Va-va-Valentino

Christmas is zooming closer at an alarming rate and so my two lovely friends Astrid Harbord and Alice Naylor Leyland and I decided rather last minute to organise and host a cool Christmas Bazaar. We chose to have it at my gallery The Little Black Gallery and due to the number of designers wanting to participate I asked our divine Italian restaurant next door “Eleven Park Walk” if we could use their beautiful space as well. Needless to say that what started off as a little idea became a huge production and before we knew it we had 18 brands. Lotty B, of Mustique fame, arrived bright and early with her charming husband Dr Michael Bunbury firmly in tow. Her famous swimwear and wild kaftans were a massive hit. My girlfriends Mimi Baldwin and Zara Simon had very different but very special jewellery corners along with Feidt (an achingly cool Parisian brand). Another good friend Alessandra Vicedomini had tempting rails with dresses and cashmere galore. Alberto Moretti and Fiona Dreesmann of My Slippers shod our feet and the charming Charmian Taylor had a wonderful display of her florist line Scent by Design.

The food was taken care of by the fabulous Roberto at Eleven and they even set up a pop-up café for the ladies with mouthwatering teeny portions of scrambled egg with truffles! Our great friend Sarah Ferguson popped in for tea and also to do an unofficial signing of her latest children’s book “Ballerina Rosie” for her charity.  She was a roaring hit and actually ran out of copies. We were thrilled she came as she is always great fun and Princess Eugenie popped in for support. Amanda Ferry slunk in, head to toe in gym kit, with her gal-pal model Kimberly Johnson and even Cath Vialli and her sister made an appearance. It was of course not without drama when Vivien Duffield swung by and brought lots of goodies for her Christmas list. One phone call later and we were on our hands and knees looking for a lost diamond necklace!! The day was a huge success and we even managed to raise around £1,070 for Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital’s Wish list appeal. Shopping with a feel good factor…all boxes ticked!

Princess Eugenie and her mother, Sarah Ferguson

I was obviously feeling still in a ‘do good’ mood when I went off to help at my daughters Christmas Fair. I was planted on the cake stand with a hundred different prices for all the home baked treats and my mind boggled at trying to remember it all. The big mistake was that the table was kiddie height and so many little angels got their paws onto the cupcakes that parents were constantly having to shell out! It was funnily enough the homemade brownies that were in huge demand. So, a note to all you Yummy Mummies, a bake off is way too sophisticated for a Nursery Christmas fair!

A beautiful Valentino design

My most exciting night and one I had been getting all overexcited about for weeks was Valentino’s retrospective opening at Somerset House, “Valentino: Master of Couture” (somersethouse.org.uk/visual-arts-valentino). Giorgio and I are good friends with both Valentino and his longtime business partner Giancarlo Giammetti and so have been lucky enough to have seen their shows in Paris and Rome. However, nothing could prepare us for the ‘wow factor’ that they had created for London. I cannot tell you how massively urgent it is to get there and see it for yourself. The curators and creative team consisted of Patrick Kinmonth, Antonio Monfreda and Alistair O’Neill.

Johannes Huebl and Anouska at the Italian Embassy dinner

The idea is for the visitors to be walking down a runway and the mannequins are in fact dressed in Valentino’s creations and are the audience at the show – all very clever and of course a treat for sore eyes. There was of course a small intimate dinner at The Italian Embassy, thrown by Giancarlo afterwards for their close personal friends and a decent smattering of young cool London scensters. It was a visual treat spectacularly created by Emma Gold of GSP. Musician/model James Rousseau was there without his delightful girlfriend the actress Annabelle Wallis who was caught up filming.

One of the Mannequins at Valentino’s retrospective

Fashion darling Olivia Palermo and her beau Johannes Huebl had flown in from New York and were ready for fun. Alexa Chung looked amazing in her Valentino dress and Dita Von Teese was truly the business. As always with the Valentino crew the atmosphere was as if we were at one of their beautiful homes so it was absolutely no surprise when we headed down the sweeping staircase for dessert. A room dedicated to naughty treats and sweets greeted our eyes – so beautifully and artfully tempting that I can’t think of a soul who declined! A coy Victoria Beckham was on hand in her own line but it was down to the elegant Valentino to kick off the dancing. He is a fabulous dancer and adores dancing – novices step forward at your peril…

A delighted Violet in Harrods. ©TamaraBeckwith

Too much fun for one girl to digest. I rounded off a full week by taking my little Violet to see Father Christmas at Harrods. This has been an annual pilgrimage for as long as I can remember. This year was to be different! All went swimmingly as I had of course been smart and pre-booked months ago. She loved meeting Father Christmas and was ecstatic to be told she may indeed receive a hamster! No such luck I assure you..  Anyway since we were with friends we decided to have a brunch in the Terrace restaurant.

Violet and Father Christmas at Harrods ©TamaraBeckwith

I decided Violet needed a loo trip and so off we headed through the dog/pet department. Standing in the queue Violet decided she didn’t need to go after all and hotfooted it out of the room. I held my maternal ground and gave her 3 mins! Panic struck as I realised she had called my bluff – the little monster had run off! Now I hope you can all imagine a Saturday in Harrods on a Christmas shopping day! A nightmare as you have no clue which way to look – I will keep the story short but thankfully she was only missing 8 minutes in total. They were the longest 8 minutes ever but my fear was compounded by knowing Harrods has no tannoy… She had of course gone off to see the puppies and then returned. She has no clue what all the fuss was about and is still pretty unrepentant!!!

Busy next two weeks filming new series of Channel 4′s ‘Four Rooms’ plus having to squeeze in a few pre-Christmas nights out! Not sure how I am going to cope ….

TV stardom and a Winter Wonderland

Excitingly I have landed a coveted spot as a dealer on the new series of Channel 4’s ‘Four Rooms’. It starts filming next week but I was up and ready to go in my Downton Abbey ensemble when my Producer Titus Ogilvy met with me for us to shoot the teaser. For those who that means nothing to – translated that means a long day of shooting roughly the same sequence for the opening of all the upcoming shows…Not exactly high octane action or glamour for that matter. However, more excitement was generated when we all rocked up at The Little Black Gallery and Titus said my outfit was not going to work due to the strobe lights! I decided not to panic or throw a wobbly and so we duly headed to my own closet and re-styled me. The rest of the day went smoothly and I am totally excited to get cracking next week.

