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Last month was a sad one as we lost 2 of the UK's national treasures.
Firstly pop star DAVE DEE died at 65 after losing his brave battle against prostate cancer. His band DAVE DEE, DOZY, MICK AND TICH first shot to fame in the 60s with hits such as BEND IT and THE LEGEND OF XANADU, all produced by my dear ex hublet STEVE ROWLAND. The band went on gigging until the present day, in spite of DAVE's illness.
Heartfelt condolences to DAVE'S mum BETTY, children ASHLEY, ELLIOTT and OLIVIA, partner LESLEY and fellow band members. DAVE was a charming gentleman as well as a great talent and here he is with lovely fellow rocker and beauty expert CINDY JACKSON taken at a recent gig where they both appeared.
DAVE DEE and CINDY JACKSON. C.r.: BARRY GORDIN.
Secondly my oldest and best platonic male friend SIR DAI LLEWELLYN, BART died at the age of 62 after suffering from cirrhosis of the liver, anaemia, prostate cancer and bone cancer. DAI, dubbed 'Dirty Dai' and 'The Seducer of the Valleys' due to his predilection for beautiful leggy blondes and his Welsh roots was one of the London social scene's most fun and flamboyant characters and will never be forgotten. He was a 'bon viveur', welcoming nightclub host, brilliant writer and broadcaster and may well have continued with his latest love, politics, if he had lived. I first met him doing the deb season when he was one of the handsomest 'deb's delights' and we had been friends forever. His father was SIR (COLONEL) HARRY LLEWELLYN, the Olympic equestrian and owner / rider of FOXHUNTER, the forerunner of RED RUM in the horsey stars' stakes (excuse the pun – DAI would have loved it!) DAI and I modelled in Australia together, formed a compering duo called, imaginatively, SAL AND DAI and had the best fun on the social scene. He was the best pal anybody could have and loyally appeared in various of my TV shows and pantos and contributed to my current book, SENSUAL PLEASURES.
I was lucky to see DAI 3 days before he died at THE EDENBRIDGE WAR MEMORIAL HOSPITAL where the lovely nurses looked after him really well. He was surrounded by cards and flowers from well wishers, not to mention bottles of rather good red wine, his favourite tipple.
DAI's funeral in Suffolk was a very social sad occasion which he would have loved himself, attended by THE DUCHESS OF YORK (godmother to his lovely daughter ARABELLA), diary king RICHARD KAY and various of his gorgeous exes including LADY CHARLOTTE CURZON and MAJESTY editor INGRID SEWARD, who organised a lively and alcoholic charabanc of DAI's closest London friends to get us to the church on time. Paps were lurking in the bushes to snap THE DUCHESS and DAI's brother RODDY, the new Baronet and former long time lover of PRINCESS MARGARET and they were not disappointed.
Heartfelt condolences to DAI's beautiful daughters OLIVIA, who gave a wonderful recital of LORD BYRON's 'We'll Go No More A'Roving' at the funeral, and ARABELLA, brother RODDY and his wife TANIA and their daughters and DAI'S stunning former wife VANESSA. As his dear friend, HANDMADE FILMS president PATRICK MEEHAN said during his address at the funeral, 'there will never be another DAI." I still cry when I think of the huntsman blowing 'Gone Away' at the end of the service – DAI was such a kind and generous person and I dearly wish we could have had him around for so much longer.
My pic shows DAI looking debonair during his DALI moustache period - the suave and fun photo by JUANITA KERMAN which I chose to accompany his contribution to my book.
DAI LLEWELLYN. C.r.: JUANITA KERMAN.
Too many of my dear friends have died from prostate cancer, the biggest killer of men. If you want to do something about it, please contact one of my pet charities:
THE BOB CHAMPION CANCER TRUST: 020 7924 35 53, headed up by horse racing star BOB CHAMPION who himself whipped (again, excuse the pun but we have to cheer ourselves up here) this horrible disease and went on to form the Charity.
Our darling DAI loved his food and, on a happier note, my RESTAURANT OF THE MONTH for Feb is the spacious but cosy, beautifully designed and romantically lit UTOPIA (1 High Street, Kensington, W8 5NP / 020 7937 03 93.)
UTOPIA, which means 'better than Heaven' was designed by the owner himself, MASOUD, a handsome, charming and eligible chap (where was he when we were filming HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE?) and specialises in 'healthy Iranian food.' I interviewed MASOUD for B WELL TV and he explained that his chef keeps the food tasty but healthy by cutting out butter, salt, sugar and heavy oils and using lots of exotic herbs and spices. The food is certainly delicious, all fresh and grilled and I particularly love UTOPIA's lamb cutlets, chicken wings and giant prawns. The starters, or 'mezze', are also delish and varied and I like the way UTOPIA, which is also a wine bar serves glasses of champagne with fresh strawberries – a classy touch. The staff are all delightful, like MASOUD himself and I prophesy great things for UTOPIA.
