TV UPDATE : GOOD MORNING BRITAIN .. 1 MILLION MINUTES CAMPAIGN ..ITV1 .. MONDAY NOVEMBER 27TH 2017 ..

Joan joined Piers Morgan & Suzanna Reid to launch The Annual 1 Million Minutes Campaign...
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GMB 1 MILLION MINUTES CAMPAIGN 2017!

1 Million Minutes is Good Morning Britain’s award-winning campaign to encourage all of us to give as little as 30 minutes of our time to help someone who is lonely.

It could be your neighbour, your friend or someone in your community. It could even be someone you have never met.

Loneliness is a silent epidemic with more of us than ever experiencing it, or knowing people who do.

The campaign's called 1 Million Minutes, because there's estimated to be more than a million older people in the UK, who are socially isolated - for example, not speaking to a friend or family member in a week. Add to that the millions of other people like carers, those who have been bereaved and single people living alone, and there’s an awful lot of lonely people out there.

Joan with volunteers Craig.. Amy .. Angela

Our aim is to get as many minutes as possible pledged for the campaign so we can help as many people as possible.

So what do I need to do?

It’s really easy. All you need to do is click the pledge button below telling us how many minutes of your time you want to pledge. Then scroll down below to find the volunteer opportunities available.

Our main partners are: Action for Children, Age UK, Carers UK, Contact the Elderly, Independent Age, the Royal Voluntary Service, Campaign to End Loneliness, The Silver Line and the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness.

We are also offering people the chance to volunteer for local events and local charities dealing with loneliness through the Neighbourly website.

You can also just tell us about personal pledges you have made - whether it’s visiting a neighbour, or phoning someone you know who would appreciate the call this Christmas - by emailing us or share your pledge online on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #1MiIlionMinutes.

So what are you waiting for? Please pledge now. It only takes a minute to make someone's day.

Joan with volunteers Tom & Daniela

Here's how you can use those minutes...

30 minutes only

• Say hello to a neighbour you don’t normally talk to and invite them over for a chat or a cup of tea. Don't forget to tell us about your pledge #1MillionMinutes
• Visit a carer in your community who may be feeling socially isolated and show them how they can access support from Carers UK
• Start a conversation - become an Action for Children Hello Volunteer and say hello at the school gate, with a neighbour or your child

90 minutes only

• Accompany an older neighbour to a local event. Christmas provides lots of opportunities to take them to a festive market, church service or Christmas party. Tell us about your contributions #1MillionMinutes
• Volunteer at a local project - there are lots that work with people suffering loneliness - everything from using sporting memories to taking chickens into care homes! Find out more at Neighbourly.
• Call or visit an older friend or relative over the Christmas period. Tell us about it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, using the hashtag #1MiIlionMinutes.
• Raise awareness of the services of The Silver Line by distributing leaflets and having friendly conversations with older members in your local community
• Become a Swap 'n' Shopper by hosting an Action for Children Swap ’n’ Shop and bring together people in your community for a fun shopping and social event ·
  

450 minutes a week (one day)

• Do you fancy volunteering for just a day at a project close to your home? It could be for Christmas or in the New Year. Find out what's available near you at Neighbourly.

60 minutes a week

• Help someone home from hospital by becoming a Royal Voluntary Service volunteer. Help support older people as they leave hospital, settle in at home and get back on their feet.
• Raise awareness of the services of The Silver Line through working with organisations and Individuals in your local community
• Spread the word to people who are lonely by pledging to give out Independent Ageloneliness packs in your local community
• Volunteer at a local project. There are lots of local opportunities. Find out more at Neighbourly.

