Tom Cruise did not call in at Hihi last week. Neither did anyone else from Hollywood, despite anything resident Colin Salt might have said.
He couldn't resist gilding the lily just a little after he spotted a superyacht gliding past the bottom of his garden.
Word subsequently got out that Tom Cruise was in Doubtless Bay, he said, and just for a moment he gave the story some legs, volunteering the information that the star had dropped by for a ride on Colin's quad bike. Then he thought better of it.
"That's how rumours start, I suppose, so I admitted it was absolute ****," he said.
Lady Christine was no mirage though. Presumably the successor of the Lady Christine built in 2003, Lady Christine IV is owned by Lord Irvine Laidlaw, reportedly one of Britain's richest tax exiles, who at last report was worth $1.4 billion.