Their launch party was a huge success with all sorts of Press, paps, socialites, aristos and celebs present including TV favourites ANGIE BEST, CINDY JACKSON, JEFFREY HOLLAND and JUDY BUXTON, CAROL CLEVELAND, BURT KWOUK, MAJESTY's INGRID SEWARD, LADETTE TO LADY's LIZ BREWER, QVC's TONY PAPAS and IAN CARMICHAEL who is hair stylist to the most important lady in the land (nudge nudge, wink wink!).
My pic shows me with evergreen PINK PANTHER and LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE star BURT KWOUK.
BURT KWOUK with SALLY at UTOPIA. C. r.: GABOR SCOTT.
My dress, btw, is by FANNIANN, the label I endorse, of course and BURT's suit is by ARMANI (one would not expect anything less on such a famous international fillum star as our BURT!)
UTOPIA are kindly hosting a charity event for another of my fave charities, FOOD RELIEF INTERNATIONAL on Tuesday March 10th. All HOT GOSSIP readers are cordially invited – entry is just £10 on the door and all proceeds go directly to the charity - FRI's staff are all volunteers and they have no overheads.
My TREATMENT OF THE MONTH is THE PRIVATE CLINIC 's NON SURGICAL FACELIFT, a combination of 'no knife' rejuvenating treatments which will soon have you looking young and glowing without the risks and down time of surgery and anaesthesia. The treatments comprise Botox and fillers, which we know about and laser skin resurfacing, which we need to know about. It is this third treatment, where THE PRIVATE CLINIC's DR GUPTA uses a Pixel laser to literally resurface the skin, which gives the face the smooth, glowing and 'full' look which all we ladies of a certain age, including of course MADONNA, are searching for.
Laser skin resurfacing can be used on any areas of the face and body that show signs of ageing – such as the hands and chest. The treatment improves the skin's complexion and texture, increases its tone and volume and gets rid of sun damage and pigmentation – brill.
I was dying to try it but was nervous about my face so asked the talented DR GUPTA to try it on my knees first. Well! I now have smooth young knees like DEMI MOORE and ladies come up to me in night clubs and ask me how I got them so gorgeous!
DEMI MOORE. C.R.: STAR.
None of us know exactly what DEMI did to 'lift' her knees but, trust me, you will get the same effect from THE PRIVATE CLINIC's Pixel laser treatment.
After the successful and fairly painless sessions on my knees I decided to go for the face and have been delighted with the results. The skin peels gently within 5 days to reveal younger, fresher skin underneath. THE PRIVATE CLINIC will give you some LYCOGEL healing camouflage make-up to hide the inevitable redness you will get and you may need to take some Nurofen to combat any swelling – after all lasering the face is serious business – but well worth it. I found that washing, drying and moisturising the face several times a day speeded up the healing process. The knees and other areas of your body where the skin is tougher may take longer to heal but the LYCOGEL will cover the redness and the peeling is so subtle that you won't really notice it. You can safely have more than one treatment until you reach your peak of smoothness. All in all an excellent addition to our arsenal of age defying treatments.
Highly recommended.
THE PRIVATE CLINIC, Harley Street and Manchester: 0800 599 99 11 /
www.theprivateclinic.co.uk
My PRODUCT OF THE MONTH is NATUR VITAL, a new, reasonably priced hair loss treatment that works really quickly to grow new young hair. There is a tonic which you rub into your bald patches – or all over your scalp if you think you may be 'losing it' from several areas of your scalp – for 5 minutes a day and a shampoo which you use just like any normal shampoo, once or twice a week. The products smell gorgeous, unlike most of these sorts of treatments and are nicely packaged in plastic bottles that are useful for travelling. I myself have been losing my hair for months (it's the stress of dealing with the A.H.es of this world!) but have been so pleased with the little baby chick tufts that NATUR VITAL is growing for me that I am now rubbing it in all over my head and my hair looks thicker than ever.
I have now got all the staff at my posh West End hairdressers', THE JANET GINNINGS SALON (45 Curzon Street, W.1. / 020 7499 2767) which is always chock full of socialites and celebs, using it and recommending it.
NATUR VITAL is definitely a 'magic potion' and is completely natural and safe, being made from wheat, ginseng, hops and soybeans with lots of vitamins, all of which help to promote hair growth and strengthen the hair. If YOU start losing your hair, use the product immediately before your poor little hairs shrivel up and die completely.
Highly recommended.
Stockists: BOOTS.
