Actor Timothy West Reveals Wife Prunella Scales’ Dementia

timothy west prunella scalesVery sad news. It’s been reported today that the actress Prunella Scales, best known for her role as Sybil in Fawlty Towers, is living with Alzheimer’s disease. Her husband, actor Timothy West, revealed the couple’s battle with the condition as part of a documentary, Grand Canal Journeys, which is due to be screened on More4.

Rebecca Wood, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, the UK’s leading dementia research charity, said:

“It’s always sad to learn that a much-loved public figure is living with Alzheimer’s, and this news will have touched the hundreds of thousands of families across the UK who are facing a similar struggle. By speaking out about their experiences, the couple have helped bring dementia into the spotlight, in turn helping to tackle some of the stigma that still surrounds the condition. We are grateful to them for helping to bring attention to the many challenges faced by people with Alzheimer’s disease.

“Timothy West has backed our calls for increased funding for dementia research in the past, and research is vitally important to bring about better outcomes for people with the condition. Though we currently lack treatments that can stop the diseases that cause dementia, with the right backing, research can deliver new treatments that are so desperately needed.”

 

Oscars 2014 Round Up

The Oscars year after year always draw a lot of worldwide viewers and become a topic of discussion on many levels. Sometimes the focus of the movies seems less important than the storylines of the event itself and when you watch some of the opening ceremonies of the event, the media seem way more focused on what the stars are wearing and who designed it. What seems even more mind blowing is the value of some of the dresses and jewelry worn by some of the finest ladies on the planet are just insane with social media still buzzing over Charlize Theron’s $15M diamond necklace. She was not the only one dressed in bling and everyone got scrutinized for what they wore with social media being lit up on how the stars looked rather than what movies got what accolades. Of course Ellen DeGeneres was the host of the show and did a great job and made the show entertaining to watch.

Let’s start with who looked not so flattering and that the person who stole the show in that category was unfortunately Liza Minnelli. First DeGeneres joked earlier that the Liza Minnelli lookalike was a little too masculine hinting at being a drag queen. That didn’t seem to sit well with her but her dress was just mind-blowing on how poor of a choice it was in many ways. It looked ok to begin with, it was all blue and was more of a pant leg than anything dressy so maybe that is why Ellen did the drag queen jab but if you look at some of the pics of Liza on the red carpet it is hard not to notice her, ummm, lack of bra? That’s right, her puppies were fully visible through her blue top. So Liza took the award for possibly worst dressed and although she is a sweet looking lady, it just wasn’t her night unless her dress was part of a campaign to be talked about.

Best Dressed Lupita Nyong’o

Lupita Nyong’o stole the show for looking the best on all levels. She seemed to have an elegant but minimalistic look that made her look like an absolute princess. She wore a pale blue Prada dress that painted a nice backdrop to her beautiful dark skin, bright white smile while sporting and an elegant gold and diamond headband designed by Fred Leighton. She of course won an Oscar which was only fitting.

Charlize Theron $15M look

Charlize made a statement to make sure people would talk about her during and after the Oscars and it worked. She had a stunning black Dior dress and the talking piece of her look was the $15 million worth of diamonds on her neck which was set by Harry Winston. That is a lot of money invested into a compact piece of jewelry and you wouldn’t want that sitting around in case it gets lost or disappears. I’m sure the ladies would love to keep all their jewelry at the end of the night but that is quite a bit to hang on to and is probably worth selling and I’m sure a company like wpdiamonds will be busy buying up some unused diamonds as money is better left in the bank getting interest and kept safe.

Angelina Jolie brings 42 karat diamond bling

Angelina Jolie always looks great and on the Oscars 2014 she made sure she would be talked about and upon hitting the stage received a standing ovation as she has won the respect of many around the world for her double mastectomy and raising awareness to women around the world to get checkups and tests for breast cancer. That aside she had some serious earrings, 42 karat diamonds designed by Robert Procop. Her dress was simplistic but also pure elegance and definitely one of the best looking ladies of the night.

Ellen Oscar Selfie

Ellen breaks Twitter

Of course the most popular selfie pic in the world broke Twitter and was taken by Bradley Cooper. Ironically enough, Liza Minnelli was trying to fit into the pic but as the people were crowding the space, she was just left at the bad and was not included in the most retweeted pic in internet and Twitter history. That pic is probably the best way to summarize the entire evening. The pic fortunately will be what people can and will remember the Oscars for, as much as we love what the ladies looked like and what they were wearing, this pic is what it is all about and what people should be talking about.

 

First Look At Posh | Film

See the first look images of POSH, from Universal Pictures. Out in UK cinemas on 19th September

 

posh first look

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Cast: Max Irons, Sam Claflin, Douglas Booth, Sam Reid, Ben Schnetzer, Holliday Grainger, Jessica Brown Findlay and Freddie Fox

Directed by: Lone Scherfig

Writer: Laura Wade

Based on a play by: Laura Wade

Set amongst the privileged elite of Oxford University, POSH follows Miles (Max Irons) and Alistair (Sam Claflin), two first year students determined to join the infamous Riot Club, where reputations can be made or destroyed over the course of a single evening. POSH is directed by Lone Scherfig, who most recently helmed ‘One Day’, and the Best Picture Academy Award nominee ‘An Education’. It is produced by Pete Czernin and Graham Broadbent of Blueprint Pictures (‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’, ‘Seven Psychopaths’).

