Elkie Brooks presents ‘Pearls – The Very Best of’ live In Concert this July

On Saturday 14 July at the Pavilion Theatre Worthing, Elkie Brooks and her band will perform songs that feature on her latest hits collection ‘Pearls – The Very Best Of Elkie Brooks’, which features all of the hits that made Elkie into one of the UK’s most successful singers.

These include ‘Lilac Wine’, ‘Fool If You Think It’s Over’, ‘Sunshine After The Rain’, ‘No More The Fool’ and her signature hit ‘Pearl’s A Singer’.

Elkie Brooks began singing professionally in 1960. Born Elaine Bookbinder to a
Jewish baker in Manchester, at 15 she won a talent contest at the Palace Theatre,
Manchester judged by the infamous Don Arden (manager of Jerry Lee Lewis, Little
Richard and The Small Faces, and father of Sharon Osbourne). The next few years
were an education. She sang in cabaret clubs up and down the country, and found
herself supporting the Beatles at their 1964 Christmas shows at Hammersmith
Odeon. Her first hit, in 1964, was a version of Etta James’ ‘Something’s Got A Hold
On Me’, on which a pre-Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page played guitar; she toured with The
Small Faces, The Animals. By the end of the 60s, she was singing jazz with
Humphrey Lyttelton’s band and a few short years later had channelled her inner rock
chick, and was now co-fronting the band Vinegar Joe alongside Robert Palmer.

At Vinegar Joe’s dissolution, she found herself joining southern American boogie
band Wet Willie. But this was a temporary diversion, because shortly after she was
back on home turf, a newly minted, grownup solo singer. Her solo debut album ‘Rich
Man’s Woman’ was banned in some quarters because of its raunchy sleeve but it
was her 1977 album ‘Two Days Away’ that saw the blue touch paper truly ignite on
Elkie’s career. The album featured her monster hit and signature song ‘Pearl’s A
Singer’, which was co-written and produced by Elvis stalwarts Leiber & Stoller. The
song lit up the charts and gave her her first timeless classic. It wouldn’t be her last.
 
The hits kept coming: ‘Fool If You Think It’s Over’, ‘Lilac Wine’, ‘Sunshine After The
Rain’, ‘Warm And Tender Love’, ‘Don’t Cry Out Loud’ and her highest charting hit ‘No
More The Fool’. Her 1981 album ‘Pearls’ was in the charts for 79 continuous weeks
and went on to sell over a million, making Elkie Brooks the biggest selling female
album artist in the history of the British pop charts at the time. And the work rate
didn’t let up: over the course of the next 25 years, she has released some 20 albums.
By 2012, she had more chart albums under her belt than any other British female
artist. Not only has she been prolific in the studio she has also continued to tour,
performing live in almost every major UK theatre with sell out runs at such
prestigious venues as the Palladium, the Royal Albert Hall, Wembley Arena, Ronnie
Scotts and she even shared the bill with the Beach Boys and Santana at Knebworth
in 1980.

Tickets for Elkie Brooks: Live in Concert at the Pavilion Theatre are available from the Worthing Theatres box office on 01903 206 206 and online at worthingtheatres.co.uk.

A touring exhibition of curiosities from Leasingstede Museum comes to Worthing

Sussex archaeologists and local historians, beware. A new exhibition is coming to Worthing Museum & Art Gallery that will show alarming gaps in your expert knowledge.
 
If you don’t know what the Museum’s mammoth tusks contributed to the English language, or what strange fossils were found beside Worthing pier, and haven’t heard the unusual tale of the town’s affable smuggler, Norman “Figgy” Nottrowe, prepare to be enlightened.
 
Leasingstede Museum, an eccentric West Country folk museum, is ready to provide the answers, in a touring show entitled “A Leaf on a Sea Breeze”, which opens on Saturday July 7 and will be on display until Saturday November 24.
 
As well as artefacts and stories relating to Worthing and the surrounding countryside, the curators will be bringing apparently prehistoric, Roman and Saxon finds, and unfamiliar rural tools such as a daub wattler, a nettle prod and a leaf rustler.
 
Jane Williams, the creator of Leasingstede Museum, says about her ongoing artwork “Rare and valuable museum exhibits often don’t look particularly exciting – chunks of old pots, bits of metal, dusty lumps of wood and stone. But at Leasingstede, the curators make a virtue out of their collection’s lack of historical truth and enjoy their freedom to acquire whatever they feel like displaying.”       

For more information on the A Leaf on a Sea Breeze exhibition and the workshops, visit worthingmuseum.co.uk or call Worthing Museum on 01903 221 448.

How to choose which category to enter for the Adur & Worthing Business Awards

Determine the best fit category for your business

•Bear in mind some have lots of applicants

•Some of the more specialised options may

      give you better odds to win

Read the specification carefully

•Can you meet all the criteria?

•Can you provide enough evidence from 2017/2018 to support the criteria?

Free Online Daily Newspapers

West Sussex Library Service is now offering this free service to their customers. The eNewspaper service called PressReader not only provides access to the majority of current UK daily nationals but also provides access to over 7,000 worldwide digital newspapers and magazines from over 120 countries.

You can read newspapers on line or easier still, just download the free PressReader app to your smartphone or tablet and then read the paper at your convenience.

All you need to access this great resource is a library card!

Not a library customer? Its easy to join at any of the 36 libraries around the county and you can even join online.

Enjoy the convenience of accessing all your favourite publications in one place for free with PressReader!

Read our helpful guide for more information

Why enter the Adur & Worthing Business Awards?

•Showcase your business

• Provide credibility and status

• Raise your profile to customers and suppliers

• Pave the way for considerable press coverage

• Attract possible partners or investors

• Provide recognition for all of your staff.
Remember – your employees have helped you get there!