My other fave prods this month are:
The new SIMPLE REPAIR Anti - Wrinkle range, which is reasonably priced. Our trialler JANE said " I have been using the SIMPLE REPAIR Anti - wrinkle Day Cream, Night Cream and Eye Cream for a few weeks now and find that my skin is very smooth and the texture feels springier. The creams smell very nice and go on easily. I will stick with these products now."
Stockists: TESCO and good chemists.
MENE AND MOY's YELLOW PEEL BALM is a simply brill new method of creating fresh plump pink lips. The Stimulation Balm actually removes dead skin cells, stimulates the fibroblasts, increases collagen production and oxygen to the lips and stimulates the blood vessels, brightening and enhancing them. Then you apply the Barrier Lip Protection Balm that locks in moisture and protects the lips, particularly in this cold weather.
We have all been fighting over the YELLOW PEEL BALM in my office – it really does plump up your lips without injections – great stuff!
Stockists: www.beautyisskindeep.com
FEMFRESH's prods have always been tip top and now they are better than ever. The new FEMFRESH Feminine Deodorant is flying out, my chemist tells me and their new Body Wash and Intimate Wash are also becoming very popular. The fragrance is delicate and the new packaging subtle. They also do handbag sized refreshing pads which are very useful when out and about.
Just don't muddle up the Feminine Deodorant with your hairspray, as a certain JILLY COOPER heroine did in RIDERS (just in the book – the telly wasn't so frisky – risky!) And it's no good spraying it under your armpits either, as my young daughter did recently!
Stockists: chemists and supermarkets.
www.femfresh.co.uk
Valentine's Day is upon us once again and the best ladies' gift I have found is FANTASY GIFTBOX's fab SPECIAL OCCASION KNICKER AND GIFT CARD. This is self explanatory really, being a pretty, fluffy gift card with a sexy pair of knix tucked in. This is a totally brill idea and I can't think why nobody's thought of it before. The lacy knix obviously come in a selection of colours and sizes too.
There you are, guys – gift problem solved for Valentine's Day – then you can choose different colour knix for birthday, Easter and so on until Christmas rolls around inexorably once again! By then your ladies will have a comprehensive knicker collection.
Congrats to FANTASY GIFTBOX for this idea.
www.fantasygiftbox.co.uk
And if you don't have a date this Valentine's Day, help is at hand in the form of DRAWING DOWN THE MOON, the first and most respectable dating agency started by MARY BALFOUR, author of the famous dating handbook, SMART DATING.
Clever MARY is now happily married herself and here she is, ladies and gents:
MARY BALFOUR. C.r.: private collection.
So, if you get bored of Royal bounder JAMES HEWITT's pet site, SUGAR DADDIES, try:
www.drawingdownthemoon.co.uk
where you are assured of finding Just The One – or maybe Two! – for YOU..............
And talking of hunks, my HUNK OF THE MONTH is the divine MARTYN ANDREWS, TV presenter extraordinaire who, although British, is currently based in Russia where he has his own show but will now be spending more time in the UK. In fact rumour has it that he is joining various posh London clubs including the prestigious ARTS CLUB in Dover Street, fave haunt of ANDREW LOGAN and all those gorg arty types.
So watch this space...........
MARTYN ANDREWS. C.r.:private collection.
MARTYN is p.r.'d by lovely CHARLOTTE ELLIS - 020 7610 5370 if you want more info on the man himself.
www.martynandrews.co.uk
MARTYN confided in CHARLOTTE and me recently that he is very good at getting upgraded on aircraft – well, it's probably easy if you're that good looking and have your own show on telly! Luckily for the rest of us, VIRGIN ATLANTIC, easily the best Atlantic carrier in the world, is currently having an Upper Class Sale, reducing its Upper Class fares by up to 40% ..........hmm, I think I feel a nice little visit to somewhere where I will be 'feeling hot hot' coming on!
I've got a bumper crop of sexy books for you this month, dear readers so brace yourselves!
After receiving several emails re my DIARY OF A JETSETTING CALL GIRL by TRACY QUAN review, I decided to read the prequels by gorg former call girl TRACY. DIARY OF A MANHATTAN CALL GIRL and DIARY OF A MARRIED CALL GIRL are now published in one great big thick juicy tome by HARPER PERENNIAL at £7.99 – just the job for cold winter nights and beach holidays. TRACY's intrepid alter ego, Nancy Chan has a dilemma – she is a highly successful private call girl but becomes engaged, then married, to Matt and he does NOT know about her secret life! TRACY is a great writer and the books are in turn hilarious, outrageous and thought provoking as Nancy juggles her 2 lives and tries to stop them colliding. No wonder she is seeing a shrink! This is 'PRETTY WOMAN meets SEX AND THE CITY' for sure.
DIARY OF A MANHATTAN CALL GIRL will shortly be made into a feature film and I predict that TRACY will become as famous as our own famous 'madam' CYNTHIA PAYNE, whose thrilling tales of sex for luncheon vouchers in Streatham was made into the brill PERSONAL SERVICES starring JULIE WALTERS.
