Latest People: Oh! What A Lovely War screening, Lewes Business Awards & Ooh Yes I Do! book launch

Richard Gough Buijs, Michael Gough Buijs, Hannah Brackenbury, Cheryl Jenner

Ooh Yes I Do!
Richard Gough-Buijs the author of Ooh Yes I Do! The Ultimate Gay & Lesbian Wedding Planner celebrated his book launch at Waterstones recently. The book has been well received and is an indispensable guide to planning a civil partnership or same-sex marriage. In attendance were Richard’s husband Michael, and friends and family who heard how the book came about, based on Richard’s own wedding planning and meticulous research. Richard is from the Netherlands and has made Brighton his home. All toasted his success!

Oh! What A Lovely Screening
BBC South East brought Richard Attenborough’s directorial debut Oh! What A Lovely War to the Duke of York’s – an all-star cast included Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Maggie Smith, Angela Thorne, Ralph Richardson and our personal favourite, Maurice Roeves.

If we were reviewing the film, we would simply say: “One of the greatest anti-war films ever and Attenborough’s finest achievement”. Shot on The West Pier, which doubled as the Ivory Tower for the generals who sent young men to war, with the help of a wink and a kiss from a sexy Maggie Smith: “I’m willing, if you’ll only take the shilling, to make a man of any one of you.”

East Brighton Park doubled as the muddy, bloody trenches on the Somme and in a memorable scene, the hills of the South Downs were covered in hundreds of thousands of white crosses.

Polly Evans of BBC South East led the Q&A following the film, with a witty Maurice Roeves, Angela Thorne, Charlotte Attenborough and Hayley Mills.

This film is a moving commemoration to the young men who gave their lives in the First World War.

The Lewes District Business Awards 2014
Sussex Downs College attended the awards as a partner of the Lewes Enterprise Apprenticeship Platform (LEAP). LEAP promotes apprenticeships and creates local employment opportunities. Partners include Lewes District Council, East Sussex County Council, Sussex Downs College and Albion In The Community, among others.

A number of existing LEAP clients were nominated for awards at the event, which took place at Lewes Town Hall on Thursday 24 April. Over 200 businesspeople from the local area attended the awards. Screen Solutions Ltd and Cash Bases Limited both scooped two awards on the evening. Badger Inks Limited won ‘Small Business of the Year’, adding to their previous awards success in the local area.

Dan Valovin, MD of Screen Solutions Ltd, comments:
“We would like to thank Lewes District Council for a great evening at their inaugural business awards last week. Screen Solutions has been at the heart of the Lewes District community for the last 21 years. We feel very honoured and proud to receive the two awards, especially as these recognise our long established involvement with our local area via outreach programmes. We use Sussex Downs College as a training provider for our staff and for our apprentices, and we will continue to support this award-winning college.”