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For those lamenting the end of the Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix project, *With Love, Meghan*—there’s hope on the horizon!
For approximately £1,400 per person (excluding airfare to Australia), you can relive that magical experience by attending an extraordinary “girls’ weekend” retreat in Sydney. This event, crafted by the creators of the *Her Best Life* podcast, will feature the Duchess in an intimate “fireside chat” Q&A session.
The retreat promises an “unforgettable weekend for women ready to reconnect, recharge, and indulge in some serious fun.” If you’re willing to pay £1,700 for a “VIP” ticket, you’ll secure a front-row seat for this notable event, join a group photo with the Duchess, and receive a goodie bag that might include Meghan’s renowned jam and flower sprinkles.
The absence of the legendary Dame Edna Everage is deeply felt once more. As Australia’s most celebrated and sharp-witted interviewer, she could have drawn out intriguing insights from the Duchess during this engagement.
Dame Edna often shared tales of her personal connections with the British Royal family, fondly recalling her camaraderie with the late Queen. She recounted visits from the Queen, clad in a slightly stained brunch coat, accompanied by her beloved corgis. Dame Edna’s close bond with Charles was attributed to his appreciation for women of a certain age.
Alas, Dame Edna is no longer, and neither is the great Mrs Merton. ‘So, Duchess,’ the latter might have inquired in those soothing North-Western vowels of hers: ‘What was it that first attracted you to the son of the future King?’
Instead, the interview is slated to be conducted by the podcast’s co-founder Gemma O’Neill, who describes herself as ‘just a mum from Sydney with a podcast that started as a passion for those trying to live their best lives’. The humility is touching.
For the modest sum of £1,400 per person (plus the cost of a flight to Australia), you can join Meghan on a three-day retreat in Sydney, complete with a ‘fireside chat’ Q&A
The Q&A is slated to be conducted by the Her Best Life podcast’s co-founder Gemma O’Neill… however, yesterday it transpired that her ‘talent management’ business, Gemmie Agency, had collapsed owing over half a million Australian dollars (more than £250,000)
Indeed, when O’Neill was initially approached by the Duchess’s long-time fixer, Markus Anderson (who famously organised that first date with Prince Harry at Soho House back in 2016), she was unsure whether to accept because, as she puts it: ‘I felt like I didn’t deserve her.’
I dare say there are some members of the Royal Family who feel similarly about the Duchess, although perhaps for rather different reasons. Either way, having overcome her misgivings, O’Neill gave in, saying: ‘She’s risen above everything and I have so much respect for that.’
But now it seems O’Neill may have her own struggles to overcome, as yesterday it transpired that her ‘talent management’ business, Gemmie Agency, had collapsed owing more than half a million Australian dollars (more than £250,000), most of it to the taxman.
O’Neill says she cannot pay her debts due to a lack of savings and her ‘limited income’.
Oh dear. The best-laid plans of mice and Meghan, eh? Personally, with or without the Duchess’s gracious presence, I can’t think of anything worse than spending three days inhaling the scent of fake tan and HRT while being instructed on how to clear my yoni or take part in a ‘sound healing’ experience or whatever new wellness fad is trending on TikTok.
It’s not that I object to a bit of Pilates or yoga; it’s just that if I’m going to take time out to spend a weekend with other women it’s not going to be some random group whose only commonality is the ability to spend thousands on woo-woo but my own actual friends, whose company I can enjoy for free.
When O’Neill was initially approached by the Duchess’s long-time fixer, Markus Anderson, she was unsure whether to accept
Personally, with or without the Duchess’s gracious presence, I can’t think of anything worse than spending three days inhaling the scent of fake tan and HRT while being instructed on how to clear my yoni or take part in a ‘sound healing’ experience, writes Sarah Vine
I’m always amazed at how many women fall for this stuff. I’m often urged – sometimes by people who should really know me better by now – to take part in this or that ‘retreat’, inevitably at vast expense in some inconvenient location where some smug hippie (usually some retired acid casualty with a threadbare ponytail who’s clocked that there is more money to be made selling snake oil than there is from actually working) wangs on about the importance of gut biome and kombucha infusions while secretly sneaking off for a quick vape in between Himalayan nose-flute workshops.
As to sisterly support, it’s always just a bit more White Lotus than you anticipate. If you think men can be a bit competitive, you’ve clearly never been to an all-woman hot yoga class. Put it this way, most women would rather dislocate a hip than admit they can’t keep up (and have done).
In recent years this stuff has migrated online, spawning an army of unregulated ‘wellness influencers’ who’ll promote anything for the right price.
The vast majority are, like most influencers, peddling fake lifestyles to gullible – and often rather vulnerable – punters.
Events like this one in Sydney are an opportunity to further monetise the insecurities of women fuelled by a culture of vanity, in this case dressed up as ‘health and wellbeing’.
Truth is, the only people this stuff benefits are the ones taking down your credit card details – and the only person who can heal you (assuming you need healing in the first place) is you. After all, wellness begins at home, not at the box office.
Connor’s my double-O dream
Unsurprisingly, the bookies’ favourite to take over as James Bond is Jacob Elordi – but if it were up to me, there would be no contest: Heated Rivalry’s Connor Storrie
With a new James Bond film due to start shooting at the end of the year, speculation is once again rife as to who might take over from Daniel Craig. Various names are in the mix, including Saltburn star Barry Keoghan, who tells the Radio Times he would rather play a Bond villain. Unsurprisingly, the bookies’ favourite is Jacob Elordi – but if it were up to me, there would be no contest: Heated Rivalry’s Connor Storrie, who as well as being far too sexy for his shirt (as seen here) is also extremely well versed at playing seduction scenes – both attributes essential for the role.
Vinted curse strikes again
A while ago, attentive readers may remember, I was fuming because I had been locked out of my Vinted account. Well, it’s happened again! Turns out I have fallen foul of EU money laundering regulations on account of being a PEP – a ‘politically exposed person’ (guys, we’re divorced, don’t you read the papers?) I could understand if I were trying to sell Kalashnikovs – but all I’m doing is having a wardrobe clear-out. I hardly think a lady from Ramsgate buying one of my old H&M blouses for £3 makes me Pablo Escobar.
I take issue with Gail’s on one front: its hot-cross buns. Not just the exorbitant cost – £14 for a box of six – but the fact that they’re served cold
As someone who frequents my local branch of Gail’s, I have no complaints about its alleged politics. But I do take issue on one front: its hot-cross buns. Not just the exorbitant cost – £14 for a box of six – but the fact that they’re served cold. Horror! A hot-cross bun MUST be toasted and covered in slabs of melting butter, otherwise it makes ME hot and cross.
At a talk by Sir Anthony Seldon for his book, The Path Of Light, a man asked a question. His granddaughter, he said, was deciding which universities to apply for. Being Jewish, her choices were based on where she might be safe. Since 20 per cent of students would not share a house with a Jewish student, you can understand her concerns.