The Sun-Herald

Good times and goodwill are still rolling

I keep wondering how the recession will affect the things I mainly write about: fun, drink, parties, pleasure. So far it seems to have had as much effect as a breeze on a back-combed hairdo.

Last week I was in Macau and you didn't hear from me mainly because I was stunned into speechlessness by that city's utterly undiminished dedication to exploring the outer reaches of ostentation.
The place is expanding at an astonishing rate - hotel rooms multiplying by thousands, casinos going up, bars opening. Every time you blink, another chandelier has been freshly attached to the gilded ceiling of another cavernous pleasure palace. Each day, as the South China Morning Post slipped under my door bearing the latest doom about global economic meltdown, I struggled to reconcile this news with the orgy of marble, gold, crystal and cash surrounding me.
Then I came home and looked at my working diary for this week: no less than 25 lavish parties. And that was just our shortlist of the best.
By Tuesday night alone, if I'd been a serial funster and not a working journo I could have been clay pigeon shooting in the Southern Highlands, drinking vintage Dom Ruinart champagne at Bilson's restaurant and treating my dog Zach to a top-to-toe grooming session at a posh new dog spa. There were three big awards nights (two for booze, one for beauty products), a hair salon opening, the launch of a luxury apartment building and various fashion shows. And of course the debut of the ultimate embodiment of Sydney decadence: the pool deck at ivy. As I reported in today's paper, that party set new benchmarks for revelry.
When I look ahead at the schedule for the next month, I see only more of the same. This week, two more new bars will open and Rolls-Royce launches its new Phantom Coupe with a fanfare of fashion, art and fine food.
It could be denial, it could be defiance - or it could just be the band playing as the Titanic goes down, but this city's party population appears to be more committed than ever to throwing dollars after good times.
It's not all frivolity, though. Nestled amongst the launches and promos and parties-for-no-apparent-reason was the Pearl Ball, Thursday night's Eating Disorders Foundation fundraiser. The organisers are a determined bunch and, refusing to be daunted by the general pessimism, managed to amass no less than 87 silent auction prizes and four major live auction ones including Jennifer Hawkins' pearl-encrusted Lovable bra, which went to a winning bid of $20,000.
The evening attracted celebrity guests including Sarah Jane Clarke and Dan Baffsky, Sonia Lipski (Miss World Australia 2008 finalist) and Nick Farr Jones but most important of all, it raised a total of $150,000 to help sufferers of various eating disorders.
It's not as high a sum as in previous years, but I reckon it still proves our city's capacity for generosity has survived the downturn so far.
Click here for more information about EDF and the Pearl Ball.