John Wood's Blog
Photo credit: The Light Dragoons Last month, to mark the 81st anniversary of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, I was honoured to be invited, as a Generation 2 Generation (G2G) speaker , to deliver my father's Belsen liberation presentation at Catterick Garrison , North Yorkshire. The special commemorative event, held on 15th April 2026, was hosted by the Holocaust Memorial Day…
Saturday, 25th April 2026, Colwyn Bay There was so much love for Terry Jones, and a very silly day was had by all! Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam and Carol Cleveland say that anyone who visits Terry's statue must rub his bum in the hope that it will become shiny. UpTone Business News - http://uptone.blogspot.com
In Amsterdam on 21 April 2026 at an Anne Frank House -hosted event, Stolpersteine were laid in memory of the family of Holocaust survivor and classmate of Anne Frank, Nanette Blitz König (aged 97). The stones were installed in front of Van Baerlestraat 58, the last place the family freely lived before they fell victim to Nazi terror. On 29 September 1943, they were arrested by the Nazis and later…
Me and Terry Gilliam (Director) in Wardour Street, London on 13th March 1991 This is the story of my passion for Terry Gilliam's Brazil from 1986 to the present day I've now visited all of its filming locations and met two thirds of the cast Many of them just walked into my life by complete coincidence, including the director, Terry Gilliam himself, at a crowded Gatwick Airport in 1991 I later…
My talk covers my late father's personal account of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, which he published in 2015 (above): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Liberating-Belsen-Concentration-Major-General-Nicholas/dp/1511541709/ Church of Scientology London Lewes Old Grammar School, Lewes Anne Frank Trust UK 's Annual Lunch at the Hilton Park Lane: with Lord Finkelstein whose mother was…
John Wood, Co-Producer, Peter Frampton and Mike Treen, Director John Wood, Peter Frampton, Dave Davies and Mike Treen Chris Kimsey, Peter Frampton, May Pang, Dave Davies and Rebecca Wilson John Wood, May Pang and Mike Treen John Wood, Chris Kimsey and Mike Treen John Wood, Co-Producer, and Mike Treen, Director Angelika Film Center Q&A Angelika Film Center Q&A: Peter Frampton Q&A: Mike Treen,…
The Session Man poster Barbican Cinema 1 Kylie Olsson, Host Q&A: Julian Dawson, Paddy Milner, Chris Kimsey, Mike Treen and Kylie Olsson John Wood, Co-Producer, and Mike Treen, Director Moira Hopkins and Graham Parker Doc'n Roll Festival booklet Don Powell and Alan O'Duffy The world premiere (the first-ever public screening) of The Session Man was on 26th October 2023 at The Barbican, London - part…
Valentine Palmer as Monia in the Doctor Who serial, Day of the Daleks On 10 January 2022, Valentine Palmer , best known for his role as Monia in the Dr Who serial, Day of the Daleks , passed away aged 86, after a short illness. Valentine studied music and singing at Guildhall School of Music in London and was awarded the King George VI Scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and…
My dearest mum - a real character, loved by all, always glamorous, and the kindest, warmest and most generous person you could ever wish to meet - passed away on 12 January 2022 aged 94. What a fantastic life she led and what a wonderful mother she was to me! I love her dearly and will always miss her - her warm heart, her smile, her kindness, her love, and most of all, her sense of fun ♥💔 See…
The 9-foot dead parrot and the 16-ton weight we had commissioned for our Monty Python-themed wedding , held at The Ravenswood on Python's 50th anniversary (5 Oct 2019), are being auctioned tomorrow by East Bristol Auctions . If you've always wanted an oversized dead parrot and to drop a 16-ton weight on people you don't like, now is your chance!…
You can read the article here: https://www.boredpanda.com/50-reasons-that-this-will-always-be-the-most-heavily-themed-monty-python-wedding-of-all-time/ Please give us an upvote and a comment! Many thanks 😁 More info: www.pythonesquewedding.co.uk UpTone Business News - http://uptone.blogspot.com
Leonard Berney 11th April 1920 - 7th March 2016 (photo: Hy Money) Adolphus Leonard Berney was born on 11th April 1920 at 169 Oxford Street, London. He was named after the filmstar Adolph Menjou who his mother found attractive. For some reason, Dad favoured his middle name over his first. ;-) This is the earliest photo I have of him, aged 3. A very intelligent boy, he was destined for Cambridge…
