Celebcity with Jo Brooks: Downton Abbey’s tea break, Fatboy Slim’s auction, Conor Maynard gets the push & Adele is expecting!

Raise a cup for charity

The stars of Downton Abbey took a well earned tea break from filming series three of the hit show, to launch Marie Curie Cancer Care’s Blooming Great Tea Party. The cast of servants, including new characters Cara Theobold and Matt Milne, enjoyed putting their feet up and having a cuppa in aid of charity.

Jim Carter who plays Butler Charles Carson said: “What could be more Downton Abbey than a good British tea party? We rather enjoyed having a break from serving the Earl and Countess of Grantham! We’re encouraging everyone to do the same, and pop the kettle on and have their own Blooming Great Tea Party for Marie Curie Cancer Care this summer.”

Marie Curie Cancer Care is asking people to hold a Blooming Great Tea Party this July to help raise funds for the charity. It can be as simple as a cuppa with colleagues.

The money raised from Blooming Great Tea Parties will help Marie Curie Nurses to provide more free care to people with terminal cancer and other terminal illnesses in their own homes.

Call 08700 340 040 or visit www.mariecurie.org.uk/teaparty for more information and your free fundraising pack. www.mariecurie.org.uk

In Fatboy Slim’s Shoes
Hot on the heels (get it) of his fantastic Amex gigs last month, Fatboy Slim has decided to have a clearout and is auctioning of his favourite pair of running trainers for charity. As part of The Great Trainer Donation, which has collected shoes from the likes of Colin Jackson and Nell McAndrew as well as Brighton’s king of dance, a whole host of famous names are agreeing to auction away their footwear. All proceeds from the auction will go to charity Mary’s Meals which raises money to set up school feeding projects within the world’s poorest communities.

Baby news for Adele & Simon
A big congratulations from the JBPR office to singer Adele! The singer announced that she and her Brighton-based charity-owning boyfriend Simon Konecki are expecting her first child. Adele announced the very exciting news on her blog explaining: ‘I wanted you to hear the news direct from me’ – which then sent the Twitter-sphere baby crazy! No wonder we’d been reporting on signs of nesting of late…

Mayniacs: get ready!
A big well done to Brighton’s answer to Justin Bieber – aka Conor Maynard – who has been announced as the MTV Push Artist for July. The teen singing sensation and ‘YouTube phenomenon’ is set to release his latest single ‘Vegas Girl’ Stateside at the end of this month and his fan base – nicknamed Mayniacs – is already huge and pretty out-of-control. MTV Push will see Maynard’s videos played on 63 channels in 152 territories and international MTV online platforms throughout the month of July. This includes a unique MTV Push Live Session and exclusive interviews with Conor Maynard, so make sure you keep an eye out for our little seasider!

Everybody’s reading
This week, the wonderful City Reads festival launches its 2012 programme. Each year, the literary festival adopts a book for the city to share and enjoy and in 2012 the title is not only written by a Brighton author but is also set in 1950s Brighton. My Policeman by Bethan Roberts tells the story of a love triangle between Marion, a teacher, her husband Tom, a policeman, and his lover Patrick, a curator at the Brighton Museum. Inspired by the life and loves of E.M. Forster, it is an amazing read so keep your eyes peeled for the free copies of the book circulating in the city! www.cityreads.co.uk

Spotted!
The Beverley Sisters in Rottingdean! The war time singing sweethearts launched a ‘50s fashion exhibition at the Rottingdean museum to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.