Me and Alesha Dixon at the “Empowering Women Awards”

The next morning I had to get over to Holborn for a very important meeting with my cousin and Great Ormond Street Hospital (gosh.org). She has a huge charity event next spring at Highclere, the beautiful house in Downton Abbey. She is a wonderful mother and a super trooper who has raised over £5 million for the children’s hospital so far. Getting to Holborn was a whole project in itself and I managed to arrive just as they sat down. I am always humbled by Charity work and was especially moved as we were given an opening speech by some of the surgeons who had helped my cousin’s own little boy. We were full of ideas on how to make a big dent in the figures needing to be raised as GOSH needs £50 million alone just to run and keep the research programmes going. I left full of admiration and headed to meet my friend Tania Fares for lunch. Tania and Kim Hersov, the fashion stylist and Fashion Editor at Harpers Bazaar were already busy discussing this seasons trends and whose styles they admired and those more importantly that they didn’t. Sadly my lips are sealed but it would make a very interesting reading. I only mention this as we were at Scott’s (scotts-restaurant.com), a delicious fish restaurant in Mayfair and I was tempted by a shrimp burger. These girls lunches aren’t renowned for huge quantities of food being consumed. It was beyond delicious and all carb free.

Alesha Dixon and Jahmene Douglas at the “Empowering Women Awards”

The next day I was invited to attend the “Empowering Women Awards” hosted by Avon and Women’s Aid, (womensaid.org) by my great friend Jenny Halpern Prince. Tea at Claridges is always a treat but I had no clue just what an emotional afternoon it would turn into. I arrived and met Alesha Dixon, who in the flesh is extraordinarily pretty and very dainty looking. She was super warm and friendly and had a sexy new bob.  Actress Tina Holby was there with her sweet mum and we ended up having a lovely chat about little girls. Jahmene Douglas from X Factor was one of the presenters as was the wonderful Will Young. I kept on wanting to tell him how fabulous he had been in the performance of Cabaret that I saw a month or so ago but felt it was a bit inappropriate. The awards are a platform for survivors of domestic violence. The winners all had very traumatic stories to tell but the overriding message was that despite the odds, they had achieved amazing things and had all been incredibly brave. It was a very sobering afternoon.

Vivi on one of the rides at Winter Wonderland ©TamaraBeckwith

Back home I rounded Vivi up as we were off to the opening night of Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park (hydeparkwinterwonderland.com). I take my hat off to the Royal Parks Committee as they have found a way to include everyone within the parks and generate much needed funds for the running of our beautiful Parks. I think I am correct in saying that Winter Wonderland generates around £5 million. Not a shoddy sum! It does get very cold there though and so we wrapped up very warmly and even wore wellies. We bumped into my good friend Tim Attias and his son almost immediately and then practically got stampeded by young girls when we crossed paths with the X Factor hopefuls! Talk about bad timing.

Me and Vivi on the beautiful carousel at Winter Wonderland ©TamaraBeckwith

We found all the smaller rides and Vivi was in heaven with her little friend Lola Sofia. Penny Lancaster was there with Rod Stewart and their two boys looking suitably glam with her flowing blonde mane. Noel Gallagher and his wife Sara were escorting their son and looked very happy to blend in.  On the beautiful old fashioned Carousel I found my other Tim, Tim Jefferies with his lovely little Swedish daughter Coco. Vivi and Coco are good friends and were thrilled to find each other. If it’s even possible I’d say it topped last year’s Winter Wonderland.  Looking at our watches it was well past normal bedtime so we quickly grabbed some huge hotdogs and rushed home.

Lastly I was all dolled up in a Missoni mini and heading off to join our friends Boris and Lilly Becker for his birthday. Giorgio was off in America again so I was solo. Loulou’s was full of his friends who had flown in from all over the world as far as I could gather. Lilly looked gorgeous as always in a Stella McCartney frock and was happy to sing him a very loud ‘Happy Birthday’. I had a delicious dinner and made some new friends but was not tempted to close the place down!

Next week I have an amazing Christmas Bazaar at my Gallery with a surprise book signing, a wowee evening with Master of Couture, Valentino and I have fun manning the cake stand at Vivi’s school…

Enjoying the yin and yang of life…

The heavenly thing about November, other than all the autumn leaves and wonderful colours in the Parks, is that it really starts to get me feeling festive. Once Halloween is over it’s straight onto Guy Fawkes… are we even allowed to call it that anymore?  Well my great girlfriend Linda Johnston and her divine husband Nick decided to throw a small, 150-friend fireworks party at their chic estate in Oxfordshire. Vivi was so excited as they have naughty twin boys who she is terribly fond of.  There was even more excitement as Nick had lovingly restored 2 old Land Rover fire trucks so that they were shiny and red, with more bangs and whistles just like the modern day fire engines. The kids were scrambling over them with juicy cheeseburgers oozing ketchup everywhere, as if they had never seen anything so magical. Even Violet, who is usually ultra girly, was beside herself with excitement.

One of the wonderful restored firetrucks

The BBQ was hyper efficient and the sausages were too delicious to be ignored (so much for my holier-than-thou etox juice diet!). A great gaggle of guests surrounded  Ed Allen and his brood, feral I believe is the word he uses for them! Kate Driver was there with her gang of trendy little Notting Hill babies and Emily Oppenheimer with both her beautiful boys, Theo and Marlowe. They had built a tall and robust bonfire with a real-life, stuffed Guy sitting on the top of it. The fireworks were every bit as exciting and thrilling as I always find them. Vivi, however, found it all a bit loud and chilly and was more than keen to sneak back to the twins’ enormous, cosy playroom, packed with toys.

Twinkling fireworks for Guy Fawkes

Back to London and I was thrilled to finally get my hair re-blonded by my team  at Atelier. Josh Wood has been in charge of my unruly mop for over 15 years and he is the only one who can create his legendary “baby blonde” for me. I’ve had a black streak in my hair for about 4 years but people still act as if it’s brand new! Josh is in charge of some of the most important heads in fashion and show business so I find that the 2 hours in his chair flies by as I’m privy to the most fabulous stories. He is a true legend!

