Had a fun weekend with the garden gang, including lovely Tommy who was 40 on Friday. He informed me that it was 32 years to the day, since I read his birthday card on SSVC television, (for the forces’ children based with their dads on military bases, living in Germany, Gibraltar, Cyprus and the Falklands), when he was… eight! What a memory that was! I did love that job. Did it for about 10 years, reading birthday cards out. It was not long after I did Children’s BBC, replacing Phillip Schofield in the broom cupboard, at the start of my TV career. Ahhh memories!! Including a very special one for Tommy, he tells me. And apparently his mum’s got the video – if I get a link I will show you!
DEVON DAYS
Had the biggest group I’ve ever had at my retreat last week. Rebecca Horsfall is the most popular of all of my tutors who come to do workshops for writers. And she had nine students last week. It was such a pleasure to have them all there. Four in the pub and six in the house plus me. Quite hard work but not as hard as it would’ve been had they not been such a great group. Five were returners, that says it all!
Here’s a selection of the pictures from the week including one of the most popular meals, tuna Nicoise, which was absolutely delicious; fitting everyone in the studio for the tutoring session; and an unusual trip – for me – across to the Halfmoon Inn on the other side of Sheepwash Square, with some of the gang who wanted to take me out for a drink one of the evenings! I’m usually so busy I can never go and prefer to spend my spare time seeing my friends for afternoon trips out!
Plus I had 3 such get-togethers with my mates including Barbara who came and helped me do a delicious dinner, Sheila who sat in the back garden with one of my guests on a really sunny day, and my lovely mate Jennie who treated me to a belated birthday trip to Park Café on the way to Torrington, and she bought Gerald the dog!
Am planning to see Sheena as well :-). Hard work but I do love my time in Devon, and my life there!
SNIPPETS
Family Foodies
My final birthday get together was brunch with my brothers and sister and mum, on Sunday. It was lovely to have a catch up. Shame I had to leave early because I had an extra hour at work due to illness. But it was smashing to have a good chat with them all! They bought me some neom – love it! The day before, on Saturday, we didn’t end up going to our Flint family reunion because two people had Covid so it’s been postponed; mum therefore took me to her favourite café again, and I took this photo. She looks very satisfied and she hadn’t even started it yet! Yes it’s liver and bacon and yes it went down a treat! Our favourite!
(By the way this week’s exclusive over on my newsletter which you would have had by now if you already subscribe, is a funny including my mum! Make sure you read the email if you haven’t already, to find out what she thought I should have written! )
Duck Family in the Water Garden
Meanwhile in Banstead, Mrs Duck has given life to 10 ducklings! Fingers crossed for them all. Over in Wales, my daughter now has a three-week-old chick called Rosie, who is about to get four new little siblings… We hope! They’re about to hatch! Exciting times for little Phoebe and even smaller Jasper, watching it all happen 🙂 bless them all.
Light up my Life
Check out this lovely picture, look at the reflection of the lamppost on my building. Beautiful! And watch the vlog to find out what I was listening to at about the same time in the village square in Sheepwash!
Watch – amongst other things, watch out for the new film from the Bookclub franchise, where they get to visit Rome, on now at the cinema (hoping to catch it at some point soon). Looks fab!
So meanwhile, how about this 🙂
Pal Fraser Anderson, one of my lovely Facebook mates, keeps posting nostalgic updates from my nightly kitchen karaoke singalongs which I did during the first lockdown; this week we reached day 51 on the 15th of May 2020. It featured part two of the Carpenters singalong, and included chat, messages, and a very funny story towards the end!
Click here to watch it and I don’t think you have to be on Facebook to see it 🙂
Watch 2: Clare Edmondson’s update on her baby! If you love watching updates from QVC guests on Instagram, guess what Clare was doing with her new baby! Lovely! Go and see it here.
Blooper – well it’s more of a funny, when I tried to make scones this week! Sheila helped me and accidentally added a bit too much milk. At which point I tried to get the mixture out of the bowl, in rubber gloves. And the rubber gloves just stuck… To everything! Finally the scones came out like biscuits, far too flat and dry! Oh well you can’t win them all! I did a wicked bread pudding this week so I’ll content myself with that! LOL I did make the ladies laugh though, Sheila and Barbara had tears in their eyes, watching me trying to get the gloves off without getting the mixture everywhere! #Memories are made of this.
Podcast
Go here to get the latest Inside QVC podcast from Will, and the current one if you haven’t listened yet :-). Don’t forget there’s a massive back list to catch up on, too!
This week will gowing speaks to the man behind the tan of some of Hollywood’s most famous people, Jimmy Coco, about his career, his range, and what’s coming to QVC.
Vlog – sounds of Sheepwash, May 2023! (See it here).
Awwwwww.
Book of the Week
OBVIOUSLY it has to be Jackie’s new book, ‘The Vanishing of Class 3B.’ Nothing to do with the fact that I was once in a class 3B at Morden farm middle school, Mrs Burgess‘s class! Jackie’s new novel is going great guns in the charts, she was recently on the stage at crime fest, and we are all terribly proud of her even if she is no doubt going to spend less time at QVC in the end (not now, don’t panic). Cleverly written as usual, and quite gripping. It was narrated well, also. Enjoyed it! When is the next one?! 🙂 LOL
QVC TOP DEALS FOR THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS
Friday (today) – go to qvcuk.com and search ‘today’s special value’ to see and buy what’s left of the super soft by cosy home textured stripe six-piece duvet set, super affordable and the closest to cotton that cosy home does.
Saturday – Dyson V 11 total clean with mini motorised tool and floor talk, currently online, check it out 🙂
Sunday – exciting – restore your radiance, four-piece collection from Liz Earle, again already online and it’s super affordable! Looking forward to doing both the 4 pm and 7 pm shows as well as a garden hour on Sunday at six.
Big deals ending Sunday night
Go to this section of our website each week to discover the current ones which often end on Sunday nights if there are any stocks left!
Big deals are available on air for usually a week, they may be longer online if stocks last. Occasionally they last a couple of weeks but there are new ones every Sunday night so come back again and see them on the link above.
Next week should include:
– In style – sleeveless pleated print midi dress with pockets by Nina Leonard at unbelievably low price for a dress!
– Beauty – Beekman 1802 assorted 6-piece facial wipes collection. I will be buying these, I like to keep them in my suitcase for when I’m travelling.
– Extra – a slip-on wedge sandal from Rieker
– Main – innovators round Ibiza hanging chair at a cool price
Now back to the today’s special values for the rest of the week –
Monday TSV – finery are here with an Alexa rap midi dress, very affordable
Tuesday – tart – the best of tart four-piece mascara collection, probably already online but features my favourite mascara ever – the tubing one in the lilac packaging – plus 3 more, working out at an incredibly low price, going on sale early. Buy them quickly because they are going to fly out!
Wednesday – time for a rechargeable extendable desk and floor fan from Bell and Howell, this stands a chance of being a really really fast seller, especially considering our recent hot weather!
Thursday – skin sense bring us collagen gummy’s in a three-month supply
Friday and exciting first today’s special value from relatively new brand Isabel London, but it’s not a dress which they are famous for, it’s a linen blend crop trouser, again super affordable! Lots of ways to beat the cost of living crisis this week on QVC!
Friday 9 pm – the Philip Kingsley coconut breeze super size three-piece collection, looking forward to this one! And I’ve also got a new ninja kitchen offer at 9 pm on Saturday, if you love desserts!
Next week – will I make it to Lorna Ko’s big 50th birthday party in Chiswick on Saturday night, with a Bridgerton theme!
Best wishes
Debs
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