When: 6 June
Joanne Black Style: Amanda Wakeley hourglass black full-length gown with YSL white tux jacket and diamond and emerald earrings by H Stern.
Pic: En route to the gala with the new look.
Pic: Meeting Mr Gorbachev

I believe a great new haircut should never go to waste. That’s why I like to arrange an evening out after a cut and colour, to make the most of my ‘just stepped out of the salon’ look.

The Raisa Gorbachev Foundation Gala in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace proved the perfect event to put my new look through its paces – a look created by Lupo and Fred Geilly of Geilly Green. It wasn’t long before I was joking with Mr Gorbachev himself about our mutual love of Whiskey and Vodka and swapping Irish tales with Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

I have to say, it wasn’t a night designed for strapless dresses and short skirts – my white tux certainly kept me warm when the great British weather finally did its worst. But that didn’t stop some people from making a stylish entrance. Sophie Dahl looked wonderful in a see-through black knee-length dress; Natalia Vodianova wore a beautiful short fitted cream satin dress and Vanessa Redgrave complemented her elegant sky blue silk matching blouse and skirt with a lovely pink ethnic-inspired shawl.

The men also put on a good show. Jonathan Rhys Meyers wore a progressive fitted tux, waistcoat and unbuttoned shirt that worked well with his goatee; Jefferson Hack also opted for a trendy tux with a Jim Morrison inspired ruffled shirt and my good friend Mr Gilbert Costes from Costes Hotel Paris looked great in his shiny progressive Dior suit and skinny tie. In fact, I think the only people feeling the cold were the synchronised swimmers – how they still managed to pull off a fantastic performance I’ll never know.

The temperature did start to go up, however, when I started to bid for a holiday to Mozambique. It was a great idea at the time – raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care and some Russian charities in the process – until I remembered how much mosquitoes like to feast on me. Don’t expect any fashionable holiday pics, that’s for sure!!!