120 minutes a week

• Become a tea party group co-ordinator and ensure the smooth running of the Contact the Elderly tea parties by communicating with drivers, hosts and guests
• Lunch or dining club volunteers at the Royal Voluntary Service bring older people together to enjoy a hot nutritious meal and socialise with friends at the same time
• Become a hospital cafe, shop or trolley volunteer for the Royal Voluntary Service and serve refreshments to patients, staff and visitors and be a friendly and compassionate point of contact
• Become a volunteer co-ordinator for Royal Voluntary Service to set up and run new services or activities in their local areas e.g. lunch club, art class, social club, dance class etc

120 minutes a month

• Become a digital volunteer with Action for Children to use the power of social media to help tackle loneliness
• Have a regular phone chat with an older person and pledge to make regular calls or visits as an Independent Age volunteer
• Pledge to volunteer for Age UK's telephone befriending service, Call in Time, and have a regular friendly chat on the phone with an older person once a week

180 minutes a month

• Drive an older person to a monthly tea party. Offer companionship to older people by picking them up, driving them to a Contact the Elderly tea party and returning them home safely.
• Or, become a tea party host. Welcome a small group of older people and their volunteer drivers into your home for a Contact the Elderly tea twice a year.
• Volunteer to help at a social event such as a coffee morning with your local Age UK
• Join the phone helpline team for The Silver Line in Blackpool and help brighten the spirits of older people by having a friendly chat

EVENT UPDATE : SOROPTIMIST RAILING AGAINST ABUSE MARCH .. BRISTOL .. SATURDAY NOVEMBER 25TH 2017 ..

Joan joined daughter Tara today for a march against domestic abuse and violence against women organised by Soroptimist SIGBI, which was held in Bristol. Joan then made an inspiring speech to the gathering...

EVENT UPDATE :THE ROYAL VARIETY PERFORMANCE .. THE LONDON PALLADIUM .. FRIDAY NOVEMBER 24TH 2017 ..

Joan was a vision as she arrived for The Royal Variety Performance earlier this evening, where she was a guest presenter.. Due to an incident in nearby Oxford Street, the show was over an hour late in commencing..

You can catch it on ITV1 on December 17th.TBC... Watch this space...

Joan in the centre of the lineup (better quality shots to follow)

EVENT UPDATE : THE GLOBAL GIFT GALA ... THE CORINTHIA HOTEL LONDON .. SATURDAY NOVEMBER 18TH 2017 ..

Joan attended the prestigious Global Gift Gala at London's Corinthia Hotel where she was presented with The Global Gift Philanthropist Award by 'Desperate Housewives' star Eva Longoria who is the charities Honorary Chair...

Joan accepts her award

Jon with Eva

Joan with Victoria Beckham

PHOTO UPDATE : LUNCH IS IN THE FRAME FOR JOAN!

Joan enjoyed lunch at New York's iconic restaurant Sardi's and was seated under her own caricature which was hung in 1992 when she was appearing on Broadway in 'Private Lives'...

PRESS UPDATE : THE EXPRESS ... SUNDAY 12TH NOVEMBER 2017 ..

Leslie Bricusse and Yvonne Romain: Golden couple’s Hollywood greats

MEETING Leslie Bricusse leaves you in a kind of whirl, to quote his song My Kind Of Girl.

By CLAIR WOODWARD

After a morning in the company of the acclaimed songwriter, lyricist and writer, alongside his wife Evie, you feel like you’ve journeyed through the past half-century of showbusiness as they recall the characters they’ve met during 59 years of marriage. 

“We must sound like a couple of old name-droppers,” laughs Evie who, as Yvonne Romain, had a successful acting career in TV and movies, eventually starring in Double Trouble opposite Elvis Presley. 

As we chat, Sir Michael Caine and a major theatre producer call the Bricusses in their elegant Thames-side flat. 

They really do know the best people.  

It really was the golden era when we first moved there, to Hollywood

Leslie Bricusse

Leslie’s extraordinary career meant that he has worked with the greatest talents and wrote some of the greatest show songs. 

Compositions include What Kind Of Fool Am I?, The Candy Man, Pure Imagination (the last two from 1971’s Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory) and Feeling Good, all co-written with collaborator Anthony Newley. 

