Matthew Hancock, a British Minister of Parliament and author, must have made sure to set an alarm for a party in D.C. celebrating the American publication of his book Masters of Nothing. He was there on time Tuesday, unlike an uncomfortable episode he experienced in London earlier this year.

“I haven’t heard about it for a while but it’s very nice of you to remind me,” Hancock, 34, told FishbowlDC, when asked if he still gets grief for the time he failed to show up for a TV interview in London. He missed the spot because he didn’t wake up in time.

“What it reminds us is we’re all flawed,” he said with a laugh. “And if you assume that anything can be done perfectly, whether a regulation implemented perfectly, or a minister gets up on time every day, we’re all going to fail. We’re all flawed individuals and we need that humility in policy making to get things right.”

What a deliciously P.C. answer.

What was particularly troublesome (read: hilarious) about Hancock’s sleep-in is that the segment he was booked for was about… Read more

Ex-Politico staffer Karin Tanabe revealed last night that there will be a sequel to her fictional book The List. “There’s got to be a sequel,” she said at a party celebrating the publication of her first book.

Though The List is a kind of fictional tell-all about Tanabe’s tenure at Politico, several current staffers still showed up to offer congratulations. Former employees showed up as well, including Kendra Marr Chaikind, who was fired from the publication in 2011.

“I wrote it really fast in secrecy,” Tanabe said in a short speech to the room of 70-ish attendees. She started it in the summer of 2011 while still working at Politico. “I was terrified,” she said.

Tanabe acknowledged other Politico “survivors” in the room (some of whom could be heard trading jokes about Politico) and said her book is about “paying homage” to reporters working in today’s new media environment. Of new media, she said, “It’s easier to make your career but also break your career.”

At one point, what appeared to be the cast of D.C. Housewives swooped in and had their photo snapped by the photographer. Among the women (and wearing all sorts of furs and leathers) were… Read more

HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, made an unusual appearance in Washington for a reception at the US Capitol Monday evening.  Co-hosted by Sen. Roger Wicker, Sen. Mary Landrieu, Sen. Kay Hagan, and Sen. Thad Cochran, the royal reception was held to honor the Prince for his work as International Chairman of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award – a program designed to help build character and self-esteem in the world’s youth through volunteering and physical challenges.

The fete brought out a slew of prominent figures and media types such as British Ambassador Nigel Sheinwald; Rep. Dennis Kucinich and wife, Elizabeth; CNN turned FOX News’ Ed Henry and wife, Shirley; Tammy Haddad; Miss America 2011 Theresa Scanlon; ABC News producer Polson Kanneth; AP’s Kimberly Dozier, Roger Simon and Marcia Kramer from Politico; Juleanna Glover; FNC’s Greta Van Susteren and husband, John Coale.

For more on the royal reception, visit WHInsider here. 

L: Greta Van Susteren and Sen. Wicker R: Ed and Shirley Henry

*Photos by Gretel Truong, courtesy of Haddad Media.

Those crazy kids of the Picnic Theater Company were at it again over the weekend. Selling out two straight performances, Washington Life‘s Michael Clements, Suspicious Package’s Christina Sevilla, Napoleon restauranteur Omar Popal, World Bank’s Bruce MacPhail, NIH’s Oli Robinson and  filmmaker Karim Chrobog, staged “An Evening with Anton Chekhov” at the Washington Club in Dupont Circle.  Spotted in the audience: The Atlantic‘s Garance Franke-Ruta, CNN’s Elise Labott, NYT‘s Eric Lipton, Boston Globe‘s Farah Stockman, WaPo‘s Nancy Trejos,  Nurith Aizenmann and  Annie Gowen, Tim Burger, Ashcroft Group’s Juleanna Glover, Christopher Reiter of Muleh, K Street Kate Michael.  Proceeds benefitted the Helen Hayes Award theater programs for DC kids.

Mary Kathryn Covert, Glenn Ballard, Michael Steel, Brianna Keilar

The Kalorama manse of lobbyist Juleanna Glover played host to The Week‘s first annual Academy Awards party last night.  Complete with Oscar-shaped cookies, popcorn and tuxedo-clad servers passing trays of Junior Mints, Milk Duds and Redvines, the event was a perfect balance of festive glitz and a casual night at the movies.

