It’s great to see so many old faces and indeed some new ones. And, with it being Hollywood, it’s nice to see some of the new faces on the old ones!
And with that line my version of a Burns Supper got under way here in Los Angeles.
I’ve always billed my annual Burns Bash as the Burns Supper Rabbie himself would have wanted to attend. And this year I’m sure he definitely wouldn’t have said no! The Bungalow, in the beautiful Fairmont Miramar Hotel, Santa Monica, saw its best ever line-up, I reckon.
Superstar couple Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas topped the bill, with my old pal Gary Barlow performing two classic Take That songs – Back For Good and Relight My Fire.
I joined Gaz for the Lulu bit of the second song and, well, let’s just say your job’s safe, Lu…That’s the first time Relight My Fire’s been sung in the key of…Yale! Another pal, Fran Healy of Travis, brought the house down with Why Does It Always Rain On Me. He followed up with a surprise rendition of Billy Connolly’s classic The Welly Boot Song!
My good friend and Burns enthusiast Daniel Bee whipped out his knife and gave a stirring address to the haggis and, because it’s Hollywood, we had a veggie option too.
It was an amazing night for charity and Bafta. The room looked incredible thanks to the amazing work of Charley King and her company Bluebell Events, who made the Fairmont look like a candlelit castle.
The brilliant artist Lincoln Townley donated an amazing Michael Caine work of art. Townley is known for his challenging images where there’s a lot going on; the crowd has just eaten a plate of haggis though so they were well warmed up!
I started the bidding against my friend Nick Porter and, when I got to $25,000, he outbid me at $30,000. Afterwards I confessed to him that I didn’t have 25 quid, never mind $25,000. I was bluffing all along but he was brilliant about it…a very generous man!
Our guests enjoyed Glenfiddich whisky and Harris Gin courtesy of Lorne Cousin and Iona Cairns, and Amy Irving brought out Bio Effect gift bags from Scotland.
Amy and Gerry McCusker made sure everyone took home a taste of Scotland with their wonderful WeeBoxes with Scottish gems inside, including loads of delicious tablet. If any of them went missing, then I’ve got no idea how they ended up in my lounge…
Scotland was a big hit here in LA but so was Ireland too, if the Oscar nominations announced on Tuesday were anything to go by.
Colin Farrell, Kerry Condon, Brendan Gleeson, Barry Keoghan (all for The Banshees Of Inisherin) and Paul Mescal (playing a Scots dad in Aftersun) all received acting nominations ahead of the big night on March 13. It’s a case of the Celts being here in Hollywood!
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