This week, I had the chance to mingle with all my
friends at the South African embassy at its fund-raising dinner, of which the
proceeds will go to!the Association of Friends of the Na tional Cancer
Intitute (AFNCL), which is building a hospital specialised in the treatment of
children with cancer. First Lady Suzanne Mubarak was guest of honour. Also
present was Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and his South African counter part
Nkosazana Diamini-Zuma Among the distinguished guests were Minister of Culture
Farouk Hosni and many oth er members of the diplomatic corp.The
legendary South African singer Miriam Makeba flew in especially from
Johannesburg to sing in Cairo. There were celebrities galore, indeed so many
1 almost suffered whip lash as I tried to glimpse them all. These included our
home grown superstar Hussein Fahmi, the director of the Cairo Film Festival,
who could not contain himself and leapt onto the dance floor to join
Diamini-Zuma as she swayed to Ma. kebas Pata Pata
Youssra, stunningly beautiful as usual in an exquisite flesh- toned gown that
affectionately skimmed her every curve, in troduced Makeba looking splendidly
impressive in a black and gold gown. Among the other celebrities in attendance
were actor Ilisham Abdel-Hamid, who also took to the dance floor with vigour,
and famous Lebanese anchor George Qur dahi, heartthrob of millions and (aptly
enough) presenter of the extraordinarily popular show Who Will Win a Million?
photographer Randa Shaath, who presented Makeba with flowers and a hug after
the show, was there with international affairs editor Gamal Nkrumah.