Despite the all-star lineup of party hosts (Ron Bonjean, Tammy Haddad, Juleanna Glover and Karen Finney), the fete was not over-attended, offering around 100 guests a relaxed atmosphere to mix, mingle and eat their weight in miniature grilled cheese sandwiches* (see: me).  Spotted taking in the festivities were FD’s Mary Kathryn Covert and Michael Steel, CNN’s Brianna Keilar, Sam Dealey of Qorvis, Sarah Bonjean, Janet Donovan, NRSC’s Brian Walsh,  Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times, soon-to-be USA Today‘s Jackie Kucinich, Doug Heye, The Hill‘s Emily Goodin, Mark Paustenbach, Glenn Ballard, Pepper Watkins, Jay Newton-Small, Jeremy Bash of the CIA, Barbara Martin, Becca Glover Watkins, Kimball Stroud, Washington Life‘s Kevin Chaffee, WaPo‘s Jonathan Capehart, Daily Caller’s Megan Mulligan,  UrbanDaddy’s Jeff Dufour and an uber-preggers Jayne Sandman.

L: Ron Bonjean and Jackie Kucinich R: Popcorn served in The Week funnels

L: Tammy Haddad with Lynn Sweet R: FishbowlDC entourage

The Week has recruited an all-star team of Washington party hosts to help with their first annual “Oscar Viewing Party.”  Tammy Haddad, Ron Bonjean, Juleanna Glover and Karen Finney will join The Week at Glover’s Kalorama manse on Sunday, February 27, 2011 for a toast to the Academy.  A sneak peek at the invitation offered hints of “red carpet arrivals” and suggested “festive attire.”

If the hosts’ past performances are any indication of attendance, this party is going to be packed.  By “festive,” we hope they mean tank tops and board shorts because it’s going to be caliente in there.

ABC’s Rick Klein, Daily Caller’s Alex Pappas and Becca Glover, CBSNews.com’s Brian Montopoli, Kenny Day of MainJustice, Chris Bodenner from The Atlantic, “J.Do” Janet Donovan, Christine Delargy of CBS, National Journal’s Matt Cooper, Liz Glover and Politico’s Shira Toeplitz were a few of the media types spotted downing whiskey with the Tennessee congressional delegation at the home of Juleanna Glover last night.  Complete with a curbside bar, statues and swizzles sticks in the shape of Jack Daniels, valet parking and plenty of swag, Glover’s Kalorama manse was transformed into headquarters for the “Back Jack” campaign, the company’s push to make Jack Daniels’ birthday a national holiday.   We’re not sure if the campaign will be a success but it certainly succeeded in getting us drunk. 

Presidential candidate of yesteryear and former GOP Senator Fred Thompson and his new memoir “Teaching the Pig to Dance” were celebrated at the home of Juleanna Glover on Saturday evening.

Despite intense weekend heat and humidity (Note: Thompson was not rocking a Hypercolor button-down – that’s sweat), journalists such as WaPo’s Amy Argetsinger, NBC’s Betsy Fischer, Roll Call’s Jackie Kucinich, Janet Donovan, Politico’s Kiki Ryan and Jonathan Martin, CBS’ Jan Crawford and Christine Delargy joined guests like Jack and Susanna Quinn, Mark Neuman, Christopher Reiter, Janine Turner and Karen Feld to raise a glass for Thompson.

Noticeably absent from the fete were several of the invitation-featured hosts including Kay Kendall, Tammmy Haddad and Bo Derek.

L: Party guests mingle R: Juleanna Glover and Christopher Reiter

Betsy Fischer, Jonathan Martin and Kiki Ryan

Former Tennessee Senator and Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson will be feted at the home of Juleanna Glover on Saturday evening. Co-hosted by Ed McFadden, Kay Kendall, Tammy Haddad, Bo Derek, Barbara Comstock, Susan Hurley Bennett, Dr. Rose Bair and Alex & Susan Castellanos, the event is being held to toast Thompson’s new memoir “Teaching the Pig to Dance.”

Courtovich took this pic of Gaucho decorations.

Jim Courtovich, managing partner of Kearsarge Global Advisers, hosted his annual Gaucho party Saturday night. And he delivered with a great menu (pineapple martinis and chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches were crowd pleaser), late night party (Bob Schieffer’s midnight appearance) and a stellar guest list…

Savannah Guthrie, Betsy Fischer, Jonathan Martin, Jessica Yellin, Matt Cooper, Tammy Haddad, Jeff Zeleny, Julie Mason, John Harwood, Karen Finney, Anne Kornblut, Kasie Hunt, Erin McPike, Sasha Issenberg, Kiki Ryan, Christine Delargy, Rick Klein, Mark Murray, Abby Livingston, Michael Falcone, Ashley Parker, Libby Leist, Amie Parnes, Jay Newton Small, Lizzie O’Leary, Athena Jones, Sunlen Miller and Phil Elliott were just some of the media-types in attendance.

Politico‘s Mike Allen and NYT‘s Mark Leibovich also just missed each other at the party.

Also: Austan Goolsbee, Stephanie Cutter, Juleanna Glover, Christina Sevilla, Michael Feldman, Jill Zuckman and Sasha Johnson.