The first official NMID 2010 was a resounding success - this year’s launch in Madrid included: a European premiere of Morgan Freeman’s Oscar-nominated film Invictus; launch of the volunteers website; a special performance by BB King at Teatro Circa Price; Adidas auction of FIFA World Cup artworks raising funds for 46664 and a 6.7 km charity ‘walk’ in Retiro Park. This special day was also marked by awareness-creating events in New York and London, as well as an untold number of people everywhere giving 67 minutes of their time to make the world a better place for all…

Flick and Emma were on hand to assist Wagner & Bond at the Veuve Clicquot polo this Sunday. The luxury bespoke diamond jewelers were exhibiting pieces from their latest collection, and visitors to the stylish event flocked to see the stunning display. Whether you want to reproduce a vintage design or create your own modern classic, Wagner & Bond will source you the finest non-conflict diamonds, providing you with a personal design service, you cannot find on the high-street. Wagner & Bond will next be exhibiting at Sir Terry Wogan’s tribute lunch, The Dorchester 5th November.…

Zoe came across this hidden treasure – www.creativeboom.co.uk – an online magazine and networking community for the creative industries. She put The PR Office forward for inclusion in the Directory but one thing led to another and the Editor asked for an interview! Zoe willingly obliged and apart from a dodgy comment about breakfast, the article is not too embarrassing. It can be seen here: http://www.creativeboom.co.uk/london/news/introducing-the-pr-office/…

On Monday Shimon and Aimee joined Mayor of Barnet, Anthony Finn and Mike Freer, MP for Finchley and Golders Green, together with local dignitaries and councillors at the official launch of TrainE-TraidE’s new 2010-11 prospectus. During the launch, Mr Freer spoke passionately about the important role that TrainE-TraidE carries out in helping businesses and individuals realise their full earning potential.

Last week, Aaron and Laura were present at an amazing event at Speakers House in the Houses of Parliament which paid tribute to the Holocaust Educational Trust’s exceptional Lessons from Auschwitz Project which has reached the milestone of taking its 10,000th participant on a one-day visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau. MPs from all political parties including former and current Government Ministers joined student participants and Holocaust Survivors for the event.

Aimee, Shimon and Aaron were out in Stamford Hill with the Chief Rabbi this week for the opening of the Lubavitch Children’s Centre. In addition to daily activities for children and their parents, the LLC will also provide: healthcare services; information and support advice; a modern nursery school; and is complemented by Vista Education and Training and the largest lending and information Library in the UK on site.

Emma from the Arts and Entertainment team dropped by the stylish Everyman Belsize Park this Wednesday, to welcome press and guests to an exhibition and screening of SATC2. Inspired by the film, the London College of Fashion’s photo gallery transformed the cinema into a lavish setting worthy of Manhattan’s most infamous fashionistas. The vibrant evening kicked off a season of exciting releases and diverse cultural events hosted by the Everyman Cinemas.

Yesterday evening in Madrid, BB King performed at an exclusive concert in honour of Nelson Mandela. Shimon was in Spain to oversee the PR, where he greeted the South African Ambassador to Spain and ten other Ambassadors from other African countries who also attended the performance. The evening was an enormous success, sensationally launching the many musical activities that are taking place in the build-up to Mandela Day Madrid 2010

The PR Offices entertainment, corporate and voluntary teams joined forces last week to work the red carpet for the Reuben Foundation and Virgin Unites Haiti fundraiser event. Welcoming guests including the Reuben family, Holly and Sam Branson, Princess Beatrice and boyfriend Dave Clark, the Goldsmith family, Carol Vorderman, Petra Ecclestone and Estelle, they helped to coordinate the evening with Quintessentially Events. Over £300k was raised for frontline charities working to rebuild Haiti.

