The Edge: The Lady vanishes from Drayton Manor

Private Eye rather un-funnily nicknamed her Lady Magnesia Free Love in the 1970s. No, not Lisa Murphy - we've moved on, as have Gerald and Lisa - but the incomparable widow of Harold Pinter, Lady Antonia Fraser. She will be freeing up time from promoting her memoir My History to attend the opening night of her late husband's play The Caretaker at The Gate on February 10. The lady will be vanishing from London briefly to meet up with her old pal Michael Colgan for the play's first night. Michael Gambon, who played Hirst in Pinter's No Man's Land at the Gate in 2008, will also be flying in. This will be the first time that Colgan will have put on a Pinter play without the man himself's artistic assistance. Indeed for the opening night of No Man's Land at The Gate, Pinter took a standing ovation at the end with Colgan.

Hopefully in two weeks time, Lady Antonia will get a similar response from the audience: which will include Alison Doody (will she bring her husband-to-be, Mr Tadgh Geary?), and the usual luvvies.

Joy for Jackie as her son gets engaged

Jackie Lavin has finally something to celebrate. After all she's been through in the recent past - first, her charming husband Bill Cullen's Renault dealership in Dublin  went into receivership, followed by their  five-star, and absolutely fabulous,  Muckross Hotel in Killarney - at last, Kerry-born Jackie has a very good reason to pop the cork on a bottle or two of champagne.

Her businessman son Gary got engaged on New Year's Eve in South Africa to his gorgeous girlfriend of four years, Rachael Gilmore Murphy. There is nothing we like more than joy being unconfined, so it's nice to see that following Gazza's former girlfriend of eight years, model and Assets beauty Roberta Rowat having had a baby recently, now Gazza's love life is in full bloom too.

Gary and beautiful brunette Rachael - who once auditioned back in the day for Louis Walsh and Kian Egan's unlamented girlband Wonderland - did more than ring in the New Year at the Cape St Francis Resort in Cape Town.

He put a ring on his bride-to-be's finger. And doubtless Rachael is finally in wonderland with Gary.

Eamon and Steven, the laddies who lunch for a great cause

I met Hillary Clinton once in New York a million years ago with John Fitzpatrick.  And I can only congratulate on her good sense when she says, "gay rights are human rights." In terms of the marriage equality, they have every right to be as miserable as the rest of us.

Joking aside, Ireland's hippest married couple - artist Steven Mannion and his dance guru husband Eamon Farrell have invited my wife and me to their table on February 6 for the Marriage Equality fundraising lunch at the Ballsbridge Hotel. (I am calling Eamon and Steven, The Laddies Who Lunch For A Great Cause, okay?)

Eileen Wright, the beautiful blonde proprietor of Krystle nightclub on Harcourt Street, will also be at the table with me and Mrs Egan (well - she did introduce us, three years ago in The Bath pub in Sandymount. . .actually just down the road from where Eamon and Steven and their three dogs - Bess, Rosie and Lilly - live.).

And it was Eileen who hosted a party at Krystle in December of 2009 for the newlyweds when they returned from getting married in Vancouver in Canada.

So when the Marriage Equality referendum inevitably happens this year (maybe Leo can rush it along?) and the country hopefully votes yes, Eamon and Steve - who met in the summer of 2004 in Renards nightclub - can get married in Ireland.

"This is true," Steven told me. "So prepare for a big party," Steven smiled adding "A yes vote is a vote for equality - a yes vote is a vote for love." As for the blinging bash on the 6th, Stevie says, "I've no doubt it will be a big laugh."

Asked whether his brother-in-law, who does a bit of acting out in Hollywood (you might have heard of him - he was on TV on Monday night talking up the common sense of marriage equality), would also be attending, the artist drew a blank and said: "No comment!"

I'll take that as a yes, so. Your diarist will meet Colin at the airport to drive him to the lunch personally.

Brendan goes under the knife

It's official. The knives are out for Brendan O'Connor.  No, seriously. The knives are really out for my Best Man.