Screenwriter Laura Wade has adapted her critically-acclaimed play, with development support from the BFI Film Fund and Film4. ‘Posh’ premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2010, before transferring to the West End.

 

Image One – Cast in order of appearance in the image: Olly Alexander, Douglas Booth, Sam Claflin, Max Irons, Sam Reid, Ben Schnetzer, Matthew Beard, Jack Farthing, Josh O Connor, Freddie Fox

Image Two – Cast in order of appearance in the image: Holliday Grainger , Max Irons

 

Get Ready For London Wine Week

Block out your diary! The team behind London Cocktail Week have now launched the inaugural London Wine Week, which will be taking place 2nd – 8th June 2014.

londonwineweekA unique seven day celebration of the capital’s flourishing wine scene, set against the backdrop of some of London’s finest bars and restaurants; London Wine Week is designed to decode the wine list and give you new confidence and knowledge when ordering.

Always seem to fall back on old favourites? Feel overwhelmed by the vast number of options? The festival will help you discover new grapes, varieties and vintages usually unavailable by the glass. Simply buy a wristband for just £10 to be part of the Wine Tours, and use the specially created pocket-sized guidebook which maps out all the venues taking part.

From dusty wine vaults to classic hotel bars, top-end restaurants to tiny hidden gems – flash your London Wine Week wristband throughout the week to qualify for premium wines by the glass and taster wine flights, each for just £5.

The festival will also be championing the wealth of incredible independent wine merchants who will be throwing open their doors during the week to offer masterclasses, meet the maker sessions and discounts on bottles for wristband wearers.

And as if this wasn’t enough, there will be a full schedule of ticketed, bespoke events – all a complete departure from the pre-imagined white tablecloth and spittoon tastings, and instead tapping into the pop-up phenomenon and emerging street food movement.

Join the conversation @LDNWineWeek and head to www.londonwineweek.com to register for updates. Wristbands go on sale in April.

Food For Thought – Community Cooking: Frost Loves…Wonderbag

We love this environmentally friendly slow cooker that also helps poverty-stricken families in Africa. The powerless cooker which brings power to people! Invest in insulation and this foundation donates one Wonderbag to a poverty stricken family in Africa with every one bought.

Think Empowerment, Economical, and Environmental, helping the world with the Wonderbag! Simple, slow cooking that saves energy and society. Heat it, bag it, cook it, eat it.

communitycooking

This revolutionary slow cooker will keep food heated all day long. Flavour up your lives and welcome the fabulous Wonderbag as an innovative method of home cooking! So support the motto ‘a recipe for change’ and transform the lives of yourselves and others less fortunate!

Energy efficient and effective portable power, this convenient cooking system is perfect for all occasions and places – picnics, parties and camping! You can even keep your food cool or frozen as it re­uses energy so efficiently!

Wondering where these Wonderbags are available… www.prezzybox.com for only £79.00

Features:

Insulated, heat­ retention technique

Electricity free slow cooking

Buy One, Give One campaign – Easing poverty and improving lives

Saves precious water and food in Africa cooking conditions

Reducing CO2 Emissions

Efficient cash saving, cooking time and energy

What do you think?

And the Toscar goes to …. Terminate Her

Before the Oscars Brits in LA, with presenting partner Jaguar North America‘s 7th Annual “Toscars” at The Egyptian Theatre, Hollywood, CA, took place on the evening of Feb 26, 2014, benefiting the UKares Foundation charity.  The night was a roaring success, keeping celebrities and attendees alike giggling all evening! The Toscars The Toscars is a live event that parodies the biggest award show of the year. Ten teams of ten people have 3 weeks in which to make spoofs upon the nominated films for Best Feature at the Academy Awards. The Whacademy made up of a team of experts in their field, hand selected from the Entertainment industry, decide the winners in ten categories including Best Whactor and Whactress. This year’s comedy event will be hosted by Glee’s Alex Newell, who plays Unique on the show. “I’m excited to host this year’s event. It’s for a great cause and it’s a chance for the celebs to let their hair down and have a lot of fun during an intense awards season.”

