Private Sydney
Brynne Edelsten in the Birdcage
Andrew Hornery catches up with larger-than-life Melbourne identity and reality TV regular Brynne Edelsten.
PT1M1S http://www.smh.com.au/action/externalEmbeddedPlayer?id=d-2wysu 620 349 November 5, 2013
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People often tell me how great my job is, which is curious given they have never experienced it.
This week PS had plenty of time to reflect on the gig and what it entails while covering Melbourne's Spring Racing Carnival, undoubtedly the greatest social gathering in the country.
For PS, it usually involves several days racing about the Birdcage enclosure, zipping in and out of corporate marquees in search of stories.
And I am not alone. With dozens of competitors on the ground from all manner of media, the hunt can become incredibly fierce. Armed with an iPhone and notepad, there is a constant demand for snippets, videos and detailed reports on the faces that stop a nation.
Some marquees provide a bountiful harvest, in others the pickings can be very disappointing.
Arriving at the Emirates marquee this year, as I ascended the plush carpeted stairs into the Arabian themed pleasure palace, I could almost hear the Jaws theme music playing in my head.
It was as if I, the hungry Great White, had stumbled across a herd of indolent, fat, fluffy, mouth-wateringly tasty baby seals.
On one side was Ros Packer, with her daughter Gretel and granddaughter Francessca, on the other was Brynne and Geoffrey Edelsten.
As I made my approaches the Jaws music got louder in my head … da dum … da dum, da dum … DA DUM, DA DUM, DA DUM … DA DA DA DAAAAAH DUM!
The exchanges were brief, courteous and, in varying degrees, fruitful.
The family may have moved to poker machines in recent times, but Ros Packer has been making a living from the media for so many years she knows exactly how to handle gossip types like me (and a lot more graciously than her son did last year, but that's another story).
When asked if she had any tips, matriarch Ros declared: ''I only bet on Lloyd Williams' horses, I've been doing it for years … I'm Mrs Packer.''
As for Brynne and Geoffrey, the disgraced medico claimed he hated all the publicity he has managed to generate since shacking up with his much younger wife.
This from the guy who has his own personal publicist, who did a press conference before he got married and who allowed cameras into his home to film his wife Brynne's Bedazzled Life television series.
Geoffrey's protests were soon cut short by his wife as she got into frame for my iPhone video, bumping him out of view.
Then there is the army of celebrities, many of them of dubious provenance, touted as star guests in marquees desperate for publicity. Text messages broadcast throughout the day alert media crews to ''be in position'' for the arrival of some washed-up supermodel or deadly-dull burlesque dancer.
And yet the media laps it up, causing a flashbulb firestorm and giving the faded stars their chance to shine as if they were still at the peak of their fame. It is a wildly amusing thing to observe, but not much fun to take part in, especially when Naomi Campbell keeps you waiting in the blistering sun for 90 minutes while a television camera whacks you in the side of your head.
One of the great traditions of the Melbourne Cup carnival has nothing to do with a horse but happens on the final day of racing, when a coven of the top public relations executives, the people who guard the doors of the marquees and prepare the all-important guest lists, meet for a quiet champagne and debrief.
At this gathering, it is the high priestesses of the Birdcage who share notes and horror stories about various figures.
''We award the Melbourne Cup Drainer each year. It's an award for the most demanding, annoying and self-important person in the marquees … and this year we have quite a few contenders,'' said Judy Romano, who has been in charge of some of the grandest marquees ever seen at Flemington.
However, Romano would not divulge who the winner was in 2013, declaring it highly classified information that must remain ''in the vault''.
That is, until next year's Melbourne Cup.
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