Josh Wood and me

The following morning I was off to view a potential new school for Violet.  She is a strong character and I feel quite anxious that I choose the right next school. It goes without saying that my dear, Italian husband cannot get his head around the hoops I have to jump through to get her into a London school! Fingers crossed she gets a place somewhere come January – I don’t think home schooling would work for us…

Me at the Corinthia Hotel’s spa, ESPA

It’s a rare treat for me to ever go to a spa so I decided that, since my younger sister Clare has just had a milestone birthday, I would take her to the Corinthia Hotel’s Spa, ESPA. As it’s in Whitehall it doesn’t feel too local, so there’s no guilt attached. However, I had no clue all the X Factor contestants were in residency. Loads of young fans were penned in outside and Clare and I were given longing looks as if they wanted us to help sneak them  in. Once in the magnificently grand, white marble, state-of-the-art Spa we finally turned off  phones and gadgetry and took deep breaths. We felt a little bit like skiving school girls. After all, we had a gazillion things we could be doing but quality time together as sisters is rare without our girls, so it’s very treasured. Laura Martin, the SPA manager, came over to say ‘Hi’ and then our therapists snuck up and whisked us off for our various treatments. We were reunited a few hours later in terry robes for some light lunch. It was absolutely delicious and hilariously filling enough for us to ask to take it home in a doggie bag. Afterwards, lying on the heated marble day beds, we agreed that this should be a monthly ritual!

My sister Clare enjoying some spa time at ESPA

Life is all about yin and yang, and so, having de-compressed, I was ready to take on the world. Giorgio and I had been invited to a very select dinner in honour of the wonderful designer Prabal Gurung from New York. Uber party hostess Elizabeth Saltzman, who knows just about anyone who’s anyone in the whole World, was in charge. Nightclub supremo Piers Adam - a very old friend of mine – was letting her throw a dinner in his new cool Supper Club – Bodo’s Schloss.  It’s the new place of about 2 weeks. Rumour has it there is a secret tunnel direct to Prince Harry’s apartment in Kensington Palace a stone’s throw away. Arriving at the Austrian ski chalet we were greeted by two handsome men with very little on but oversized fur trapper hats and huskies by their sides. Girls in cheeky dirndls looked ravishing with long, plaited hair -all very themey!

Piers Adam and Giorgio and at Bodo’s Schloss

Once inside, we felt like we had arrived up a mountain and were about to tuck into a calorific cheese fondue.  The decor was spot on and there was a real mountain, bubble-lift on the dance floor. I must say, the crowd was a who’s who as always with Gwyneth Paltrow beautiful and bare faced, Geri Halliwell on great form and I am sure I spied the fashion darling Henry Holland. Alice Temperley looked very boho in pink and Tim Jefferies was celebrating his birthday, so the men with bell ringing talents went wild with the Happy Birthdays. Giorgio was beyond thrilled with his table placement, next to the beautiful actress Annabelle Wallis and I was lucky enough to get her musician/model beau James Rousseau, a handsome cheeky chappy with a little gap in his front teeth. We had been blessed to join actor Luke Evans fresh back from the Fast and the Furious 6 film set. Elle Macpherson was newly blonde and Sophia Hesketh had on the best shoes ever! As always I was just getting into the swing of things, the dance floor was warming up when Giorgio eyeballed me and swiftly frog marched me home. As I turned around for one last goodbye, who should be emerging from the Ladies room but the divine Cameron Diaz, fresh from the red carpet of her new movie “Gambit” – Giorgio I know was half tempted to give in!

James Rousseau, Annabelle Wallis and Luke Evans

However, heading home turned out to be a brilliant call as the next day I was hosting a ‘girl’s’ lunch for luxury fashion brand Missoni at the Sloane Street boutique. My friend and owner of the store, Cavan Mahony Linde, was adamant about having legendary session stylist Snowden Hill in situ to keep our girls happy. Oh and Pooja and the girls from Blink eyebrows were on hand as well.  First through our doors was artist and philanthropist Amanda Eliasch. She was drop-dead glamour with shades so dark I don’t know how she got around. Amanda Sheppard and model Kimberley Johnson popped in for a browse and jeweller Katie Braine came and made a new friend! Jackie St Clair held court upstairs with a few old friends and Lady Masha Hanson, looking very chic in dove grey mink found even more grey things she seemed to like. My great girlfriends Lilly Becker and Lilly Hodges arrived together and left together having sampled everything and tried on so many Missoni combinations I lost count. The day was a great success and Raj, the store manager was such a trooper.  Luckily a quiet weekend beckoned…….

Me with my wonderful Missoni lunch co-hostess, Cavan Mahoney Linde

Next week it’s all gigantic bling, Hollywood and more rocks before a job in Paris…..

Latex lingerie, car trouble and Halloween fun

So with half term over, life can be a little more regimented and back on track.  Still husbandless, I was invited to Lingerie London with the big-billed return of Agent Provocateur to the runway – their last show was 4 years ago. This year Atsuko Kudo’s new risqué latex lingerie show was part of the attraction when I asked one of my best friends Karim Halwagi to come with me. We have been thick as thieves since we were 15 and so I knew he would be a suitable catwalk companion. It’s a huge bonus to take someone who you haven’t seen for ages as you get to have a mammoth chit chat. I decided to wear an outfit by one of my favourite new brands, Beulah London. It was a purple and white, patterned satin sheath with a massive slit – I hadn’t noticed the slit until I slipped it on. White legs are not my best look but with 10 minutes to go I was stuck! The Red carpet was very funny as I was asked all sorts of lingerie-related questions and as I have little knowledge in that area, I kept trying to sound somewhat aloof!

Me in my gorgeous purple Beulah London dress

Then, finally, I attended the fabulous cocktail party at the old Billingsgate Market. Trays full of brandy cocktails were wafted around but I decided to steer well clear. My girlfriend, model Claudia Mason, had been flown in from Milan for the show and she was excited that we were going to be in the front row, or so she said… I was thrilled to bump into uber glamorous Andrea Dellal and we set about comparing our Charlotte Olympia shoes. I was being super brave by wearing my purple metallic pair as I am a tad wobbly in them but Andrea’s looked awesome. Charlotte had designed the shoes for the Agent Provocateur show and made a later entrance with her signature red hair. Football legend Peter Crouch was mooching around in anticipation of his sparky wife Abbey Clancy’s runway moment. The much revered stylist Katie Grand had done the casting so we expected great things. Newlywed Patrick Kielty was our host for the night and gave the crowd a telling-off for not being enthusiastic enough. He then made the bold statement of disappearing behind the curtain and then re-appearing. I thought it was quite funny! Then finally the lights went down. To describe it all would take too long but the girls in the first part for Atsuko Kudo were amazing – the feathery light latex was inspirational. The clever lace designs, again all in fine latex, were absolutely on the money and all the girls on my table, including my old friend and PR whizz Inge Theron, agreed.

