SMALL TALK

THE third annual ladies lunch for the Perry Cross Spinal Research foundation was held at Fellini Ristorante at Marina Mirage yesterday. Besides the chance to further his drive to fund and find a cure for paralysis, Perry had an extra reason to be excited about the day. His girlfriend Susie Maroney flew up from Sydney to attend the function, the couple’s first public outing in Perry’s home town. “We met at the Sporting Legends Lunch in Sydney and really hit it off,” he tells Coast Weekend. “She didn’t know me but I had followed her swimming career for a long time and always admired her courage and tenacity. We kept in touch and slowly a friendship grew and now we see each other when our schedules allow by commuting back and forth.” It couldn’t have happened to a nicer man.

He was famous for his antics on the ground as an AFL player and equally for his ‘singing’ – does I’m An Individual’ ring a bell? – and his ads for Energiser batteries. Mark ‘Jacko’ Jackson is one of those colourful characters that sadly no longer exist in professional sport. He was in town this week doing what he has done for years — helping to raise money for junior and senior AFL clubs. A little birdy told us that in the past 12 months he has driven 220,000km to all parts of this wide brown land, helping clubs to generate some muchneeded income. It’s proof that his heart is as big as his personality.

No rest for the not-so-wicked. No sooner had Sue Porrett overseen the Spectacular 2015 concert at the Arts Centre Gold Coast in Bundall on Monday night than she was up with the coughing sparrows and aboard a plane to Gladstone. There she had to oversee The Great Moscow Circus for its seven-night season. It won’t be long until the big red and yellow tent will be pitched in the Broadwater Parklands for the Gold Coast season.

Subash Basrur, the general manager of Palazzo Versace at Main Beach, cannot wait until he can officially unveil the two, yep two, bespoke Rolls Royce Phantoms next Thursday. “The cars have been specifically designed for us and being at the factory in England was an incredible experience. I am sure that everyone who gets to see them will be equally as impressed as I was when I saw the finished product,” he says. The cars have been ordered as part of the 15th birthday celebrations of the designerbrand hotel for itsr valued clients.

Do you have some Gold Coast gossip? Email ryan.keen@news.com.au