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Mirror Magazine

Royal exhibition
In 50 years on the throne, Britain's Queen Elizabeth has received many unusual gifts. More than 200 of them will go on display when Buckingham Palace opens for the summer in August.

"She gets given some very strange things, like a tin of tuna," said Jonathan Marsden, deputy surveyor of the Queen's works of art. "We have not included those - they go to the kitchen department and not the Royal Collection."

Other gifts that never made it to the Royal Collection include sunglasses, sandals, pineapples, two dozen eggs, a box of snail shells and seven kilos of prawns.

However, one of the most striking gifts in the Collection is the giant grasshopper which was presented by President Pompidou of France in 1972.

Made by sculptor Francois-Xavier Lalanne, it is two metres long and has head and wing cases made of Sevres porcelain. Also included in the collection is a silk scarf Nelson Mandela gave to the Queen in 1995.

"It's a wonderful, simple gift for a head of state," said Mr. Marsden. "The Queen gave him an edition of Shakespeare. It was a very nice exchange."

There is also a pair of wooden candlesticks from Trinidad and Tobago and a yabba pot from Jamaica.

Over the years, the Queen has been presented with many horses. What is less clear is why anyone thought it was a good idea to give her a canary (thank you, Germany), some jaguars and sloths, two black beavers, a pair of giant turtles, an elephant, an armadillo and an anteater. They all went to zoos.

Lankan hairdressers shine in Singapore

The outfit worn by the model is a creation of Purnima Abeyratne while the bouquet was designed by Lucien de Silva. Pic. by Rohan Herath

Sri Lankan hairdressers and beauticians made their mark at the 26th Asian Hairstyling and Make-up Competition held on June 11 and 12 at the Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Romesh Atapattu of Ramani Fernando Salons, won the title of Sri Lankan Champion for Hairstyling and Make-up. Romesh continued his winning streak having earlier become the Sri Lankan champ at the Asia-Pacific Hair and Make-up Competition as well. He was also the first runner-up in the make-up category and won an 'Outstanding' award for hairstyling.

Cheryl Gooneratne of Headmasters also did Sri Lanka proud winning the evening make-up and bridal make-up categories.

Salome de Silva won an 'Outstanding' award in the evening make-up category while Premasiri Hevawasam shone in the bridal and fantasy make-up categories winning an 'Outstanding ' award.

There was more kudos for Sri Lanka as leading names in the hair and beauty business, Ramani Fernando, Ramzi Rahaman, Nadine Gooneratne and Michael Wijesuriya were invited to be judges at this event.

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