Friday 14 June 2019

Action-packed Sherlock Holmes novel finally reveals the truth behind the sinking of the Titanic


London – 14th June 2019 – The novel, ‘Sherlock Holmes and the great Titanic mystery,’ was published today on Amazon. The author, Valentine Palmer, is a leading authority on the loss of the Titanic, as his great uncle, Charles Herbert Lightoller, was the only senior officer to survive the sinking.

The 14th June 2019 is the 108th anniversary of the maiden voyage of Titanic’s sister ship, RMS Olympic. This date was chosen for the launch of this gripping novel in which Sherlock Holmes reveals the role played by Olympic in the hitherto unacknowledged secret of Titanic’s tragic loss.

"I wanted to involve Sherlock in a real crime that took place at a real time. I also wanted to present a fast-paced action-filled tale for 21st-century readers. Think, Sherlock Holmes meets Jason Bourne!", says author, Valentine Palmer.

‘Sherlock Holmes and the great Titanic mystery,’ takes the reader on a white-knuckle ride from New York to Paris and from Northern Ireland to the banks of the river Reine. The great detective then comes face to face with his arch enemy, Professor Moriarty, on board a ‘ghost ship’ that holds the secret to the Titanic’s last moments. Finally, it is on his own doorstep at 221b Baker Street, that Sherlock Holmes is shot and almost killed, but recovers sufficiently to discover what really happened to the Titanic, a truth too terrible to ever reveal.

The novel is available through Amazon in both paperback and Kindle form:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sherlock-Holmes-great-Titanic-mystery/dp/1098966465

Website: www.SherlockTitanic.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SherlockTitanic
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SherlockTitanic.com


About the author:
Valentine Palmer recalled his great uncle, second officer Lightoller, in his 2012 book, commissioned to celebrate 100 years since the Titanic’s loss. In his extensive research for his book, Palmer unearthed what, for him, appeared to be conclusive evidence of a giant maritime fraud.  His media appearances to speak of this, plus his various talks to interested groups, always lead to a wide division of opinion. A TV actor in almost 100 famous series, including Dr Who, he has also been a screenwriter and Hollywood script man.

For more information, please contact:

John Wood
+44 1342 323750
+44 777 152 0001
jw@worldwidepr.net


http://www.worldwidepr.net

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Wednesday 17 April 2019

Screening of "No Asylum" in presence of Anne Frank's stepsister to mark 74th anniversary of liberation of Belsen

Senior Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence, Kinloss Synagogue; Eva Schloss, Anne Frank's stepsister; Simon Bentley, Chairman, Yad Vashem UK Foundation; John Wood, son of Belsen liberator, Leonard Berney. Photo by Hy Money
15 April 2019 - Finchley, London - To mark the 74th anniversary of the liberation of Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp by the British Army, a special screening of the documentary 'No Asylum - The Untold Chapter of Anne Frank's Story' was held at the Kinloss Synagogue in Finchley, north London on 15 April 2019.

Eva Schloss, Anne Frank's stepsister and Auschwitz survivor, who appears in the film, attended the evening event which was attended by around 100. Following the screening, Eva gave a short account of her life story and answered questions.

The late Belsen liberator, Leonard Berney, who was a 25-year old major in the British Army on the day Belsen was liberated on 15th April 1945, also appears in the film. Leonard's son, John Wood, was in attendance at the screening as was Simon Bentley, the Chairman of Yad Vashem UK Foundation, Holocaust survivors Freddy Knoller, Mala Tribich and Eve Kugler, and the renowned film producer Mark Forstater, author of 'I Survived a Secret Nazi Extermination Camp'. And proceedings were conducted by Kinloss Synagogue's Senior Rabbi, Jeremy Lawrence.

The evening event was co-hosted by the Kinloss Synagogue and Yad Vashem UK Foundation.

Rabbi Lawrence: "At a time of increased antisemitism and racism in the public arena, it is important to hear survivor testimony. Those who have witnessed the escalation of intolerance and abuse; those who have been rebuffed as they have cried out at persecution or as they have tried to flee, remind us of the dangers of standing by and hold us to account. 'No Asylum' is a powerful and relevant film for 2019."

About Kinloss Synagogue

Kinloss (Finchley United Synagogue) has a membership of 3,000 and is the jewel in the crown of the United Synagogue. It is a thriving community and hosts many social and educational events throughout the year.

About Yad Vashem UK Foundation

Yad Vashem UK Foundation believes in the importance of educating, imparting and bequeathing to future generations the legacy of the Holocaust to ensure that the tragedy is never forgotten, to honour the memory of those who perished and to impart the legacy of the Holocaust to shape a more humane future. Yad Vashem UK Foundation bears the responsibility of passing the torch of remembrance from the Survivors to the coming generations. There are growing waves of hatred and anti Semitism throughout Europe which must be repelled and the world must never be allowed to forget the lessons of the Holocaust.

About "No Asylum - The Untold Chapter of Anne Frank's Story" (2015)

No Asylum, the Paradise Filmworks International feature-length documentary, brings Otto Frank’s voice to light through his recently discovered letters, which reveal for the first time, the emotional tale of how the world turned its back on the Frank family as he desperately tried to obtain visas to save his family from the Holocaust. Starring: Leonard Berney, Jonathan Brent Ph.D., Richard Breitman, Ph.D., Meta Doran, Buddy Elias, Estelle Guzik, Lydia Lebovich, and Eva Schloss (Anne Frank's stepsister).