Abbey Clancy, Claudia Mason and me

Agent Provocateur’s show was opened by a demure Peaches Geldof in a pale grey Miss Havisham-esque lace number. Then a striding, unrecognizable Sarah Harding took it up a notch gracing the catwalk as a saucy military style policewoman. The show was high energy and skimpy outfit after skimpy outfit came out on one gorgeous-looking model after the other. Olivia Inge, Marie Helvin and Claudia looked amazing and Abbey was stunning. The burlesque star Modesty Blaise was quite simply sensational – her ample curves were really sexy and she certainly worked the room…Feeling I had had quite enough flesh for one night we whisked backstage keeping our eyes diverted, and found Claudia to congratulate.

Our host Patrick Kielty and me

I had a truly idiotic blonde moment a couple of days later when I was heading to the airport to collect my beloved husband. My car started to pull back a little as I raced in the fast lane, trying not to be late. To my horror the petrol gauge and my “how many miles I should have left in the tank gauge” were not correctly aligned and so I had to use my trusted AA yellow card after 20 yrs of having been signed up as a member. Shamefully I had to say that I was precariously parked on the hard shoulder of the M40 with a small child on board. They were amazing and arrived to rescue us within 35 minutes! My husband has still not quite forgiven me but my little girl has told anyone who will listen that “Muma ran out of gas and we got rescued!”

Having embarked on a wonderful but never conveniently-timed “Detox Juice” week, I was hoping I wouldn’t become too irritable and starving. The detox company, Raw Fairies, was recommended to me by a good girlfriend and they deliver a small bag of fresh raw juices just for that day and a salad every morning at around 7am. Other than missing sitting down to eat, so to speak, it was relatively easy. I found going out for dinner a bit dull though as I would be sipping my juice whilst those around me were tucking into delicious hot plates of yumminess. Going to the Lionel Richie concert at the O2 with my Uncle John and his daughter Nicola was almost an ask too far. I was loving the show, as of course I am a huge fan and even interviewed him years ago for the Big Breakfast, but being unable to have any naughty burgers, nachos or even a coke was dire! Why I hadn’t thought about this before starting the detox, I don’t know…

Me with my good friend, photographer Alistair Taylor-Young

Tuesday was a work night as we had the opening at my gallery, The Little Black Gallery, for our new show ‘Holiday’ by my very good friend and truly fabulous photographer Alistair Taylor-Young.  The night was a great success with the pictures flying off the walls. The show features some of his many stunning pictures shot for Conde Nast Traveller – who are celebrating their 15th anniversary this year. Alistair whizzed there on the Eurostar from Paris where he had been working, only to arrive 5 minutes before the end of his own private view – what a diva! However, he was in time for our post-show dinner at our lovely local Eleven Park Walk where everyone, apart from me still on my detox, dined on scrumptious Italian food and drink into the early hours of the morning. I left Alistair propping up the bar with my business partner Ghislain Pascal and our Park Walk neighbour Danny Shahaf of World Club Travel, who had very kindly sponsored the show.

Dining at Eleven Park Walk

Lastly we had Halloween. My little girl Violet was so excited as this was the first year that she was able to totally grasp the American tradition. My lovely friend and International hair wizard Daniel Galvin Jr had asked me to throw a children’s party at his bespoke salon in Belgravia to launch his new “Dubble Trubble” children’s organic hair and body washes. What is extra special is that he has done it under his patronage of the Prince’s Trust with a percentage going to the charity. We had Darren Black work his creative magic, turning the salon into a witch’s lair and it looked spectacularly spooky. Violet was in heaven with face painter Carragh Buxton transforming all the children into whatever their hearts desired. Davinia Taylor arrived with 3 naughty little skeletons and Donna Air popped by for a blow dry with her pretty daughter Freya. Yasmin Mills’ youngest, Maddie, was laughing about how she was a bit too old to join in. However, she had on the most wonderful costume and had been working on it all day! There were delicious cookies and evil cupcakes by Bunny and Boo Cupcakes. All us Mummies decided we wanted our faces painted too – I guess there are some things you never grow out of…

Getting my face painted for Halloween!

Love for Legoland and glamour at Skyfall

Having had a blissfully quiet weekend with lots of downtime with my youngest daughter Violet, I resumed our crazy pace with an early start on Monday morning, to Legoland.  Now I clearly have no recollection of my younger sister and I being taken to any such places.  As a result I have no sentimental feelings towards these theme parks and actually get little pleasure from them other than completing the day and getting home – but I now have to eat my hat! Legoland has certainly put Britain into the big league and I was absolutely shocked with it all.

Me and Violet ©TamaraBeckwith

Not to bore those of you without kids but even without the treasured Q box (a queue jumping aid you pay for and apparently not available on Mondays), my girlfriend Grainne and I had a blast with our two little ones.  Did I mention it was a grey sky with intermittent drizzle? Yet nothing could dampen our kids’ joy as we faced no queues longer than 20 minutes which, in my book, is a breeze.  Violet and Theo were mesmerised by the live Pirate Show, it was a first to see really engaging young students with incredible gymnastic skills and quite daredevil stunts perform– diving from a very high look out post!  Their new ride Atlantis was wonderfully presented and interesting even to us adults.  All in all a wonderful day with a delicious carb filled lunch at the Legoland hotel whilst we warmed up and the little ones ran themselves ragged.  Job done!

Violet and her new Lego friend ©TamaraBeckwith

Back to London and it was a quick turnaround for another Monday night out.   (So much for the no plans on a Monday night rule).  A great friend, Scott Curie was over from New York looking after the “Queen of Mean” Joan Rivers.  I have never seen her perform her comedienne role before and so quite naively I thought it might be a bit vanilla – was I ever in for a shock!  Sitting in a box with some of her other guests I almost choked within the first 5 minutes. Nothing is off limits with Joan.  She was speeding across the Royal Albert Hall stage in a dazzling coat of fuschia sequins with such fury I could not accept her telling us she was, in fact, 79 years old.  One of my favourite lines was how she is thinking of setting up a “Feels on Wheels” service for the elderly. Sadly the rest of her act is totally unprintable but I have been imitating her all week to various friends and get so involved I don’t realise it’s one of those ‘you had to be there’ kind of nights!

