THE INSIDE WORD

BIKINI QUEEN STILL REIGNS AT 101

WONDERFUL to see and hear that Paula Stafford, one of the real icons of the Gold Coast, is looking so well.

Terry Stewart, who is one of those great entertainers who sing at Tricare Mermaid Beach where Paula resides these days, sent us this photograph.

“She is remarkable,” said Terry. “Paula is 101 years young and looks fantastic. She is regarded as Australia’s original bikini designer and played such a big part in putting the Gold Coast on the map.”

The amazing thing about Paula back then was you could go to her store in Surfers Paradise in the morning and come back after lunch to pick up a perfectly fitted bikini in your choice of material.

Long may she reign!

CLASSIC TALES OF THE SIMPSON

ONE very special guest at the Gold Coast Mayoress Charity Foundation Ball was swimmer turned singer turned pop star turned swimmer Cody Simpson (below).

With Lai Utovou and the Hamilton Band he was the main entertainment on the night with most guests having their first glimpse of the homegrown talent in action. (To be fair the average age was waaaay out of Cody’s usual demographic.)

When Luke Bradnam was introducing him he recalled a time when Cody was due to be

interviewed on radio. “He had become a Youtube sensation and was around 12 or 13. It was the first time I had seen so many young female fans gathered outside the station to meet someone. He was incredibly polite and well-mannered then as he is now.”

Another Cody story. On the night he introduced an original song, saying he had written it after a highly publicised break-up from his time in Los Angeles.

We’re presuming it was Gigi Haddid and to paraphrase his introduction slightly, while the relationship didn’t work he did get a killer song about lost love.

CAR CHANGES HANDS THREE TIMES IN ONE DAY

THERE was a fresh take on the usual auctioneer’s call at the Gold Coast Mayoress Foundation Ball on Saturday.

It was gone once, gone twice, gone for the third and final time.

To explain, Sunshine Frizelle supplied a heavily discounted Volkswagen T-cross (RRP $36,000) to be auctioned. Andrew Bell, as the man with

the gavel, sold it to Ron Bakir for $47,500. He then donated it back and Soheil Abedian (pictured with wife Anne) bought it for the second time at $45,000.

That was it or so we thought. But wait, there’s more.

Soheil then put it back up for sale a third time and promptly bought it again for $47,000. Not content, he then announced that he was donating the car to Serving Our People, a local charity which helps with deliveries for the elderly, young families and the unwell in our community.

The car, the second donated to SOP by the Abedian Foundation this year, will assist the volunteers deliver more goods throughout our region.

That one car supplied at a discounted price helped to raise about half of the total of $300,000 raised on the night.

Other notable donors were the Frizelle family, who also donated a three-night Byron Bay getaway with an Audi S car, and Jenny Wong who handed over $10,000.

Everyone who contributed proved yet again we are, per capita, the most giving city in Australia.

REMEMBER WHEN: FROM DOLPHINS TO TITANS

WITH the announcement this week that the Redcliffe Dolphins have won the bid to become the 17th team in the NRL in 2023, here’s a flashback to a local connection.

In 2004 the Gold Coast Dolphins was announced as the name on Channel 9’s Footy Show as the official Gold Coast bid team to join the NRL. Headed by Paul Broughton and Michael Searle and with John Cartwright as the inaugural coach (all pictured) it was a star-studded announcement at the then Gold Coast Arts Centre (now HOTA).

Paul Vautin, Peter Sterling, Paul Harragon and Matty Johns and Reg Reagan also added to the excitement.

After some legal wrangling by the Redcliffe Dolphins over the use of the name there was a brand change and the Gold Coast Titans would eventually play their first game in 2007.

Great jersey though.