The Saturday Night Show is having a good January even if presenter Brendan is not. Viewing figures for the show are running up to 100 thousand ahead of the same week last year. Our sources in RTE tell us this is highly unusual in Irish TV, with viewing figures for many shows heading the opposite direction.

But Brendan was unable to join the team in celebrating. Why? Because for Brendan's 45th birthday weekend it's him and not the cake that's being sliced. When he finished his show last night, Brendan headed off to Vincent's Hospital across the road from RTE to get screwed. Literally. He's getting screws and plates in his humerus. From where I sit - across the desk from him if you're asking - Brendan's always had a great (sense of) humerus. He's in surgery as you read this, and he's hoping to be back on his feet for his half a million viewers by Saturday night.

So, sadly, Brendan and Bono won't be arm-wrestling any time soon. . . now that would be a sight for sore eyes.

Celebrities out in force for a good feed. . .

I'm re-branding this part of the column: The Cook Report - Where Famous People Go For A Good Feed. And last weekend was particularly busy. Keith Duffy was in House on Leeson Street for a meal on the Saturday night. The Boyzone star and his lovely wife Lisa were joined by some pals, approximately 10 of them. There is no end to Keith's popularity, clearly.

In the same establishment, TV3's Elaine Crowley was also having fun with her friends, Emily McKeogh and Avila Lipsett.

Meanwhile in Shanahan's on the Green, Valerie Roe dined with husband Denis. Going out for dinner with your spouse? What a modern marriage Valerie and Denis have. They later went to Lillie's Bordello to help their VBF Sean Montague celebrate his 40th birthday - lest we forget, Valerie was once the lady boss of the famous nightclub on Grafton Street. Robbie Keane and wife Claudine were also in Lillie's on the Saturday night. And on the Sabbath, Robbie and Claudine and Claudine's mother Joan were spotted dining in Marco Pierre White's restaurant on Dawson Street, after watching the Peter Pan panto at The Gaiety.

The following night golfer Padraig Harrington was spotted dining in Pasta Fresca on Chatham Street (Larry Mullen and wife Ann were spotted in the same restaurant over the yuletide, as was Morah Ryan and her brood.)

And Pasta Fresca's fab owner May Frisby is just back from a trip with her beloved son Charles. She took him ski-ing in Val d'Isere to mark his 21st birthday. Taking your son on the piste? What a modern mother May is.

Lucy doesn't need knitwear in sweltering Sandy Lane

Why is my - and your  -  favourite knitwear designer looking even more beautiful than usual? Allow me to tell you...

Lucy Nagle - for it she - was spotted by my society spook in Ranelagh last week sporting a golden tan.

This might have something to do with the fact that Lucy - who pulls the wool over our eyes in the most elegant way (her yarns are available in Brown Thomas and BT2) - has just returned from her hols in breathtaking Barbados.

Presumably she didn't need to get her knits on in the sweltering Caribbean?

Anyway, the gorgeous blonde and her husband Jamie Rohan (son of multi-millionaire Wicklow tycoon Ken) rang in the New Year in the swish Sandy Lane Hotel.

She posted pics on her instagram account of her and her glamorous pals, chief among them her VBF Andrea Corr, enjoying the soft Bajan breezes.

Andrea's sister Sharon , meanwhile, is heading off to London today from her home in Dublin to promote her latest album The Same Sun.

Alas, London town will hardly afford her the same sun as her sultry sis enjoyed.

Miriam comes out with husband

How does she do it? No - not get Leo to come out. How does Miriam O'Callaghan get the time to come out on the town to wine 'n' dine her husband?

On Wednesday night - after MC-ing the annual Press Photographers of Ireland of the Year awards at the Ballsbridge Hotel - she and Steve Carson were spotted enjoying a romantic dinner a deux in Rasam in Glasthule. He is in Belfast and London working for the BBC while Miriam runs RTE and minds the fort (and the 200 kids) at home in Dublin. So Wednesday is Miriam's and Steve's date night. And they certainly appeared to be enjoying themselves on Wednesday.

Chris de Burgh and his family were also in Rasam on the same night.

I'd say that if Chris had only known it was Miriam 'n' Steve's official date night, he would have sung to them.