Me with Joan Rivers and her daughter Melissa

After the show I went down to Joan’s post-show party to meet her and her daughter Melissa.  To say they are weeny is a gross understatement, but so sharp and naughty. Also very warmly chatting to Louis Walsh and my favourite interiors whizz Lady Jane Spencer Churchill. Their work schedule is intense and Joan had just been touring England back to back for the week.  I had a couple of glasses of champagne and couldn’t resist stealing a Joan Rivers cupcake. A new convert I will proudly admit it, she was simply sensational.

Me on the red carpet at the Skyfall premiere

I was still finding the whole night hilarious when I woke up the following day but had to get my skates on to meet Daniel Galvin Jnr – a good friend and hairdresser.  We are hosting a little Halloween party on the 31^st to launch his new Organic Hair products for Children, Duble Truble.  We were in the middle of trying to agree decorations and entertainments, etc when in breezed Made In Chelsea’s Millie Mackintosh.  I had actually just seen her with her beau Professor Green at breakfast that weekend.  She was super pretty and polite and was obviously a regular. We agreed on all the details and I was home to get ready for the premiere to end all premieres, Bond’s new Skyfall.  The reason it was trebly special was because it was the 50^th Anniversary of the James Bond films and in celebration the premiere was being held at the Royal Albert Hall.  My escort for the night was my long term agent and business partner Ghislain Pascal.  Dress was black tie as the evening was in the presence of the Prince Charles and Camilla. So far so glamorous.

Me at paparazzi time at the Skyfall premiere

Even my jaded eyes were out on stalks as we made our way up the grand back staircase of the Albert Hall.  Red carpet heaven as the best of the best posed in front of a bank of photographers worthy of the Oscars.  Naomi Campbell and her handsome beau Vlad were in matching tuxedos whilst actress Helen McCrory (she appears in the movie) was a little girls dream in a fairy tulle puff by Marchesa.  Holly Valance, recently back from her wedding, was one of my favourites in a super chic orange Tom Ford outfit. The throng of people was a huge nod to the producers Barbara Brocolli & Michael Wilson and to the fact that they had done something very clever with their father’s Bond legacy. Rachel Weisz, beautiful in jaw-dropping bejewelled lilac, was so discreet she actually reunited with her Bond, Daniel Craig inside the hall before he had to shake Prince Charles’ hand. Rachel and Daniel are notoriously private and she is a huge star in her own right.  What a wife!

Me with Nadja Swarovski and Assia Webster

Once in my seat, I must add I was in the front of a box only four or five down from the Royal Box and couldn’t stop sneaking a look to see if the royal couple were enjoying the film. Skyfall, directed by Sam Mendes is very unfluffy, slightly dark and heavy on action but I, for one, would just have liked a little more sexiness, but I guess the Box Office will be the judge.  Off to the after party at the Tate Modern, Ghislain and I had a riot with Assia and Stephen Webster and Nadja Swarovski with her suave husband Rupert Adams.  An immaculate vintage grey Aston Martin was there for the guests to admire and we all took silly photos, they even had thoughtfully created a Skyfall photo booth.  I bumped into Tony Broccoli, a very old friend from LA and the brother of Barbara.  The party was full on with trays of cocktails and I was thrilled to see my friend Kate Driver who was with her sister Minnie Driver in a scarlet satin sheath.  I was on a mission to find my new friend Bruce Bozzi who had come in from New York.  Much searching later he was unearthed in the inner sanctum with Daniel Craig and his posse.  Stephen Webster went over to say hello, as his jewellery had adorned the latest batch of beautiful Bond Girls.  I was happy to catch Assia’s eye as it was yet another school night and we made the brave decision to call it a night.

I was again up with the larks as I finally had to do something dull – hunting for all my receipts for a VAT return (not my idea of a couple of hours well spent). Another weekend of chilly country walks, a little horse riding all in time to replenish my energy for a sexy Agent Provocateur runway show and a Halloween party for the little people, oh and a little Lionel Richie….

Partying with princesses and catching some Cabaret

The week started off with the husband flying out of town and one very dear girlfriend flying in to stay with me!  With Violet at her grandparents in Milan, I almost felt like a twenty-something single girl again.  Former supermodel Claudia Mason had flown in from New York for some meetings and I was thrilled to have time to hang out with her – and  finally be introduced to the era of Instagram.

She was very patient and explained everything as if I was about eight years old.  Still not quite sure what the point is but I will soldier on. When Giorgio is gone I make time for all my girlfriends, who I just don’t get to see enough of. I have also resumed Jo’s Dance class. It’s a great high impact class and I really do work up a sweat. Not that I look anything close to Beyonce, who we were supposedly imitating!

Me and Jenny Halpern

That night was another great friend’s birthday party. PR supremo Jenny Halpern loves a dance, usually with a pole involved, but her divine husband Ryan is more conservative and so a chic soiree at her beautiful London home was the order of the day. Saffron Aldridge was looking very cool wearing a heavenly pair of Valentino bow boots – I don’t really think of Saffron doing bows. Interiors goddess Tara Bernerd was as usual exasperated with her workload. I think all of us with little ones make her silently chuckle that we are ever short of hours in the day! She’s heading off to David Furnish’s upcoming 50^th celebrations  in New York, which prompted me to say she was a little hopeful if she thought she had much chance of meeting any appropriate single men there. I chatted away to my friend Kate Driver (sister of actress Minnie) who seems to have re-entered the workplace with abandon.  She is a clever film producer and has long harboured a desire to manage young up and coming talent -  she would make a great mentor!

Me with Emma O’Byrne (make-up) and Snowden Hill (Hair)

The food was delicious and it was quite a rare occasion to see all the girls tucking in so freely.  Not so when I had to be up with the larks the following morning to shoot a new campaign for Calzone at Pizza Express. The absolute glamour of it all… Arriving at the restaurant in the Strand all dolled up but with rollers in situ is just so wrong!  The photographer was a hoot and my chef or pizziolo Adriona was fabulous.  He got to eat three piping hot Calzones and all I was allowed was to hold a single solitary slice! Although at 9am, I am not sure I quite had the stomach for it…

I had a meeting later that afternoon about a charity event I will be co-chairing in the Spring for a Children’s hospice and we were all challenged to come up with a theme.  Sad that at 40 I still love a theme!  Will this ever change? I just feel that if you are asking people to give generously it somehow makes it less painful to do so in full costume.  “Military and Medics” seemed to be the path we were heading down.