The PR Office is now officially one of the top 100 public relations agencies in the UK, as ranked by PR Week. Our Chairman Shimon Cohen said:  “This is a terrific achievement and the whole team is very, very proud”. To see our ranking and our profile, please click here: http://toppragencies.prweek.co.uk/PR-Office.aspx

Laura and Nikki took a break from the elections on Tuesday night by joining Boris Johnson for the evening. As the new Prime Minister walked into Downing Street with Nick Clegg, the London Mayor addressed a 350 strong audience at a WIZO dinner and provided a humorous insight into the state of British politics. He also expressed his admiration for Israel and their avocados but quipped Britain could do without their system of proportional representation and coalition government!

Laura got on her bike for Nightingale last week as she cycled from London to Brighton raising money for Europes largest care home, based in Clapham. Defying last weekends torrential downpour, the fleet of 38 cyclists left South London at 8am to be greeted eight hours later with a celebratory tea in Hove. Altogether, the cyclists raised over £10,000 for the home.

The Corporate & Professional Services Team are delighted that their combined efforts throughout a rigorous pitch process have resulted in The PR Office being appointed by DLA Piper - one of the largest law firms in the world - to handle two of the Firm’s seven EMEA practices: real estate and intellectual property and technology (IPT). A very proud moment for all involved.

A huge welcome to James Harrison who joins us as Head of Technology and Digital Comms. James was the founder and managing director of Harrison Moscow Communications before it merged with Digitalis Media in 2009. Previously the Director of Client Services at Digitalis Media, his wealth of experience includes working with clients such as Intel and Microsoft. James will develop our expertise in technology and social media and will work with the corporate team, managing telecom and software accounts

This week, Keelan went to France to direct a photo shoot for Arik Air’s (http://www.arikair.com) new airplane, which will be rotated onto the Lagos-Johannesburg route. The objective was to capture Business and Economy class products to develop marketing material for a South African audience. After a plane to Paris, a long taxi ride to Austerlitz train station and a two-hour journey to Chateauroux, Keelan arrived at Airbus’ isolated facility in Northern France, surrounded by planes and rapeseed plants.

Flick has been out and about with award winning sketch group, Pappy’s, who popped in to Absolute Radio for a chat with Frank Skinner on Saturday morning and secured their place as “friends” of Shaun Keaveny’s 6Music Breakfast Show on Tuesday. The Arts and Ents team will all be grabbing their last chance to see Pappy’s critically acclaimed show ‘World Record Attempt: 200 Sketches in an hour’ at The Bloomsbury Theatre on Friday 30th April. Pappy’s will be returning to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August with a brand new show.

Flick and Katie from the Arts and Entertainment Team went to see Katy Brand perform her ‘Big Ass Show’ at the Arts Depot on Friday night. From Lady Gaga to Super-Nanny, Katy delighted audiences with an evening of anarchic comedy; previewing some of her most infamous celebrity spoofs as well as a host of hilarious new characters and musical parodies. The British Comedy Award winner embarked upon her first ever UK tour in Brighton this Sunday and will be performing nationwide until 19th June.

Keelan and Penny undertook a UK corporate travel agent familiarisation trip to Lagos in March, highlighting the impressive service offered by Nigeria’s largest commercial airline, Arik Air. A flying-visit (no pun intended) they were in Nigeria for less than 24 hours, but were able to get some rest in the comfort of Arik’s business class  - ‘super flat’ beds equipped with 17 inch monitors and a new generation in-built massage system as well as a bar lounge, sofas...it’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it.

On 1st April 2010 Team Ents announced that Soo had joined the line-up of newly rebrand girl group the Soogababes! Soogababes projections appeared across the capital, Soo’s audition video went down a storm on youtube, Sooty and Sweep dropped in to see radio breakfast teams and even got papped with DCI Gene Hunt outside Radio 1. Extensive online, broadcast and print coverage was achieved making it a very successful April Fools Day.