•Creating your entry will help you focus on your business

Top tips for an award winning entry for the Adur & Worthing Business Awards:

•Ensure that your application is clear and concise.

•Read the entry criteria

•What have you done new in 2017/18?

•Understand the category

•Evidence base everything

•Remember to “market” your company

•What do your customers say?

•Evaluate anything that you have introduced into the business

•Don’t forget to showcase your business. Be proud of what you have achieved!

•Check your entry before submission

•Ensure that you meet the deadline date – by Midnight on 21^st September 2018

Kreston Reeves strengthens Corporate Finance offer with new partner and merger

Kreston Reeves has strengthened its Corporate Finance practice and today announces its merger with Surrey-based corporate finance boutique SamCorp and the appointment of Jack Clipsham as Corporate Finance Partner.

SamCorp directors Peter Samuels and Darren Hurdle will move into the Gatwick office of Kreston Reeves and trade as Kreston Reeves.  Established in 1998 as Samuels Corporate, SamCorp is a specialist corporate finance and strategic consultancy offering tailored advice to shareholders, directors and managers across a broad range of sectors.  It has been behind some of the highest profile company sales and acquisitions in the South East over the past two decades. Peter was the winner of the Dealmaker of the Year 2018 Award in the Insider South East Dealmakers Awards. 

Jack Clipsham is an experienced Corporate Finance Partner with a track record of establishing, developing and leading advisory and transaction support teams. He has acted as Reporting Accountant on Listings and undertaken due diligence for corporates, banks and PE firms; he has provided strategic advice to developing companies and to PE firms in respect of their portfolio companies; and he has led both UK domestic and cross-border acquisitions and disposals, and both debt and equity fund raisings. Over his career Jack has concentrated on SME and mid-market clients and has major achievements in developing business in both the South East of England and East and South East Asia. His international exposure and global contact network provides an interesting background to complement the firm’s work with its partners in the Kreston International network.

The demand for corporate finance support from businesses remains high and this merger continues the strategic expansion of Kreston Reeves to create one of the most experienced accountancy and business advisory firms in London and the South-East.

Andrew Griggs, Senior Partner at Kreston Reeves, said: "We're delighted that Jack, Peter and Darren have chosen to join us - a move that is a significant step forward in growing our strong Corporate Finance offering.

“Jack has experience of establishing, developing and leading corporate finance businesses in the UK, particularly in the southern region, and Peter and Darren have specialised in MBO strategies for their clients which complements and fits perfectly with our own client base.  SamCorp clients will also benefit from the wide range of services and expertise we provide including business and tax advisory, financial services, VAT and valuations. 

“Our longstanding membership of worldwide accounting network, Kreston International, will also provide valuable new opportunities for their clients. 

Jack Clipsham said: “These developments signal Kreston Reeves’ commitment to grow its Corporate Finance services across all its offices. I'm excited to be joining the firm and being part of the team that further develops its Corporate Finance offering.”

Peter Samuels from SamCorp said: “We have known and worked with Kreston Reeves for a number of years; they are a firm with a very similar ethos to our own so we believe the merger is a natural fit. We are excited at becoming part of the Kreston Reeves team and adding value to this growing firm.”

West Sussex County Council Survey for business owners

If you own a business in West Sussex, or live in the county, please take part in our survey and tell us what matters to you!

Your answers will help shape West Sussex County Council’s future priorities and help decide how the budget is set for 2019/20.

The survey asks for your views on priorities in the West Sussex Plan, as well as for your opinion on future Council Tax levels.

Helping us to understand your priorities can help others too! By taking part you can enter a free Prize Draw to win a £500 donation for a West Sussex-based registered charity of your choice.

Click here to take part in the survey

Kreston Reeves promotes three new partners

Accountants, business and financial advisers Kreston Reeves has announced the promotion of three new partners.

The three new partners are:

·         Anne Dwyer, Partner, Audit and assurance, and Head of Property and construction, based in London;

·         Jake Standing, Partner, Business advisory, based in Worthing; and

·         Mark Attwood, Partner, Advisory and assurance, based in Discovery Park, Kent

The promotions take effect from 1 June 2018 and brings the total number of partners to over 50.

A further 21 promotions were also made across the firm’s nine offices at all levels.

Nigel Fright, Managing Partner at Kreston Reeves, said: “Each of these promotions is very well deserved, recognising the contributions and commitment they bring on a day-to-day basis across the firm and to their own teams.  The entire firm passes on their warmest congratulations to Anne, Jake, and Mark and look forward to their continued contributions to the firm as it continues to grow and expand.”

Anne Dwyer, Partner, Audit and assurance and Head of Property and construction, based in London

Anne qualified as a chartered accountant in 2003, joining Kreston Reeves in 2009.  She works across a wide portfolio of businesses with a particular focus on medium and large owner-managed and AIM listed businesses.  Anne has a strong track record in the property and construction sector and heads up the firm’s specialist team as part of her new role.

Jake Standing, Partner, Business advisory, based in Worthing

Jake joined Kreston Reeves in 2007 and qualified as a chartered accountant in 2012.  He re-joined the firm in 2016 following a period working in industry.  He is a keen advocate of identifying and improving financial processes in order to aid visibility of client performance, enabling better management decisions to be made.  He works extensively in the manufacturing, healthcare and distribution sectors.

Mark Attwood, Partner, Advisory and assurance, based in Discovery Park, Kent

Mark joined Kreston Reeves in 1999 and was promoted to senior manager in 2015.  He has a strong track record in the life sciences and biotechnology sectors advising businesses across the globe on tax and raising finance.