Claudia Mason and me

My lovely house guest Claudia wanted to take me for dinner to say thank you, but first we planned to drop in at The Brompton Club en route for a preview of Beulah London’s Spring/Summer 2013 collection and launch of their Hennessy Gold Cup scarf for charity.  I explained it was casual, but this is Chelsea we are talking about. I slipped on some leggings, a leopard tee and a furry jacket. It felt casual although my girlfriend gasped when we met at the bottom of my stairs. She was in New York ‘casual’, skinnyjeans and a jumper. As she is an ex-supermodel, whatever she put on would look fab, to be honest.

We arrived at the party to be greeted by 20 photographers, leaving her looking a little unamused!  Getting into the party was a feat in itself. Trillions of gorgeous 20-somethings (including some of the Made in Chelsea lot) in head to toe Beulah; glamour exemplified.  The two founders Natasha Rufus Isaacs and Lavinia Brennan were charming and seemed thrilled with the response to their ethical line. Princess Eugenie was there as was Chelsy Davy. Claudia asked for a ginger ale and it came with a healthy glug of brandy.  She was in hysterics at how we speak the same but hugely different language.

Princess Eugenie and Chelsy Davy

Zuma was a mob scene. The maître’d was as helpful as he could be but we still looked like we were there to be picked up!  Too silly for words. I bumped into my good pal Caroline Stanbury. She was in an itsy bitsy Herve Leger mini and sky scraper heels. Not sure if she was off to a  party but way over the top for dinner.  She is beside herself with excitement as she has just landed a huge American reality TV show. She won’t mind me saying this but she talks about herself incessantly now.

God help us when the show starts!! With the weekend looming Claudia and I had one last hurrah – a night at the Savoy Theatre to see Cabaret, with Will Young as its star.  We were joined by Valentino, Giancarlo Giammetti and their clan, including VBH jewellery and handbag designer Bruce Hoeksema and ex-model Charlene de Ganay. Valentino is a die-hard musical fan, and with my family’s theatre connections, I try to take him to see something new whenever he is in town. He thought he’d died and gone to heaven when he saw Singin’ In the Rain!

Claudia Mason and Valentino

I was not prepared in any way for the show but I can only say you must see it.  It’s truly brilliant; the choreography, the costumes, the lighting, and Will Young is staggering.  After the show we headed off to,  yes you guessed it, Loulou’s nightclub at 5 Hertford Street – so hot that it’s almost becoming a nightly staple among my crew!

THE place to be, 5 Hertford Street

Can’t wait to tell you all about my double whammy at the Royal Albert Hall – one with the “Queen of Mean” Joan Rivers, herself, and the other with James Bond at the premiere to end all premieres. How can we ever go back to Leicester Square….

A bittersweet London memorial and a wonderful Milanese wedding

DINNER WITH TOMMY HILFIGER AND THE SOFTER SIDE OF GORDON BROWN:

Paris having been a whirlwind of chicness, fashionistas and massive parental pride I found myself back in a chilly London. Mondays are usually strict no go zones as far as socialising is concerned but my darling husband Giorgio had planned a business dinner with Tommy and Dee Hilfiger at trendy new club 5 Hertford Street, so hey ho when the husband decides to change the rules…

Me and Giorgio

We arrived and lo and behold it turned into a jolly dinner, except Dee and I were the only females – joined by five men! I suppose, at least it made us look good. Tommy kept us all entertained with his wicked sense of humour and spot-on imitations of his friends. The actor Christopher Biggins arrived very late for a post theatre supper – having just been to see Rupert Everett’s latest offering, The Judas Kiss.  He was swift to tell me there were lots of naked bits on show!

Tommy and Dee HIlfiger

I was back at 5 Hertford Street later in the week for one of my best and naughtiest girlfriends, Lindy Loo’s birthday – her devoted husband threw a very intimate dinner but yet again we seemed super men heavy (not that we should be complaining!). Anything’s better than New York where the men-to-women ratio is something ghastly like 1-7!!!  I was beginning to feel like an early night would be a blessing in another life as we had a very long-standing memorial dinner scheduled for Saturday evening.  The nature of a memorial party is something of a conundrum because, naturally, it is tinged with sadness. On this occasion, however, the widow in question, Lucy Doughty, threw what I can only describe as an exemplary royal send off for her beloved late husband, former Nottingham Forest owner, business supremo and Labour Party donor Nigel, who died suddenly earlier this year, aged just 54.

Ed Miliband with his wife Justine

Labour heavyweights in attendance included current leader Ed Miliband and ex-Prime Minister Gordon Brown. We got to see a side of the taciturn Scot you don’t normally see – he was soft and charming and, blow-me-down-with-a-feather, came across as highly loveable and a totally normal hands-on papa with his lovely wife Sarah and sleepy son. He made a wonderful welcome speech and acted as a sort of master of ceremonies. Usually I am able to bite my tongue but he was really rather incredible and I felt compelled to tell him so. He actually won me and a great many other guests over that night. To end the evening on a high we were totally spoilt by the Doughtys’ great friend Stevie Wonder flying in especially to perform all his greatest hits. As you may be able to tell, the whole evening was actually a little bitter sweet.

Me and fabulous jeweller Stephen Webster

As if London needed any more excuses to get busier, Frieze art fair was upon us.  It started off with a Stephen Webster Preview of his couture jewellery line at ESPA in the Corinthia Hotel.  How was I to know this is where the X Factor Contestants live?!  Hoardes of youngsters all clutching cameras and printed photos swarming outside as I arrived, none the wiser. Popping by to say ‘hi’ to Stephen and his charming Russian wife Assia, I bumped into the beautiful Malin Jefferies, who was then off to support her dapper gallery owner husband Tim.

The beautiful Malin Jeffries

I had not managed to find a minute to get to his stand at the Palladium of Art and Decoration (PAD) in Berkeley Square, but then again I hate looking at things I have no way of ever buying anyway. I was also trying to hold onto my reserve energy tank to host what has become an annual Frieze lunch at my own gallery, The Little Black Gallery.

