Katherine safe in London

Curtain-raisers:

• Could it be true that a sexy actress and her sportsman-boyfriend broke up after she caught him "in the act" with another (non-showbiz) woman at their lovenest (which the actress and the guy have been maintaining for more than two years)?

• Correction, please: Coney Reyes’ son by Vic Sotto is Vico and not Mico as wrongly identified in Funfare the other day. Mico is the son of Vic’s brother Maru and ex-wife Ali Sotto.

• Good news for the fans of Sharon Cuneta and Richard Gomez. The two will start shooting their re-teamup early next year, for Viva Films. Their last starrer together was the smash-hit Star Cinema romance-drama Minsan Minahal Kita three years ago.

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No news is good news?

Well, sort of.

Since the violent/bloody clashes between Muslims and Christians erupted several days ago in Nigeria where the 2002 Miss World contest was supposed to be held on Dec. 7, we haven’t been getting any news at all about our bet, 2002 Bb. Pilipinas-World Katherine Anne Manalo, who’s up against 109 other beauties from around the world. (The number was originally 110 but wire reports said that Misses Canada and South Korea have backed out because of the rioting.)

The renewed protests and demonstrations, leaving, according to reports, mosques and churches smoldering and charred bodies along the dusty streets of Kaduna, north of Abuja where the Miss World contest was originally scheduled to be held, was worsened by the comment of a lady journalist in the This Day newspaper that "Muhammad would have probably approved of the contest and chosen a wife from among the 110 contestants."

The remaining 109 Miss World aspirants have been flown out of Nigeria at dawn the other day on chartered flights and are now billeted at the Sheraton Hotel in London, near the Heathrow airport.

So how is Katherine doing?

In a chat with Funfare yesterday, Nini Ramos-Licaros (herself a Bb. Pilipinas-International title-holder in 1964), Katherine’s aunt, said that Katherine is "safe and okay," although badly shaken by the Nigeria experience just like the rest of the beauties, one of whom, Miss Scotland, was quoted as saying that "Miss World is not worth dying for."

"In Nigeria," said Nini who regularly makes overseas calls to Katherine, "the contestants didn’t have much outdoor activities because of the situation. Otherwise, they were unharmed. They stayed in their rooms most of the time."

The Miss World organizers are determined to push through with the finals as originally planned, on Dec. 7, even if "we have to put up a tent at Hyde Park."

"When I talked to Anne yesterday," added Nini, "she said she and the other girls were resting most of the time at the hotel. No activities have been scheduled for them. Wala pa rin daw venue ang finals."

What Katherine badly needs are winter clothes because it’s freezing cold in London.

"What she brought was mostly summer wear because it’s hot in Nigeria," said Nini.

The current Miss World is Agbani Darego, from Nigeria.

Meanwhile, you can actually help Katherine win by simply texting.

For the first time in its 52-year history, organizers of the Miss World pageant is giving everyone the opportunity to vote for their favorite Miss World contestant by texting from their mobile phones. The audience vote will count for 50 percent of the final vote for Miss World 2002.

Simply cast your vote by typing MW <space> PHILIPPINES on a GSM mobile phone and then send it to +447 957 500 500 from today until Dec. 6.

There is no limit to the number of text messages you can send. However, incomplete or misspelled answers will not be accepted nor votes that are lost or delayed due to lack of network coverage.

With every text vote, not only will it make Manalo’s bid for the Miss World title grow stronger, it will also increase your chances of winning the grand prize. Each text vote is eligible for one entry into the draw for a fantastic all-expenses-paid trip to the Miss World 2003 finals in China.

Happy Hats, anyone?

Kiddie gatherings, whether for a birthday or baptism or whatever, is never complete without some "live" entertainers who may not necessarily be showbiz stars but good actors themselves.

Enter the Happy Hats, world-class entertainers trained and managed by Caloy Atayde’s Values Media, Inc. Caloy, the man behind the famous Boyoyong Clowns, has more than 30 years of experience in mass media and entertainment so you can trust him to come up not with the usual array of clowns and magicians but a different breed of entertainers. Make way for the Happy Hats.

The duo of Harry and Holly, for example, is a different kind of party animals. This pair, or either of the two, can do more than the usual clown act, magician’s tricks and a party host’s spiels. They are court jesters, minstrels, bards, dancers and storytellers all rolled into one. Expect a full-length show tailored to each celebrant. Before the party, the Happy Hats request the guardians of the celebrant for information like the celebrant’s favorite food, favorite cartoon character, special talent, etc. All of this information is then incorporated in the show. The Happy Hats act guarantees that there is everything for everybody. Withthe Happy Hats at the helm, clients get the kind of party that gets brought up in conversations afterwards. The kind that goes, "Remember when Uncle Mike rolled on the floor doing the Limbo Rock at RJ’s birthday party?" Or, "You could tell Michelle has a talent in acting. Remember when she played Gretel in a game at Lea’s birthday party last August?"

Values Media, Inc. has been entertaining children and their families for 16 years. Over the years it has conceived and produced numerous big-scale theater productions that have been endorsed by educators, parents and religious groups. These shows which have been viewed by hundreds of thousands school children and their families have been shown in venues like the Araneta Coliseum, Folk Arts Theater, Teatro Aguinaldo, Meralco Theater, PICC and others. Some the well known shows that were produced were The Bell of Silence, Boyoyong and Friend, Habi Tabi At Ang Banal Na Aklat and Ang Kwento ni Mang Abe.

(Note: Interested? Call 631-3471 or 637-4137 for more information.)