David Murray has done a sterling job in writing "Kenwood Memories: The Story of an Iconic Brand" published by The Spring Arts and Heritage Centre in Havant. It is a remarkable record of everything you've ever wanted to know about Kenwood, particularly if you or a family member ever worked for the company. I was asked to write the introduction for the book! Here is the press release about the…
Prof. Sean McNamara, Heather Gorniak, Eva Schloss MBE, Marta Miranda, John Wood. Photo credit: Steve Porter I was honoured to have been invited to an incredible evening at the Guildford School of Acting (GSA), part of the University of Surrey where I studied in the 1980s for my degree. Firstly, there was the screening of No Asylum: The Untold Chapter of Anne Frank's Story in the presence of the…
On 5th October 2019 at the beautiful Ravenswood wedding venue , I married my fellow Python-fan devotee love, Gemma, at our heavily themed Monty Python wedding. Throughout the building, around 150 Monty Python "exhibits" were on display including very silly posters, a fish tank full of fish with faces, a 16-ton weight hanging over everyone's head and a nine-foot dead parrot on the top table. They…
I was honoured to be invited back to Solihull School on Monday 23rd September 2019, the previous time being last January for the screening of No Asylum - the Untold Chapter of Anne Frank's Story in the presence of Holocaust survivor and Anne Frank's stepsister, Eva Schloss . This time it was for a performance of And Then They Came For Me by James Still (Moondog Productions), also in the presence…
I was so pleased to be invited to this very special event, hosted by Holocaust Educational Trust in honour of Holocaust survivor, Gena Turgel, who sadly passed away last year. My connection with her was via my late father, Belsen liberator, Leonard Berney. Gena was one of the thousands of prisoners at Bergen Belsen, and after liberation, my father was the Commander of the Belsen Camp for Displaced…
Found myself in Richmond, so I sallied forth to One Paved Court to re-enact the intro to Monty Python's Cheese Shop Sketch - you're forced to! Photos and video by Gemma Harris UpTone Business News - http://uptone.blogspot.com
First, there was our live interview on the BBC News Channel on 18th April 2019, the 40th anniversary of Monty Python's Life of Brian , during which they not only asked about the wedding (that will be held at the beautiful 15th century wedding venue, Ravenswood, in Sharpthorne, near East Grinstead), but they even played my proposal video. And then this, in The Sun (page 12, 20th May 2019):…
Holding our Limited Edition Packs Went to see the 40th-anniversary re-release (we-welease) of Monty Python's The Life Of Brian with Gemma and Hy Money at Scott Cinemas East Grinstead last night. We were all given a Limited Edition Pack filled with lots of silly things: a fake beard, a reprint of an article by Sanjeev Bhaskar about the film, an info sheet on the film which included origami…
Simon McCoy interviewing Gemma and me about Monty Python's "Life of Brain" What an honour, being asked to talk about Monty Python's "Life of Brian" on the BBC News Channel on the film's 40th anniversary yesterday (18th April 2019)! Our first time on live TV. A bit nerve-wracking! Simon McCoy said, "Just relax and imagine it's just us three having a chat." He was hoping we would somehow forget…
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I was honoured to be invited to this event, held on 21st January 2019 at Solihull School to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2019! It was all so moving and it really got across the message of the importance of Holocaust education, and that none of us can be bystanders in the face of racial, religious or gender hatred, prejudice or discrimination. It is vital that we learn from history and speak up…
What a blast it was! Here are my photos and video from the show: "Bum to Bum" live! https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=930lCzyjJ68 The set list For more photos and videos from the night, click here . Cat Casino - Lead Guitar Major Sam - Rhythm Guitar Jean Genus - Bass Dead Said Fred – Drums Hank von Hell Tour: DEC 16 Hank Von Hell - Melkweg Amsterdam Sun 6:30 PM UTC+01 · 356 guests…
The Mayor of Ealing, Cllr Tariq Mahmood, myself and Moira Hopkins officially unveiling the bench. (Photo by Becky Danese) The unveiling ceremony kicked off some time after 12 noon on Saturday 8th September 2018 with an enhanced clip of Bob Harris's 2012 BBC Radio 6 documentary " Diamonds, Tiaras: The Nicky Hopkins Story " that comprised 17 excerpts of some of Nicky's best-known work such as…