Stephen Webster, Assia Webster, Daniel Galvin and Sue Harmsworth

I try to invite a clutch of carefully chosen girls who all have some sort of business situation.  I also promise them that it’s one hour in total. Pretty important as time is precious and I know all my girlfriends like to pick up their little ones from school or nursery.  First through the door was the most rock‘n’roll jeweller in the world, Loree Rodkin. We caught up on all our mutual friends back in LA, and naturally I wore one of the precious snake rings that she had custom made for me. The new muse for Dolce Gabanna Alta Moda, Marpessa Hennink – she is a legend – came and kept all the girls laughing and in awe at how she looks so cool. Tabitha Somerset-Webb (her handbags are to die for) and my great friend fashion designer Alessandra Vicedomini (a really smart cookie with a must-have collection for this winter) talked shop with new jeweller on the block to the Chelsea/Mayfair crew, Mimi Baldwin.  All in all we had a hugely productive lunch.  They came and viewed my Vee Speers Photography show and then got a chance to eat at the delicious Italian “Eleven” whilst making new friends…

Me and the ladies at the Frieze lunch held at Italian restaurant “Eleven”

MILANESE MARRIAGE!

If dressing beautifully for Paris is a stretch then Milan is a whole different effort level. Naturally, being married to a Milanese man, I can’t risk the shame of bumping into one of his friends looking typically Tamara and crumpled. So packing involves military-style measures. Italians are totally unconcerned with teeth, hair and manicures but when it comes to looking great in clothes they lead the world. I made the huge mistake of wearing a fabulous olive green faux fur jacket – sweltering before I even got to our hotel. Of course, with the time change we flew into our room and had to get ready straight away.  This is the story of my life with an Italian, always rushing!

Me and the darling Robert Kass

The wedding of the beautiful Hannah Colman (Jimmy Choo’s President of Europe) to the irresistibly naughty but delicious Eduardo Polli kicked off with a huge dinner at Nobu. Hannah was in tight cream Tom Ford frock complete with Gwyneth Paltrow mid cape. How chic is that for a wedding look? The guest list was full of uber glam Euro characters: Fiona Swarovski, still with the best legs I have ever seen; Robert Kass from LA; Tamara Mellon in sexy black leather Valentino squired by her seriously successful beau Mike Ovitz in from New York; Von Bismarcks of all ages; Arun Nayar with his lovely leggy brunette Kimberly; Amanda Ferry minus Bryan; Giorgina Brandolini; the knockout Hilde Polli (Eduardo’s previous wife); Mogens Tholstrup – the list was endless…The smoking was, too – Milan seems to be a rule unto itself with the smoking ban.

Me, Amanda Ferry and Kimberly Johnson

The food was skimpy to say the least but Eduardo is renowned for liking his girls thin!  The party was a riot and we all ended up at a new nightclub called Byblos.  Rahim Aga Khan was having his birthday party and so, of course, we couldn’t say no.  Our gorgeous girlfriends Caroline Habib and Arabella Spiro were all up for some trouble so we dragged Tamara Mellon and a slightly resisting Mike with us. Need I add some of us were responsible and some of us were not! The next day was a little foggy so Giorgio had booked a long table at Il Salumaio.  Glenn Spiro, a truly amazing jeweller, came and found a kindred spirit with American artist and best friend of Peter Beard, Peter Tunney.  My good friend Cavan Mahony Linde arrived wearing incredibly cheeky shorts with her husband Stefan. They have the Missoni concession here for London and so inevitably talk turned to fashion.

Me with Caroline Habib

One of the husbands was feeling ridiculously generous or guilty for having left his wife behind at home and had been talked into buying her the virtually unobtainable latest Hermes cobalt blue matt crocodile Birkin.  Did I want to go with him to look at it? Er, no thank you!  I was off like a flash to the Valentino store where a red catsuit was being altered for that night. Yanet, the most efficient and honest shop assistant ever greeted me like the biggest spender ever (sadly, not the case) and produced my pantsuit. Heavenly and fitted like a glove.Heading back to the hotel I almost flew off my 9″ suede skyscrapers whilst starring at a giant poster of our friend Stephen Dorff in the new Hogan campaign.  He had found us in Capri in the summer having just shot it!  He looked every inch the real McCoy American Movie star.

Giorgio was off to show our British friends the Duomo. I politely declined. Arriving that evening at Palazzo del Senato was like a dream.  From the outside it appears far from special and is almost unnoticeable.  However, once you step through the ancient doorway into an open courtyard with imposing pillars, the beauty of the place really hits you.  Our bride Hannah was now in another Tom Ford creation, which Giorgio thought too chic for words. Jewels dripped from earlobes and wrists were encased in bejewelled cuffs.  The ever-charming playboy Philippe Junot was all smiles and Princess Lilly Wittgenstein and her husband Lambros were dispensing lots of kisses to all and sundry  – the night was off to a great start.  As we were ushered through to dinner under a canopy of twinkling candles and enormous hoops of flowers it was hard to disagree that Italians do do it better.

The girls and I in our wedding outfits

Thankfully the travelling is over for a while and London looks very welcoming.  However, although I waffle on about wanting a quieter pace of life I obviously secretly love the hustle and bustle. A less hectic week ahead with an unusual photoshoot, another girlfriend’s birthday, and, oh, a wonderful night out at the theatre…

The Paris Whirlwind: photography, food and fabulous people

I had just got all the clothes sent back to their various destinations after the HELLO! photo shoot when I hit trouble, making the mistake of personally dropping off 202’s on Westbourne Grove. I arrived with 2 bags of returns and somehow left with 3 bags of amazing new pieces! Violet had been allowed a carte blanche to play with whatever she liked and had found pink suede sunglasses – I never fail to find something fabulous in there! Packed and ready to board my Eurostar to Paris, I managed to catch up on tons of emails and even wrote the foreword for a new coffee table book that I have been taken on to write.  Mentally I tried to dress a bit more chic-ly for my trip, as my daughter Anouska had primed me that all Parisienne women are never without their glasses and lipstick. However, I refuse point blank to travel in heels.

Wonderful Paris

After pulling into the Gare du Nord, I headed straight to the San Regis Hotel off Ave Montaigne and then tea with all Anouska’s new friends who form World Wide Women. Heading to the 5^th district I was excited to see her company’s first photography show. The space was amazing and each of the 8 girls were all as beautiful as the next. You could feel the stress in the air as the picture hanging hadn’t even started yet. Before the show began I enjoyed dinner with my husband, my daughter Noushy and friend Lulu at Société. It was a delicious meal, though we were all a tad preoccupied by a long-bodied Swedish model sitting next to us whose legs didn’t even fit under the table.