He wrote the music – including Talk To The Animals – for Doctor Dolittle, co-wrote Bond themes Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice, and has written the musicals Stop The World, I Want To Get Off, Sherlock Holmes and Victor/Victoria, among many others. 

Bricusse is now 86 and busy as ever, with one of his current projects being a revival of his musical Scrooge – co-written with Newley as a movie starring Albert Finney – at Curve in Leicester, which he says he’s been involved with “mainly on the phone so far”.

He adds: “Producer Bill Kenwright has staged a number of productions starring Tommy Steele and when he stopped doing it, producers Michael Harrison and Ian David took over. 

They know about doing pantomime, so they really understand Christmas.” 

The show, with Jasper Britton as Dickens’s famous miser, has one big change: the ghost of Marley is played by actress Karen Mann. 

“I’ve written an extra scene to suggest the character might be the ghost of Scrooge’s mother – it is all a fantasy drama after all. 

"The audience can take it as they wish but, whatever, it won’t spoil the show.” 

Bricusse is also working on a musical about his friend Sammy Davis Jr, which will star Giles Terera: “We did Sammy six months ago at The Other Palace in London and he was brilliant in it.  

Leslie with Joan

"But six months ago he was offered a leading role in Hamilton [the Broadway smash opening in London next month] and he said he was prepared to do Sammy and not Hamilton. 

"I said, ‘Are you crazy? I know it means putting the show back a year but you’ve got to do Hamilton’. 

"So we’re looking at spring 2019 for Sammy.” 

It’s clear that Bricusse feels a great loyalty towards Davis. 

He recorded 60 of his songs including The Candy Man, which gave Davis his first No1. 

“It was so long in coming!” laughs Bricusse.

  “He used to call us every week and go, ‘It’s 18!’, ‘It’s 14!’, ‘It’s 12!’ before it got to number one. 

"That was the whole conversation!” 

Bricusse’s musical career started at Cambridge when he brought the first Footlights Club revue to the West End. 

He was spotted by musical comedy star Beatrice Lillie who asked him to be her leading man and write material for her. 

It was the making of him: “I got the job because her leading man on Broadway couldn’t come over as he owed an ex-wife 28 years of alimony. 

“Auntie Bea sort of adopted me; she lost her son in the Second World War and when Evie and I went on honeymoon we photographed her son’s grave in the war cemetery – she’d never seen it before.”  

Evie

Bricusse and Newley wrote their musical Stop The World, I Want To Get Off while staying with Beatrice in New York and then moved on to – and conquered – Hollywood. 

“It really was the golden era when we first moved there,” he recalls. 

“When Evie and I went, Anthony had teamed up with Joan Collins and the four of us all became best friends. 

"Joan had a house off Sunset Boulevard and she put us through what seemed like a marine sergeant’s drill in the form of going to parties and meeting wonderful people. 

"I think we saw more people in those first two weeks than we have since!” 

The Bricusses and Michael Caine used to take it in turns to host “the British refugees” in their Hollywood homes and he shows me a photograph taken during those happy times.  

“That’s Christopher Lee, Samantha Eggar, Jackie Collins, Joan, Anthony Newley, David Niven Jr, David Hemmings...” 

Their particular close friend was Sir Roger Moore, who died this year. 

“He was such a darling. 

"I still miss him every day,” says Evie. 

“He was our best friend for 50 years,” reflects her husband. 

“It started when Evie did The Saint with him; and we were neighbours in four countries over the years.  

"I made a speech at his funeral in Monaco and said, ‘If Roger had a fault it was that he was perfect. 

"Other than that, he was perfect’.” 

Leslie & Evie with Newley & Joan & Beatrice Lilly

But while they reflect on friends who have gone, they’re very much a forward-looking couple. 