I can't wait to interview TRACY one of these days.
One gal I WILL soon be interviewing on the teevee is stunning former 'serial mistress' SARAH SYMONDS. SARAH, you may remember, is the lady who was recently exposed in lurid detail by THE NEWS OF THE WORLD as being GORDON RAMSAY's extra - marital interest for 7 years - allegedly, as we understand the hunky chef is still in denial over the matter. SARAH, a highly intelligent and fun girl, had several affairs with married men, including our very own LORD ARCHER (allegedly!) before putting her accumulated knowledge to good use by writing HAVING AN AFFAIR? – A HANDBOOK FOR THE OTHER WOMAN (RED BRICK PRESS, $14.95 U.S.) The book was taken up by OPRAH and SARAH suddenly became a best selling author, investigating all sorts of HAVING AN AFFAIR? merchandising opportunities. She is now concentrating on her TV career and has decided to go from 'mistress to Mrs' so watch this space..........................
In the meantime HAVING AN AFFAIR? is definitely required reading for all current and future mistresses, not to mention wandering husbands and worried wives. The book is very well written and extremely helpful to all parties concerned. SARAH encourages mistresses to get something out of their dangerous liaisons, faithless husbands to behave better and wives to watch out. After reading HAVING AN AFFAIR I have become completely paranoid about my own hubby's behaviour and am going around checking his shirt collars for lippy!
Congrats, SARAH and good luck with the husband hunting!
The cuttings below show snatched shots of SARAH and me outside SAN LORENZO,
PRINCESS DIANA's old haunt, where THE NEWS OF THE WORLD snapper caught us unawares after rather a good lunch last month.
SARAH SYMONDS and SALLY: C.r.: MATRIX.
And if YOU, dear reader, are a current mistress who would like to talk about her experiences on television, please contact me asap at:
Sally@hotgossip.co.uk
I promise you it will be cathartic and you will be helping other women out there too.
Finally we come to my BONKBUSTER THRILLER OF THE CENTURY:
RED SNAPPER by ROBIN ANDERSON (ATHENA PRESS, £9.99), an absolutely outrageous gay bonkbuster thriller (yes, you read me right!)
ROBIN ANDERSON is a celebrity interior designer (think IVANA TRUMP, et al) who turned his hand to writing a few years ago and is an absolute natural. The extraordinary RED SNAPPER, ROBIN's second book has justifiably become a best seller and he currently has 5 more books in the pipe line, including a series of children's stories. This author is one to watch, trust me.
RED SNAPPER is the lurid tale of golden boy James Augustine - Jones, a handsome and successful young interior designer who has it all but wants more – and in a totally BAD way. He embarks upon a lust crazed spree of violence against fellow gays – but all the young men have something he lost a long time ago and thinks he can never recover - until he talks to a brilliant plastic surgeon. James and his long term partner David have just met a Secret Policeman with a lot of Balls and the hunt for the Red Snapper is on –from Chelsea to Sri Lanka and South America and back again, picking up a huge cast of colourful but believable characters on the way.
Intrigued? You really, really have to read RED SNAPPER – it's totally shocking and ultimately moralistic. The book has already aroused film and TV interest - watch out, LINDA LA PLANTE, this 'prime suspect' is the ultimate anti - hero.
My photo shows the delightful ROBIN ANDERSON kindly posing with me and my current book at a recent talk I gave at BROMPTON LIBRARY (Old Brompton Road, SW5) where ROBIN had himself lectured a few weeks previously.
ROBIN ANDERSON with SALLY. C.r.: JOHN ULLENS.
In fact the KENSINGTON group of libraries have all sorts of fascinating speakers: the always excellent MICHAEL WINNER was in the week before me and top thriller writer PETER JAMES will be speaking soon – check out the libraries' future speakers, and their books of course, at 020 7361 3610.)
Lastly my CD OF THE MONTH is opera star CARLOS COGUL's INTRODUCTION, a truly mellow collection of opera arias which will soothe, inspire and uplift your spirit.
www.carloscogul.com
CARLOS, if you're reading this please send me a fab pic for next month. Readers, you will love his looks – and his beautiful voice of course.
Thank you for reading my column. You can contact me at:
Sally@hotgossip.co.uk
And do check out my personal website at:
www.sallyfarmiloe.com
SENSUAL PLEASURES AND THE ART OF MORPHING INTO A HEALTH GODDESS (£16.99) is available from the following outlets:
Delancey Press - orders@centralbooks.com or 0845 4589911
ISBN: 0780953911998
LOO TIME VIDEO available from:
farminghamprods@aol.com and:
http://www.121music.com/pages/video_01/home.html
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