High res images:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Tc2RCC8wijoWWKdp9
Captions are given in the information section of each photo. Please photo credit those images marked "Photo by Hy Money" with "Hy Money".

For more information:

Kinloss Synagogue - www.kinloss.org.uk - 020 8346 8551

Yad Vashem UK Foundation - www.yadvashem.org.uk - 020 8359 1146

"No Asylum - The Untold Chapter of Anne Frank's Story" is streaming on Amazon and iTunes: www.noasylumfilm.com To host a screening, visit: www.noasylumfilm.com/host-a-screening
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Thursday 28 February 2019

A scholarship in honour of legendary session pianist Nicky Hopkins has been set up at the Royal Academy of Music


Dr Matthew Ross, John Wood, Deborah Grabien (Photo: Christopher Gatelock)


London - Sunday 24 Feb 2019 - Around 20 fans, friends and family of probably the world's greatest session pianist and organist, Nicky Hopkins (1944-94), marked what would have been his 75th birthday at the Royal Academy of Music, where Nicky himself studied on a scholarship in the 1950s, by celebrating the formation of The Nicky Hopkins Award. The Award was created with a donation of £10,000.

Guests included Moira Hopkins, Nicky's widow; Graham Parker, former lead singer of Graham Parker & the Rumour; and Gray Levett, Nicky's former personal manager.

Graham Parker, Gray Levett and Moira Hopkins (Photo: Christopher Gatelock)

Last September, a beautiful memorial for Nicky - a park bench in the form of a piano (see: http://uptone.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-unveiling-of-nicky-hopkins-memorial.html) - was unveiled in Perivale Park, Nicky's birthplace. It was financed through crowdfunding with many big names among its 60 contributors such as all current members of the Rolling Stones (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Charlie Watts) and Bill Wyman; Jimmy Page; Roger Daltrey; Kenney Jones; Graham Parker; and Yoko Ono, raising £6,000 in total which covered the cost of the bench (£4,000) leaving a surplus of £2,000 which was immediately donated to the Academy. The £8,000 shortfall was then single-handedly met by the former personal friend of Nicky, Deborah Grabien, who flew all the way from San Francisco to attend Sunday's celebration.

Dr Matthew Ross addressing fans, friends and family of Nicky Hopkins at the Royal Academy of Music (Photo: Christopher Gatelock)

The Academy will announce the name of the student to be granted The Nicky Hopkins Award later this year. Meanwhile, fundraising continues for the 2020/21 academic year and beyond, for as long as possible into the future.

To contribute towards 
The Nicky Hopkins Award, 
click here: www.bit.ly/Nicky-Hopkins

"The Royal Academy of Music is immensely grateful for the support of Nicky Hopkins’s friends, family, fans and fellow musicians. Thanks to their gifts, the Nicky Hopkins Award will enable a talented young musician to study at the Royal Academy of Music. It is an honour to know that Nicky’s memory will continue through the music-making of an aspiring Academy student." said Dr Matthew Ross, the Royal Academy's Senior Philanthropy Manager.

Deborah Grabien added, "There's a certain sense of coming full circle about this scholarship. But what will really define that circle, and our journey to it, will be the moment when that next set of amazing fingers comes to rest on a piano keyboard - because the Nicky Hopkins Award has made it possible."

Moira Hopkins, Nicky Hopkin’s widow (Photo: Christopher Gatelock)

The Nicky Hopkins Memorial Park Bench in Perivale, Ealing

The Nicky Hopkins memorial bench and the Nicky Hopkins Award were the brainchild of Nicky Hopkins super fan, John Wood. As a token of the Royal Academy's appreciation for the £10,000 donation, Dr Ross presented John Wood and Deborah Grabien with a beautiful glass trophy, engraved with the inscription:

"With grateful thanks from the Royal Academy of Music to the Friends of Nicky Hopkins for the Nicky Hopkins Award."

A trophy from The Royal Academy of Music to thank the contributors towards the 'Nicky Hopkins Award'

Nicky Hopkins (24 Feb 1944 - 6 Sept 1994) from Perivale, Middlesex, was an English pianist and organist. He received a scholarship to the prestigious Royal Academy of Music in London; though classically trained at the Academy, it was his discovery of rock and roll, and Chuck Berry in particular, that led him to develop his own sense and style of boogie technique. He recorded and performed on some of the most significant British and American popular music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, including John Lennon's 'Imagine' and The Rolling Stones' 'She's A Rainbow' and is widely regarded as one of the most important session musicians in rock history, perhaps even the most important. It is an almost impossible act to quantify his near-immeasurable contribution to songs and albums so many of us know and love. Indeed his performances are part of the fabric of classic rock itself. His almost magical ability on the keyboards enabled him to weave just the right sequence of notes, which Mick Jagger acknowledged when he said, “Come on, Nicky, give us some Diamond Tiaras!”. Diamond Tiaras were, of course, what Nicky always produced. www.nickyhopkins.com

For more information, please contact:

John Wood
+44 1342 323750
+44 777 152 0001
jw@worldwidepr.net
http://www.worldwidepr.net
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