As well as Leslie’s ongoing musical projects, which include productions of his musicals Sherlock Holmes and Cyrano de Bergerac in South Korea and China, they enjoy the company of their artist son Adam and two grandsons. 

One wants to be a movie director. 

They are also friends with rock legend Sir Rod Stewart, who is a neighbour at their South of France home, and they dine with Sir Elton John. 

But no matter how many friends they have, international superstars or otherwise, you feel that Leslie and Evie Bricusse are still each other’s best friends.  

“We met when Freddie Raphael and I helped a friend with a terrible musical called Jubilee Girl,” remembers Bricusse. 

“In the show was a girl named Vilma Ann Leslie who called saying, ‘I’ve just started on a film and in that film is the girl of your dreams’. 

"And Vilma delivered her to my door!” 

● Leslie Bricusse’s Scrooge The Musical is at Leicester’s Curve from November 18 to January 7. 

For details, call 0116 242 3595 or go to curveonline.co.uk.

TV ALERT : JOHN BISHOP - IN CONVERSATION .. W CHANNEL .. THURSDAY 9TH 2017 .. 9PM ..

Joan is one of the guests on the latest series of 'In Conversation With John Bishop' on The W Channel .. You can catch Joan's episode Tonight November 9th at 9pm with a repeat showing on November 11th at 8pm.

• Episode Summary: Golden Globe-winning actress Dame Joan discusses her early success in Britain as star of stage and screen; her move to Hollywood at aged 22, negotiating her salary with studio bosses at Twentieth Century Fox and winning a pivotal film role over Marilyn Monroe. John also talks to Dame Joan about her close relationship with her late sister, novelist Jackie Collins, the resurgence of her career starring on TV in iconic 80s soap opera Dynasty, and speaks candidly on marriage, heartache, being a mother and grandmother, and life with her soulmate, husband Percy.
• 
  

• Sky	Channel 109 (SD/HD) Channel 213 (+1) Channel 245 (SD)
  Cable
  Virgin Media	Channel 125 Channel 131 (+1) Channel 191 (HD)
  WightFibre	Channel 112
  Virgin Media Ireland	Channel 512
  IPTV
  BT	Channel 311 Channel 383 (HD)
  TalkTalk TV	Channel 311
  Plusnet	Channel 311

PRESS UPDATE : DAILY MAIL .. SATURDAY OCTOBER 4TH 2017 ..

 

Dynasty dressing is back, dahlings! Fashionistas sneered for years at those over-the-top shoulder pads. How delicious, says JOAN COLLINS, to see Alexis's style on the High Street..

Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford was never seen without them. Nor, for that matter, was the elegant Greer Garson. Even Ingrid Bergman, who made them look demure and lady-like in Casablanca, loved them.

During World War II, every woman wore a pair, even underneath their everyday outfits. I’m talking, of course, about shoulder pads.

For years, fashionistas and glossy magazines have been turning up their noses at a style that has been one of history’s most flattering and feminine. I’ve no idea why.

After all, wide shoulders accentuate the waist and hips and give a marvellously sleek silhouette. Those early screen idols knew that all too well, and their images remain iconic and timeless.

Alexis (Top left) stole the show in a glorious violet blazer. Fall back in love with shoulder pads for that flattering, feminine shape. Blazer, £21, dorothyperkins.com; Suede belt, £59, hobbs.co.uk; Skirt, £235, Paule Ka at stylebop.com 

Alexis wore this fuchsia satin dress while making a martini in a 1984 episode. (Bottom Left) It’s so very Dynasty. Dress, £20, boohoo.com; Necklace, £15, marks andspencer.com

So I’m delighted that many twalks and High Street stores are a glorious riot of power dressing. Brace yourself, ladies. Dynasty fashion is back.

For me, of course, it never went away. I will always remember the time when, in the early Eighties, Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Cardin sent their models down the runway in dresses and jackets with huge, padded shoulders and massive, billowing sleeves. Suddenly the fashion world sat up and took notice. And so did I.