Last week’s announcement that Euston has been selected as the London terminus for High Speed 2 was welcomed by our client Sydney & London Properties who act as Project Manager for the Euston Estate - the only landowner other than Network Rail on the Euston Station site. Aaron and Shimon have worked with Sydney & London Properties for several years on the redevelopment of Euston and it is hoped this decision will ensure that the planning for a new station will now begin in earnest.

The PR Office’s Public Affairs & Consultation team were delighted to be involved in a short campaign last week to save a historic school site in Hackney being redeveloped for luxury homes. Aaron was at Hackney Town Hall for the Council’s planning sub-committee meeting which over-turned Officer recommendations to reject the plans in a 5-4 vote on the grounds that the site should remain for educational purposes. At the same time, Aimee was securing some excellent media coverage on the decision.

For two years, our voluntary team has supported the Holocaust Educational Trust in raising the profile of British men and women who undertook exceptional acts of bravery in order to aid or rescue people during the Holocaust. These brave individuals had never been formally recognised in Britain, and the team has worked hard to publicise their courageous endeavours in the press. They were delighted last week when the Government introduced a new award to honour these extraordinary people.

Lucy joined over 180 students from across Wales last week on a one day visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau as part of the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz project.  Lucy was accompanying journalists from the South Wales Evening Post, the Western Mail, the South Wales Echo and the Carmarthen Journal, as well as ITV Wales, who were filming for Wales Tonight.  Although it was a long, tiring and cold day, the emotional impact that the trip had on the students was clear for all to see.

Sandy’s Row, London’s oldest Ashkenazi synagogue, was a perfect venue for Mayoral Advisor on Arts and Culture, Munira Mirza to officially launch the first-ever Open Jewish Culture project. Shahnaz and Katie coordinated the event which was attended by press and many of London’s Jewish cultural providers. The launch was followed by Eprhyme, a cutting-edge New York Jewish hip-hop rapper who received an extraordinary reception from crowds at the historic synagogue.

Last week Shimon and Aimee attended a tour organised by Lubavitch to show Lady Jakobovits around Chabad Lubavitch’s new children’s centre in Stamford Hill.  At the end of the tour Lady Jakobovits took time to join in the celebrations with pupils from Lubavitch Girls Primary School as they learnt about nations around the world at a Geography Fair.

Laura was at the centre of the latest care for the elderly debate last week. As political parties mapped out their plans for elderly care in Britain, film crews descended upon Nightingale care home in South London (the largest care home in the UK) to interview the Head of Clinical services and speak to residents about the Government’s latest revelations. You can view Laura and Nightingale in action by going to ITV and Channel 4 News and following the care debate.

Shimon and Zoe joined Camilla Baldwin Solicitors (www.camillabaldwin.com) this week for the first in a series of networking events at their stunning Mayfair offices. The boutique firm was established to advise on all aspects of family and matrimonial law. Zoe mingled happily, a well deserved white wine in hand, having kept Camilla busy with an FT interview the previous day. The PR Office has focused on enhancing Camilla’s reputation with potential High Net Worth clients and key referrers.

The PR Office were out in force at the TrainE-TraidE Jewish Business Awards this week. Shimon introduced guest speaker Mick Davis, CEO of Xstrata, who spoke to over 350 guests. Jo and Aaron exhausted their business card supply as they mingled and networked, and Aimee and Rafi were delighted to see the event run so smoothly as they coordinated press photos and journalists. The culmination of months of hard work ended with the announcement of the business awards winners – congratulations to all!

As the official sponsor of South Manx A, the newly promoted team to the JC Maccabi Southern Football League, The PR Office was delighted to see the team’s terrific result in the Cyril Anekstein Cup winning 4-0 against Woodford Wanderers at their home pitch in Borehamwood. Currently sitting in eighth position, The PR Office have big hopes for South Manx A this year and feel that the squad has the strength and depth to carry on the great results from their impressive pre season campaign.

Keelan and Penny had a whistle-stop trip to New York this week with Arik Air, Nigeria’s largest commercial airline. Arik launched direct flights from Lagos to New York -  its first transatlantic route - on 30 November 2009, providing the only direct flight available between the two cities. This major milestone for the airline has provided many exciting opportunities for promotional activity in the US and Keelan and Penny are working hard to ensure that they are well-utilised.

