The paparazzi scrum gathered outside the Minogue family home this
morning in leafy Canterbury weren’t getting things their own way: the
neighbours are getting restless, and they’ve started fighting back with
insults, drive-by threats, and eggings.

More than 20 photographers, reporters and crew have spent the past two
days camped outside the Minogue mansion. This morning, they woke to a
next door neighbour vigorously spreading blood and bone over his front
yard – and the smelly blend wasn’t aimed solely at the hydrangeas.
Georgie from Channel Seven was taking the hint: “There are places I’d
rather be,” she told Crikey as she prepared for a piece-to-camera
outside the Minogue bunker. “But I’m not naive. It’s a big story, and
that’s why we’re here.”

It’s all in a day’s work for veteran celebrity snappers like Jamie
Fawcett, who’s followed Kylie all over the world. He’s in a good mood;
the London Sun has splashed his photo of Kylie with her French
actor boyfriend Olivier Martinez all over the front page. And that’s a
big payday for a hungry paparazzi. Crikey subscribers will remember
Fawcett as one of the Sydney photographers Nicole Kidman accused of
“stalking” her last year (here).

How much is a front page scoop pic like that worth, we ask. Ten
thousand pounds? More? “Don’t ask me,” says a cagey Fawcett. “The money
goes to a fellow and I eventually get to see a cut.” Nicole Kidman’s
nemesis is not letting on about his big payday.

It’s a quiet scene this morning, with no sign of the prey. The stricken
diva is elsewhere, possibly in hospital. So the media is settling in. The Age has
set up deckchairs; Dave from Sky News is doing a live cross; the ABC
radio correspondent moans about having to get up early tomorrow to
greet Dannii at the airport; Danny Buttler from the Herald Sun is hunting for a rare species: “genuine paparazzi.”

But the Fleet Street hacks haven’t arrived just yet – although there’s
a rumour some are arriving on a late morning flight from London. Which
leaves the locals to drink coffee, start rumours, and spread bad taste
jokes. Would Dannii emerge to announce a fresh battle with bulimia to
trump her sister? someone wondered aloud.


The Age‘s Julia Medew was on day two of the Kylie tour. Yesterday,
she’d been hanging out at Ramsay Street getting reaction to the
tumultuous events from British backpackers. Today, it was staking out
the Minogue mansion. What a way to earn a living.

As Crikey flees the scene, a black BMW (pictured) swings into the
drive carrying a Kylie lookalike. “Dannii in a wig?” asks one hack.
“You’ve gotta be joking,” says Fawcett. It’s a false alarm.