I had just started shooting a rather unsuccessful series on ABC called Dynasty. It was way down in the ratings and about to be cancelled. According to my agent, this would be a six-week gig — ‘but, maybe, if ratings pick up, you might get six months out of it’.

So off I flew to LA with a new Saint Laurent tuxedo jacket in my suitcase, plus my usual excess baggage.

At my first fitting for the then relatively minor role of Alexis Morell Carrington, the stylist showed me some neat little suits with June Allyson collars, some silk shirts (like the ones worn on Charlie’s Angels) and a couple of boring faux-Chanel tweeds.

‘These aren’t right for this character,’ I insisted. ‘She’s a sophisticate, a jet-setter. She wants to become powerful. She needs to wear haute couture and gloves, veils, hats and shoulder pads.’

A sharp yet feminine style (top Left) — just tone down the lapels. Blazer, £30, riverisland.com; Shirt, £153.61, shopbop.com; Skirt, £99, hob

A structured silhouette is a classic Dynasty look (Bottom Left), and the ruffles add extra drama. Dress, £55, riverisland.com; Earrings, £8, asda.com

Reluctantly, the stylist called in Nolan Miller, super designer to the stars. When I showed him my YSL jacket he was totally enthusiastic, particularly about the shoulder pads.

And so began a wonderful, decade-long collaboration between the talented Mr Miller and I. We agreed on everything — Alexis and Nolan adored sequins, cleavage, fur, gauntlet gloves, massive diamonds and hats; big ones or small ones, fur or lace, veiled or big-brimmed, berets and even pillboxes.

This soon became the Dynasty ‘look’, which also included big belts, small waists and stilettos. We loved thick, excessively embroidered jackets and coats, pencil skirts, strapless gowns and thigh-high boots. In fact, we loved everything that almost all designers are showing on the runways today.

And because audiences fell in love with this new look, Dynasty shot up in the ratings. In less than two years, it became the No 1 show on TV.

Was Alexis ahead of her time? Not at all. Actresses had been wearing these outfits since the first black-and-white films flickered on to the silver screen.

Think Jean Harlow in her slithery, white satin dress and feathered boas in Dinner At Eight; Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce; Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity; and Lana Turner in The Postman Always Rings Twice.

Alexis wore this timeless, floor-length, gold lame dress in 1982 (Top left), when it caught Bette Davis’s eye. Dress, £70, riverisland.com; Shoes, £29, kurtgeiger.com; Cuff, £29, hobbs.co.uk

This sequined silver bolero had shoulder pads to die for.(Bottom left) Team a modern version with a metallic skirt for maximum impact. Jacket,

 It was from these iconic stars that Nolan and I drew our inspiration for Alexis, who, as she grew more powerful, eventually became Alexis Morell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan.

Some of our other influences were Princess Diana in the early days of her marriage to Prince Charles, and most of the couturiers of the Eighties, such as Herve Leger, Azzedine Alaia, Christian Lacroix and Versace. But it was those shoulder pads that seemed to define the decade.

Krystal (Linda Evans) and I often wore silk or satin knee-length dresses, cinched at the waist and with the obligatory padded shoulders. They were amazingly flattering and are still a staple of many a well-dressed woman’s wardrobe today.

So, too, are the big-shouldered jackets often featured by Balenciaga and Balmain and, of course, YSL, whose iconic tuxedo still reigns.

To be honest, most fashion recently has left me cold and almost certainly never would have featured on Dynasty. Striped socks and trainers worn with ball gowns, oversized, geometrically-structured pieces, clashing colours and jeans with holes — don’t get me started on those!

Whenever I see Theresa May in an above-the-knee, unconstructed frock looking overpowered by the men around her — all of whom are wearing suits with padded shoulders — I wish she would start wearing Alexis power suits, like Baroness Thatcher did. It would make a huge difference to her confidence.