The PR Office joined nearly 200 guests at Bank Hapoalim International’s reception last week, to welcome the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr Yair Seroussi, to London for the first time since his appointment. Aaron and Alys, who were planning the event, were very pleased to report that it was a great success! The reception, which was held at the Mayfair Hotel, was also attended by Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Mr Ron Prossor.

Shimon, Aimee and Rafi had a great time at the Side-by-Side dinner on 9th Feb helping the special needs school based in Stamford Hill raise hundreds of thousands of pounds. Shimon presented guest speaker, Mayor of London Boris Johnson, with a ceremonial wine cup. Aimee and Rafi had the challenging but rewarding task of taking photos of the over 750 guests in attendance at the Park Lane Hilton event. The highlight was seeing Boris off on his bicycle with the silver cup stashed in his backpack!

The PR Office were back in Madrid this week for the announcement of Nelson Mandela Day Madrid 2010. A press conference was held at the Circulo de Bellas Artes which was attended by Tim Massey, International Director of 46664, H.E. Vusi Bruce Koloane, the South African Ambassador to Spain and Mayor Pablo Rodriguez Sardinero representing the Comunidad de Madrid. Some 50 journalists, dozens of photographers and lots of TV crews attended and enormous coverage was delivered.

The UK Jewish Film Festival celebrates its 13th year in November, marking this ‘coming of age’ with special Bar-Mitzvah themed events leading up to the West End Gala and the festival. Gang warfare, sumo wrestlers, forbidden love, anti-Semitism vs. anti-Zionism, friendship though food, award winning documentaries, unique war footage, world class feature films exploring memories of the Holocaust, relationships across the Jewish/Muslim divide and the solidarity of female friendship are just some of the themes that make up the UKJFF 2009’s fantastically diverse line-up of films…

Tim Minchin is to appear on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on 23rd October to talk about his smash hit UK tour, his performances at the Hammersmith Apollo on 23-25 October and the release of his special edition DVD – So F**king Rock, Live.

King of the one-liner and star of BBC1 ‘Not Going Out’ Tim Vine is to embark on a UK tour in 2010, with a brand new show – the Joke-a-motive, with support from John Archer. “No one else will give you as many gags for your money.  Vine is superb, as clever as anything being done today” (The Guardian).

Celebrated UK actor John Hurt CBE, in conversation with award winning news presenter Angela Rippon OBE, brought home the reality of a future without Holocaust Survivors at the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET) appeal dinner held at RIBA. Speaking to a packed audience they hailed the tremendous courage demonstrated by Holocaust Survivors, and called on the next generation to take up the mantle of their legacy in the future. The 300 guests at the dinner included The Rt Hon Ed Balls MP, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, as well as actor and HET Trustee Sir Antony Sher.

For once it was Israel’s environmental stability rather than political stability which was on the agenda at a breakfast briefing last Friday morning with the Technion’s geotechnical expert Sam Frydman. The stability of the Temple Mount Area, the emergence of sinkholes in the Dead Sea area and the threat of earthquakes in the region left guests captivated at the event which was hosted by Bank Hapoalim International at their offices in London.

More than 1,150 guests attended Jewish Care’s Fundraising Dinner 2009 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, with special guest performer James Morrison.  A record £3.6m was raised on the night. Guest speaker David Cameron, MP, delivered a moving speech, drawing on his own experiences and warmly praising Jewish Care’s services that he had previously visited.

Leading Jewish non-profit training and business incubator, TrainE-TraidE, have announced a Summer Placement Scheme to match those seeking unpaid work opportunities with opportunities within the business world. The scheme is designed to offer placements within a wide range of industries so that prospective candidates at all stages of their working life – students, graduates, returning mothers and those looking to make career changes - should find something engaging.