Winners announced:
BEST TOSCAR FILM presented by DORIS ROBERTS
Terminate Her – Parody of Her – Producer Matt Crabtree
BEST WHACTRESS presented by JOSHUA JACKSON
Elizabeth Arends – Shaving Mr. Hanks – Parody of Saving Mr Banks
BEST WHACTOR presented by JAIME WINSTONE
Matt Crabtree – Terminate Her  – Parody of Her
BEST SUPP. WHACTRESS presented by last years toscar winner – MICHAEL ENRIGHT
Sarah Farooqui – British Hustle – Parody of American Hustle
BEST SUPP. WHACTOR presented by JENNIFER ELISE COX
John Campbell-Mac – British Hustle – Parody of American Hustle
JAGUAR BEST CHOONS AWARD presented by PAUL OAKENFOLD
Guy Ross – Captain Phillips & The horn of Africa – Parody of Captain Phillips
BEST CUTTER (*editing) presented by ADAM WOOD
Laura Harbron – Dallas Biters Club – Parody of Dallas buyers Club
BEST SCRIBBLE (Writing) presented by JIM PIDDOCK
Ben Stanley – Captain Phillips & The horn of Africa – Parody of Captain Phillips
BEST BANG FOR BUCK (Production design) presented by MICHAEL WHETSTONE
Kerry & Evan Marlowe – Pheelaweena  -Parody of Philomeena
BEST DICTATOR presented by OSCAR NOMINATED PRODUCER BRUSNSON GRE

Laura Harbron – Dallas Biters Club – Parody of Dallas buyers Club

 

Past celebrities have included Bruce Vilanch, Janina Gavankar, Siobhan Fahey, Skeet Ulrich, Entourage Rex Lee and Academy award nominee, Eric Roberts, who stated “It was more fun than the real show.” As The Toscars grows so has the talent who get involved. This year Tim Russ who plays the Vulcan, Tuvok on the popular TV series “Star Trek: Voyager” got to direct the parody of Gravity called “Cavity” and retired adult-film actor Ron Jeremy gets to star in his first ever PG -13 movie in “British Hustle”: The Parody of “American Hustle”. Mr. Jeremy who has most recently had a whopping 2 million youtube hits of his parody of Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking ball” is nominated for best Whactor. Other well-known names who have starred in previous Toscar films are Luke Evans (Fast and the furious 6, Dracula),Tehmina Sunny (Argo, The Following), Jennifer Page (The Master) and British TV star Dawn Porter. This year’s panel of celebrity judges were: Jim Piddock (Best in Show, Epic Movie) The very handsome British actor, Owain Yeomans (The Mentalist) Funny Lady Jennifer Elise Cox, World renowned DJ, Paul Oakenfold will be judging the original scores of the films and many others to be added. The Toscars was inspired by the Michel Gondry movie ‘Be Kind, Rewind” starring Jack Black and Mos Def, in which they have to recreate blockbuster movies on a shoestring budget. Actor and Co-creator Craig Robert Young said “It just seemed like a great way to have some fun with other people in the industry and raise some money for a good cause. We aren’t poking fun at the Oscars, so much as we are paying respect with a cheeky nudge and a wink in our very British humourous way. We are also delighted that Jaguar North America are presenting partners this year, especially as they recently debuted their first ever Super Bowl ad “Rendezvous” starring three iconic British actors, as part of their “British Villains” campaign,  – a partnership with Brits in LA seemed like a perfect fit. We look forward to a fruitful long-lasting relationship with Jaguar and thank them for their support” — Last year the Parody of Les Miserables renamed Miserable Lesbians took home the big prize and went on to become a stage show which toured London’s West End, Off Broadway and the Edinburgh Fringe.

Isabell Kristensen From Dressing Princess Charlene of Monaco To ‘The Darling Buds of Jamaica’

Jamaica holds first ever ‘haute-couture’ fashion show in its 400 year history

First she posed underwater for a shoot inspired by The Little Mermaid, then she did the costume design for film Shanghai Baby, now Danish-born, Monaco-London based Isabell Kristensen is putting Jamaica’s blossoming fashion industry on the world map.

Catwalk 2 Catwalk 4 Theresa Roberts (C), with two young up-and-coming designers Natalie Christine (L) and Christopher Childs (R)

Kristensen, famous for dressing Katy Perry, Nicole Kidman and Kate Winslet and her fragrance Dreams loved by Snoop Doggy Dog’s wife Shante Broadus, presented her ‘Jamaican Boa and Orchids’ inspired fashion collection worn by ‘Natural Beauties’ hand picked from the island for the catwalk called ‘Dawn to Dusk’ at Hanover Grange at the Tryall Estate and Sandal’s private island.

Young up-and-coming Jamaican fashion designers Christopher Childs and Natalie Christine also featured during Kristensen’s show.

 

The event raised funds for the Jamaican Arts Council.

 

Organiser of the fashion event Theresa Roberts, Europe’s largest collector of Jamaican Art says: “The event evoked memories of the 50s and 60s when Jamaica was the glamour destination of choice for the European jet set and Hollywood A list.

 

“The natural splendour of the island and infectious excitement of its people combined with the highest quality events such as this surely mean that the sophisticated elite will quickly rediscover the pleasures that “The Rock” has to offer”.

Jamaica is fast becoming a powerhouse in arts & culture. In New York, Jamaican artists sell for big money, which is now taking off in Europe following a recent House of Lords exhibition organised by Theresa Roberts.

 

Jamaica is no longer just about Bob Marley, Jamaica’s Winter Olympic Bobsleigh team from ‘Cool Runnings’ and Usain Bolt.

 

Proceedings to this event went to supporting students at The Edna Manley Art College. They are all making the world take Jamaican arts and culture seriously.