TheDailyMail.co.uk – 12th November, 2014

Tom Washington, Olivia Grant, Joan Washington and Richard E. Grant.

Richard and family were among the guests as Prince Harry visited a special photo exhibition of wounded service personnel by singer Bryan Adams.

The exhibition shows young wounded servicemen and women from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. All of those pictured at the exhibition at London’s Somerset House tonight had suffered life-changing injuries on military duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Harry, an army captain in the Blues and Royals, laughed as he chatted easily with many of the wounded soldiers who took part as he was shown round the individual portraits by each subject.

For more, go to The Daily Mail website.

11th November, 2014

REG fan Lisa, along with her friend Helen, spotted our intrepid inventor of Jack perfume manning a booth at The Spirit Of Christmas Fair, held at Olympia (in London). Lisa managed to get a pic of them both. From her blog, Lisa writes:

“He was lovely enough to give us a sample and pose for a photo with me with all the gentlemanly grace you’d expect from him. I have to say I was a little star struck; Withnail and I is one of Ben and my favourite films. I walked away a little shaky and grinning like a Cheshire Cat.”

You can read more of Lisa’s writing at her blog – https://mrssavageangel.wordpress.com

I’ve also added some more pics of REG & the Fair below

With Rupert Everett

and John Hannah

Daughter Olivia

Olivia & Charles

The Gang

ScenicTours.tv – 29th October, 2014

REG as he appears in Downton Abbey – which
has absolutely nothing to do with Australia.

Richard lends his voice to a new Scenic Tours advertisement promoting Australia which will be doing the rounds shortly (if it isn’t already).

Richard has visited Australia on several occasions, including a production in Sydney of “My Fair Lady” (in which REG sings) which ran to 80 performances, the filming of “Hildegard” in Brisbane a decade and a half ago and, more recently, the 2011 filming of the “Kath & Kimderella” movie in Melbourne.

To see the ad, just click on the video below.

ABS CBN News – 22nd October, 2014

Downton Abbey actor voices Noli Me Tangere audiobook

British actor Richard E Grant was tasked to narrate the Jose Rizal novel in a new audiobook, using a popular English translation from 1961 by Leon Maria Guerrero III, a former ambassador of the Philippines in the United Kingdom.

By Patrick Camara Ropeta, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau

LONDON – International star of stage and screen Richard E. Grant was at the Philippine Embassy in London to launch an English language audiobook of classic Filipino novel, “Noli Me Tangere”.

The British actor, who currently stars in hit television series Downton Abbey, was tasked to narrate the Jose Rizal novel in a new audiobook, using a popular English translation from 1961 by Leon Maria Guerrero III, a former ambassador of the Philippines in the United Kingdom.

“I enjoyed reading the book enormously,” Grant told ABS-CBN Europe.

He explained: “I was so struck by the fact that it combined so many genres of being an absolute page turning thriller, in a sense, as well as history of the most incredible colonial social injustice. And then it’s livened by incredible humor, high comedy and satire.”

It was the first time Grant read Noli Me Tangere, and by doing so discovered a part of Philippine history that many say defined the nation through the words written by Rizal.

“The happy ending is that the country has been liberated from colonialism, so that is the great triumph of history. So everything that this young man hoped for and presaged has come true,” he said.

The Noli Me Tangere Audiobook

The new audiobook, also complimented by an e-book of the same title, could take Rizal’s ideas even further by introducing the text to a wider audience from a multimedia-savvy digital generation.

“It’s time for a new way of telling a story through mobile, through web, ebooks, audiobooks, so there should be no barrier to people reading the book or reading the story at least,” said David Guerrero, head of Guerrero Publishing.

He added: “This is the book that sparked off the revolution against the Spanish. It’s also the book that brought the idea of the Filipino nation together, and the other thing is that the characters that he wrote about in satire, many of those people still seem to be with us today.”

The audiobook was officially launched at the Philippine Embassy in London, attended by Grant and the publishers with guests including diplomats, members of the press, and British Filipinos.

“We chose London to launch the audiobook because we’re seeking an international audience. We want people everywhere in the world to get to know more about Jose Rizal, the importance of Noli, and that’s why we chose to have the event in London and use an English actor,” Guerrero added.

The challenge was taken on by Grant, and with his extensive media catalogue including Gosford Park, Dracula, and The Iron Lady, his assured delivery of the story may just draw in new audiences to the material.

The launch coincides with Philippine-British Friendship Week, and to mark the occasion, Guerrero Publishing is giving away copies of Noli Me Tangere in English, available for free on iTunes only this week.

The audiobook, Noli Me Tangere read by Richard E. Grant, is out now.

Liberty – October, 2014

After revelling in the 2-year long production of his premiere fragrance JACK earlier this year, Richard E. Grant has created a candle that envelops the signature scent. A unisex fragrance, JACK features a delightfully earthy musk with a citrus aroma that will fill your home with a seductive, hypnotic scent.

To mark the arrival of his new fragrance for the home, the distinguished actor, author, director, and curator will be in-store on Thursday 16 October between 5.30pm – 7pm to launch his new candle.

“Due to its successful exclusive launch at Liberty in April, Ed Burstall, Liberty’s Managing Director suggested I make a JACK candle.”

The new JACK candle is available to buy in-store and online now.