Hip birthday shindig turns into the cat’s meow

DRY times, peeps! In these post-new year "no money left” hangover days, your Skinnerbek has been searching for some action – slim pickings indeed on hot summer days, but hey, there’s always something that a gossip gal can find, neh?

Fortunately, the temperature didn’t quite reach 40, but someone else did.

Man-about-town designer Morne "ChiChi” van der Schyff had an extremely festive – and rather naughty – 40th birthday party at Charlie Pizzeria in Summerstrand on Saturday night.

Quite a few people your Skinnerbek knows, and quite a few who are well-known revellers and socialites, were there.

Alongside "les garcons”, the 120 guests included the gals in ChiChi’s book club – Charlie’s Angels – and beautiful people from Port Elizabeth’s fashion pack, as well as the media and modelling crowd.

For instance, grandly groomed fashion fundi and colleague Barbara Robertson and always stylishly turned out snap woman Donna Watson were spotted in the crowd.

The birthday boy – dressed up as Tin Tin – says he left the party at 12.30am, but his guests razzled until 2.30am, leaving with cupcake crumbs in their hair and happy smiles.

And the party was so wild that some ornamental cats were nicked from the venue. Ow. Or should that be meow?

Sure sign of a good party, Skinnerbek guesses, but Van Der Schyff had to issue a plea on Facebook the next day:

"Could the person or persons who removed the CaTS with the waving arms from the Venue LAST NIGHT PLEASE return them to ME ASAP! NO QUESTIONS asked! They are of very SENTIMENTAL value to the Owners!”

Hmm, your 40th may have set the bar for parties this year, ChiChi darling!