KEY POINTS:
I was at a birthday party on Saturday afternoon, a surprise milestone bash, actually. The birthday boy - a music executive at an American-owned television channel - made his entrance amid much fanfare and hurrahs, to his surprise, of course.
Running late as usual, I was lucky to make it in the nick of time. Saturday is usually my day off from the Herald on Sunday but the editor rang insisting I call Paul Henry immediately to find out the state of his love life. "Has he broken up with Diane" [Foreman], The Ed quizzed? "You know him; can you call him in Seattle now?" he asked rhetorically.
What, right now? To find out if he's sleepless without Diane, I wanted to snigger, but daren't. No one questions The Ed, least of all me. I'm right down the list of the columnists' food chain with very little power and influence. FYI: Holmesy and Woodham are at the top - the pint-sized teacher's pets. Even raving reporter That Guy carries more sway than yours truly: not due to the quality of his work, I like to tell myself, most probably after some male bonding moment with the aforementioned Ed involving beers, babes and brouhaha.
It's a tricky proposition at the best of times, nosying into someone's personal life uninvited, but as I was walking to the party (a few blocks from my home) when The Ed phoned, juggling the pressie, a bottle of bubbly, and trying not to work up a sweat so my slap-on make-up wouldn't trickle off my face, the request was tricky indeed.
So there I was, teetering along St Mary's Bay in some ridiculous footwear, determined not to miss the allotted surprise moment, mobile crooked under my chin, juggling the above items and now a notebook and pen too for any personal words Henry was ready to confidingly gush to yours truly (as if!). I couldn't walk home to make the call, I'd walked too far, and I couldn't miss the one moment to scream S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E! And I couldn't tell The Ed to sod off.
As it happened, if Henry was sleepless in Seattle, he was doing something other than answering his phone, which was switched off. I left a cheery message: 'please call me back' but failed to add: to discuss the state of your love life with Mrs Foreman (who, let's be honest, has adopted the Mrs Robinson role ever since news broke of her relationship with Henry in the Herald on Sunday several months ago). Henry - as you might have guessed - never rang.
At the party, Bill Ralston and Janet Wilson were there looking dapper; so too were Karen Soich, Tracy Magan, Murray Rose and MTV VJ Jay Reeve. But the biggest surprise entrance, at least as far as the guests were concerned, was the moment when The Cougar and her Cub walked in looking radiant. She, in that showy-off way that says ladies, check us out, don't we look like Demi and Ashton?
And the truth is, they did. Well, She evidently hadn't had tens of thousands of dollars of plastic surgery work; and He wasn't incorporating the word "punk'd" into every conversation, but as far as looking gorgeous in an age-unbalanced twosome, they played the part.
We were jealous. We being the rest of the women at the party - even those happily ensconced in mature relationships. The Cougar (in her late 30s) and her Cub (in his very early 20s) were the hottest couple and they knew it. They oozed self confidence and joie de vivre.
It's fair to say dating someone younger has never been part of my hooking up mantra. All the guys I've dated (and there haven't been that many, truly!) have been older. Only a few years older, mind you - seven at the most; certainly not older in Gilda terms.
But the cougar trend has swept through our culture and become mainstream, largely thanks to Hollywood stars like Demi Moore, Madonna, Rachel Hunter, Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis and Barbara Hershey who have all taken up with a younger man. As far as trends go, cougars have in effect, become the new MILFs (a terrible acronym really, except for those women who it's applied to and secretly love it).
Is dating someone younger good for you? The Cougar was positively glowing at the party and happier than I've ever seen her. For her, the age gap was inconsequential. But it did raise eyebrows. Even in this day and age, the older woman scenario drew many winks. Our couple were visibly non-plussed, but inwardly, probably rather proud, I suspect. Is the Mrs Robinson phenomenon here to stay? For those of you with cougar stories, please feel free to share them.
Don't cry for me
The television commercial starts with the words: "A personal message from the three founders," before three Lycra-clad drag queens march out in shuffle-dancing unison with plastic fruit atop of shiny, black bob wigs. Just another Marc Ellis stunt, you ask?
Fair question. The ad is a promotion for Charlie's Orange Juice, and Ellis is no stranger to dress-up stunts - his appearances on SportsCafe very rarely involve civilian dress. Ellis is a director of Charlie's (he also holds directorship titles for six other companies). However, it's not entirely clear if he founded the OJ company: according to the NZ Companies Office registry, he didn't come on board as a director until 2006 - 14 months after Stefan Lepionka and Eduard Van Arkel registered the company in July 2005.
But there's no doubt the ad is a hit. Everyone's talking about it. And as far as silly get-ups go, Ellis in platforms, make-up, false eyelashes and a romper suit, it's sure to sell the company catch-phrase "completely fruity".
The drag stars - Ellis, Lepionka and shareholder Simon Neal - trained under Candy Lane, who played choreographer to the completely un-coordinated threesome. Check them out on YouTube, where, in another company promotional stunt, the practice rehearsal has been leaked.
Ellis and his gorgeous wife Agustina are "set to leave for Argentina soon," a close friend told Spy. Not that we didn't know that already. We reported the news back in May. The glamour couple are set to spend several months there on a sabbatical break we understand. Which will, no doubt, be welcome news to Ellis and his four mates, whose company Preserve Piha Ltd is set to face a very costly battle in the Environmental Court on November 10.
They are up against Preserve Piha with the likes of Sandra Coney and TV3's Melanie Reid, who oppose their plans for a small local community cafe. The Environmental Court typically hears large industrial cases and Treaty issues, so the case about the little-cafe-that-could is bound to draw loads of media attention. We wish Ellis well - both here and in Argentina.
Bosom buddies
It was nice to see former foes putting aside their differences for a good cause - breast cancer - on Tuesday.
Leah Panapa and April Ieremia, who were last in Spy spitting tacks at each other following a run-in at Julie Christie's lavish Viaduct apartment, kissed and made up in the name of women's health.
Only a few months ago Panapa told Spy Ieremia had made a derogatory comment about her weight, inferring the broadcasting babe was pregnant. April explained to Spy that the comment was misunderstood, but neither woman would back down. Whatever the issue, the girls made up and sat next to other in pride of place at the Tim Tam Pink Tea Party at The Wharf on Tuesday to raise funds and awareness for the Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition. Nice, eh?
Ieremia is the charity's spokeswoman, and she delivered a deeply personal and moving speech about how breast cancer has affected her life since her mother was diagnosed with the disease.
Juice TV Awards
The Juice TV Awards were held at the Stamford Plaza last week. The after-party was a-buzz when Tiki Tane and P-Money borrowed an iPod and MCd. Also performing impromptu performances were PNC, Nesian Mystik and 48May. Click here for photos by Norrie Montgomery.
Rachel Glucina
Pictured above: Paul Henry and Diane Foreman arive at Auckland International Airport in June of this year to fly first class to London. Photo / Jason Dorday