The lovely Goga Ashkenazi and me

Next morning I was up and again, dressed in my new semi-couture skirt and heels, it was taking me a lot of planning to dress like that 24/7! Off I went in a taxi to see my great friend Goga Ashkenazi’s first collection as owner of VIONNET and the poor girl was absolutely terrified.  I liked a few pieces, loved a couple and was blah blah by a few.  Then my next stop was dropping by to see my lovely pal Snowden who was squeezing us in after he had done the DIOR show. I was texting my friend Eva Herzigova and trying to get her to stay for a couple of extra hours in order to make Anouska’s show. Then before we knew it, showtime had arrived. My father (who had arrived from London to show his support) and I managed to get there in 20 mins. The traffic in Paris over Fashion week is beyond hideous – the night before I had been trying to get to Sonia Sieff’s photography show but had to abort the plan after being stuck in a tunnel of traffic for 30 mins without moving!

Vionnet, Paris

Pulling up outside Anouska’s gallery there were already swarms of pretty young French things, all smoking, all thin and super glamorous. The place filled up so fast I couldn’t manage the leisurely browse I’d hoped for.  Waris Dirie (who was their guest of honour that night as a supermodel and UN spokesperson) was just charming as she gave a short speech about her own harrowing story.  Now a happy mother to 3 boys and living in Poland, Waris was refreshingly down-to-earth and so warm. Natalia Vodianova, another fabulous superwoman and multi-tasker extraordinaire, had promised to swing by and did – love her! The pictures were selling and I must admit to having been totally overwhelmed as many of my friends had come along to show their support. Anouska and her business partner, Alessandra Castrucci, looked gorgeous in their Valentino outfits.  Jamie Burke, Calvin Klein model and singer, had flown in from NY especially to play at the show and Deborah Anderson, famous photographer, had just shot Pink for her new album and then jetted in for Noushy’ event.  Luciana Gimenez came by with club impresario Jeffrey Jah and we found them later on at the chic Paris hotspot Raspoutine.

Me, Anouska and some of the lovely ladies

I was so proud of Anouska’s night, the show and their tremendous hard work. Naturally I was even happier for her knowing that she had sold all her pieces that night. I decided to make Voltaire our ‘last lunch’ destination for fabulous French cuisine in an old school, charming bistro on the bank of Seine.  It was the cherry on the cake when we noticed US Vogue’s Grace Coddington was seated at a table right next to us – you can’t get more fashion than her!

A quick dash back to London before re-packing and flying to Milan for a beautiful Milanese Society Wedding.  So many old friends are flying in so it will be another fun one for sure!!!

Galas in New York: beautiful ballet and victorious Valentino

The last week has been so wonderfully mad I forgot how brutal the flight across the Atlantic really is.  I finished a hilarious shoot with my Russian girlfriend Katya Fomichev for Russian Tatler at the most fantabulous new members club, Hertford House.  Rushed home, checked the freezer had plenty of fresh supplies for my three-year-old daughter Violet and then tried to pack, rationally!  I had no clue what sort of weather I would face in the Big Apple but had been sent two of the most sensational Valentino Couture dresses to take with me for the New York City Ballet Gala.  Valentino, my very dear friend and a ballet aficionado, had created all the costumes for this annual event and we were all expected to be there.

Fashion designer Valentino with New York ballet dancers

Wednesday morning arrived at Heathrow and I found myself seated next to my friend, the amazing designer of ISSA Daniella Helayel.  She was exhausted after her hit show at LFW and looked terrified I may jabber jaw all the way so she sweetly pushed our partition up!

New York was bustling – did you know it´s built on a special ley line that makes people feel super charged?  A little bit like Ibiza? No wonder I always feel energised there. On arriving I met up at the beautiful, recently renovated Mark Hotel with my husband Giorgio who had been working all week in Manhattan. First we had a delicious dinner at Graydon Carter´s The Waverly Inn with my great friend Tim Jefferies of Hamilton’s, who was there with his buddy Ed Mapplethorpe (brother of Robert) and designer Tommy Hilfiger and his beautiful wife Dee.  We got a little merry and ended up dancing at Amy Sacco’s new No.8.  Why do I never seem to learn?!

Me with my dear friend Valentino

In Valentino’s World nothing is ever low key… The Red Carpet was impressive and his girls did not disappoint – Sarah Jessica Parker and Anne Hathaway looked utterly gorgeous.  Giancarlo Giammetti (Valentino’s long-term business partner) and the most handsome Carlos Souza (his VIP PR) were so on it that I’m not sure there was a soul that wasn’t at the event.  Seeing Stephanie Seymour with her no-longer estranged husband Peter Brand was a thrill.  But even more so their two social butterfly sons, Peter Jnr and Henry who are so Oscar Wilde it´s terrifying – both openly camp they make the Hilton sisters positively shrinking Violets. I couldn’t decide how many of this season’s Valentino catsuits there were on show but more than I could count, including on my lovely old friend Tamara Mellon. The ballet was amazing and Valentino got a standing ovation, making several curtain calls as we all went wild.

The seated dinner was a who’s who of New York’s elite. Anjelica Huston had a table, Barbara Walters had a table and Olivia Palermo with her beau Johannes Huebl headed up the hip and young.  Eugenie and Stavros Niarchos were there as was Diane Von Furstenberg with Barry Diller. In fact, there were so many faces I got a little blasé. Luckily I snuck off with Tamara when Valentino started the dancing…

Anne Hathaway with her wedding dress creator Valentino

The next morning I literally pulled on my tracksuit and trainers and made myself walk around the beautiful Central Park. There always seems to be hundreds of people everywhere and one hour seemed to pass in a nanosecond, when I then rushed back to my hotel and changed before I walked the 27 blocks to Valentino´s celebratory lunch.  Anne Hathaway was with her parents before heading off to her secret location wedding – obviously we knew but she was desperate to keep it as closed as possible. Valentino was triumphant with his huge night but also with the sensational bridal gown he had specially designed for Anne.  Olivia Palermo was so sweet and compiled me a list of where to shop – her style obviously!  My last stop was tea with my 10-year-old goddaughter Minty Mellon who decided we had to head downtown as she must have a skate board. Her Mum Tamara and I certainly did not fit the bill, dress-code wise, and the boys in the über cool store were stifling giggles!

Me with my gorgeous goddaughter Minty Mellon

As you can imagine I caught my plane home exhausted but with only a two day turn around before Paris and my eldest daughter Anouska’s World Wide Women photography show launch – there would be no rest for the wicked…