I see that Oprah is on the front page of this week’s Financial Times magazine in their special issue on “Women of The Decade”. She has just been in Australia on tour and whilst ten thousand people crammed into Federation Square yesterday to see the TV star for 12 minutes, amazingly, she ended up at a private dinner for 20 in Toorak at my friend’s house.
When I had my first child in Melbourne, I became close friends with somebody who is one of the most dynamic women I have ever met. I saw her when I went back earlier this year. Introduced her to my friend who is now living their from London and they now do an exercise class together. Yesterday she sent me a link to a newspaper story.
She has been a massive Oprah fan for years and every year she has a taco nights to celebrate her birthday. She invited my friend to go to but she couldn’t make it. She had invited 20 close friends including golfer Stuart Appleby and his wife, Ashley Saleet, Natasha Stipanov, Ronnie Atlas, Sarah Walker and Meghan McGann.
The doorbell rang at 6pm and Oprah Winfrey was at the door. They hugged and Oprah handed over two bottles of tequila, Porfidio and Parfida.
Dozens of cameramen, sound recordists, producers and PR people from Oprah’s Harpo Productions buzzed around and Oprah, wearing jeans and a shirt sat with with them outside by the pool and picked up the taco shell with her hands. They learnt that she “sleeps five hours a night. She reiterated that the Aussies are so ”darn friendly”, saying: ”There is a vibrance (sic) and confidence in Australia that I haven’t seen in other places.”
Then she made an announcement. ”Everyone here is coming to Sydney!” There was applause and cheers. When Oprah departed she commented ”I got to meet real people in a real family setting. That was as good as it can ever get.”
How extraordinary.
Here is my friend and her husband in their garden with Oprah:-