I admit that after a few seasons, Dynasty fashion went overboard. Aaron Spelling, our producer, wanted Alexis to be the most powerful and stylish character. But when Diahann Carroll, who played my enemy Dominique Deveraux, came along, she demanded fur hats, diamonds and sumptuous ball gowns with massive sleeves.

The inevitable result was that my outfits became more outrageous and over-the-top. We should have signed some sort of non-proliferation treaty, because shoulder pads became weapons of mass distraction. When I crossed the line by wearing a suit with enormous padding and huge butterfly detail, Spelling barked: ‘Never wear that again. We want to see your f****** face!’

But it wasn’t all about shoulder pads. One of my favourite gowns was made of gold lame, draped and cinched, Grecian-style, at the waist, cut dangerously low in front and slit to the thigh. I wore it to the fabulous variety special Night Of 100 Stars in New York, where I shared a dressing room with, amongst others, the intimidating legend Bette Davis.

Sitting backstage, I became aware that Bette was staring at me. She drew deeply on her cigarette and then, blowing a blast of smoke in my face, said: ‘You almost have the dress on, m’dear.’

Yes, it was revealing, but it was also elegant, which is more than I can say for many of the outfits seen on the red carpet today.

‘If you’ve got it, flaunt it,’ is what I should have said, though the credo of some celebs — flashing side-boob, bottoms and ever-climbing slits — seems to be closer to ‘the sky’s the limit’.

Some of us did flaunt it in the Dynasty years, but I still believe our fashions were flattering, stylish and most of all fun.

So bring out the shoulder pads — and unleash your inner Alexis!

Recreate this classic look from the early Eighties with a modern twist  (Top left)— wide-leg trousers. Jacket, £25, boohoo.com; Top, £9.50, marksand spencer.com; Trousers, £11, janenorman.co.uk; Shoes, £29, kurtgeiger.com

This huge hat and scarf frame the face. Try a faux fur design — these days they’re just as good as Alexis’s real thing! (Bottom left) Hat, £35, monsoon.co.uk; Stole, £69, thewhitecompany.com

TV AERT : THE PRIDE OF BRITAIN AWARDS 2017 .. ITV1 TUESDAY NOVEMBER 7TH 8PM..

Joan with Amanda Holden & ITV Fundraiser winner Dan Coates

Tune into ITV1 on Tuesday 7th November at 8pm to catch Joan's appearance as she presented The ITV Fundraiser Award to Dan Coates..

Joan chats with Prince William along with Rod Stewart & his wife Penny

EVENT ALERT : AN EVENING WITH DAME JOAN COLLINS .. DUBAI OPERA .. DUBAI ..DECEMBER 12TH 2017 ..

The heat is on this December as Joan makes an exclusive appearance at Dubai Opera with this seasons hottest show 'An Evening With Dame Joan Collins'..
Book your ticket now...For the show of a lifetime!!
The following link!
AN EVENING WITH DAME JOAN COLLINS at DUBAI OPERA!

AN EVENING WITH DAME JOAN COLLINS 

Actress, philanthropist and best-selling author, Dame Joan will grace the Dubai Opera stage in her new show that allows audiences to ask questions they have always wanted to know the answers to. 

An Evening with Dame Joan Collins will see audiences enthralled as Dame Joan reveals some of the exciting stories and secrets from her long career 

The show puts Dame Joan centre stage and gives audiences the opportunity to have an intimate chat with the world famous actress. The show takes it lead from the audiences' questions and allows Dame Joan to explore her career, the roles (and the men!) of her life. The production also features never before seen footage from her legendary career.  

EVENT UPDATE : JOANATHAN ROSS ANNUAL HALLOWEEN PARTY ... LONDON .. OCTOBER 31ST 2017 ..

Joan as Madame DuBarry & Percy as Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre

Joan dressed to impress as she attended Jonathan Ross's annual Halloween Party with Percy held at Ross's London home.