Airlines have used “standby”’ for years as a means of ensuring their planes are always close to capacity.
One among us is now using that clever seat-filling formula to her advantage at our social soirees.
Usually at these things there are one or two no-shows.
Our gal simply rocks up dressed to the nines, mingles with those who know her and on the pretence of getting a drink, sits at the bar watching and waiting.
When the crowd is settled, she simply plonks herself down in an empty seat and enjoys the day gratis.
Sadly for her, the word is now out so the freeloading days are over.
OPERA-TION LOCAL STAR
Apples falling close to trees and all that is particularly true when it comes to one of our favourite tenors, the sky-high Lachlan Baker and his equally talented son, Elliott.
Fresh from his starring role in Jersey Boys at The Star, Elliott has landed the role of Reyer in the upcoming Opera Australia production of The Phantom of the Opera.
The show is going to be an outdoor extravaganza performed on the shores of Sydney Harbour and will run March 25-April 24.
A born and bred local, Elliott graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in 2017 and has been steadily building his career. There would be no better example to follow than his father.
BE BETTER, NOT BITTER
Be better not bitter is a great mantra by which to live your life, but coming from well-known Gold Coast business identity Azra Kujovic it is a remarkable testament to her courage, faith and attitude.
Last Saturday, for the first time, she publicly marked the 28th anniversary of the Markale marketplace massacre in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia Herzegovina.
“In all, 68 civilians were killed and a further 144 were injured during bombing of the square,” said Azra.
One of those killed was her 45-year-old father, Kemo (Dzemil) Zečić, who gave his life to ensure that her mother and sister could leave the senseless war in hope of a better future.
“He must have had a premonition about what was coming because he said we had to go or die and managed to get us on to a bus and out of Sarajevo the day before a three-year siege.
“Even then we were only saved by a lady who had the correct papers to show at the 11 militia checkpoints we had to pass and indicated that we were part of her family.
“It is an extremely emotional memory for me. I am only talking about it now so that my two sons, Armani and Aidan will know my father’s story and what he did for his family.
“They have this life in Australia now because of their grandfather.”
The comfortable life they had in Sarajevo was destroyed and they landed as refugees in Sydney with one suitcase, the basics in clothing and a few meagre possessions.
“We started our new life, focused on our education, and worked hard to embrace the opportunities we had been given here.
“Our lives are based on the way we were raised and the values we were taught, which are humanity, respect and kindness.”
Be better, not bitter – repeat that every day.
SHUCKS, IT’S A BLAST FROM THE PAST
Some living history at the 50 Years of Fashion lunch presented by Debbie Miller at Shuck in Main Beach last week.
Helene came here for a holiday in 1956 and the next year she, her husband Bob and the family came up to start a new life. Bob famously went on to start The Penthouse with a restaurant on the fourth floor and over the years expanded it to cover all four floors of the Orchid Avenue building.
Helene, who worked in Abe Saffron’s clubs as a singer, was always a designer and moved into a shop vacated by Ivy Hassard in Surfers Paradise. Soon her unique designs were being snapped up by locals and tourists alike.
“We used to export the clothes to Hawaii, Canada and even Harrods in London stocked the designs,” said Helene.
“We would have clients from Sydney and Melbourne who would travel up just to get the latest looks. Surfers was a wonderfully safe village back then and we had so many unique designers and boutiques in the area.”
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