Farewells, family time and Food Fest

It’s been a few weeks since my last blog as I took some time off to enjoy this lovely weather we’ve been having. Best laid plans etc. as it was either overcast or raining for much of it – but a pleasant break none the less. 🙂

I was pleased that I was around on the day to say farewell to lovely Claire Sutton. We worked together for twenty-two years and she was genuinely one of the nicest people to work with and her infectious smile will be greatly missed by us all. The above photo was taken a couple of years ago at a “long service” celebration hosted by QVC – I’m sure you’ll join me in wishing Claire all the very best for the future.

I hope like me, you’ve managed at last to catch up with friends and family. It was my mum’s birthday last week and we left an overcast sky in Surrey only to be delighted to arrive in Sussex to blue skies and sunshine. Being able to sit and socialise in the garden made it so much easier for mum, who had many lovely friends turning up throughout the day with delicious homemade cakes, chocolates and flowers – she was truly spoilt, and it would have been rude of us not to help her out with her gifts…😋😋

We also got to see my youngest brother Adam and his wife to catch up on their family news, which was great as we hadn’t seen each other for a while. We celebrated not just my mum’s, but Ellie’s birthday too that week, and my daughter Ali made her a special doggie biscuit card! 😀

During my time off, surprise, surprise, there’s been lots of dog walking, a few barbecues and plenty of relaxing in the garden. With no holidays planned for this year, I have to say it’s been really nice to appreciate our local natural surroundings.

Regular readers will know I love my wildlife photography and I was so excited to grab a shot of this rare and beautiful male sand lizard on local heathland – they’re pretty scarce in the UK, so I was chuffed to bits to catch him basking. The vivid green of the males is quite striking but at the same time well camouflaged from predators amongst the moss and heather.

As well as wildlife, I love my sports and was therefore delighted to see football and cricket return to our screens, even with canned crowd noise – I’ve really missed my sport.

Talking of screens leads me nicely onto Saturday’s Today’s Special Value (TSV), the LG 4K Ultra High Definition Smart TV with a choice of screen sizes and the added bonus of being able to get it in four interest-free instalments! If you’re considering an upgrade, whether replacing an ageing set with the latest smart technology or wanting to get a larger screen to enjoy the wealth of offerings from TV and the internet, I hope you can find time to tune in at 11am straight after Michael Perry’s Garden for a full presentation with myself and telly expert James Murden.

On Sunday our focus is on Beauty Day, which will be featuring an amazing four-piece Botanically Powered Skincare Collection TSV from Liz Earle. Throughout the day we’ll bring you a selection of many of your favourite brands including Molton Brown, SBC, Benefit, Laura Geller, Percy and Reed and Nails Inc. A great opportunity to treat yourself and/or think of gifts for upcoming birthdays too, remember we can send them onto UK addresses for you.

I’ll be popping in later at 9pm to preview Monday’s stylish Honor Dayna Orthotic Loafer TSV from Vionic with guest Keith Maynard. Available in four colours with snake details in Black, Navy, Wheat (tan brown) and Grey.

I’m delighted to tell you that Andi Peters and I will be back for a two hour special edition of Andi Peters’ Food Fest at the earlier time of 11am on Friday 24th… more on that to follow.

So until next time… stay entertained and well!

Dale x

11 Responses

  1. Lovely to hear from you Dale,glad you got to catch up and enjoy seeing your mum,it’s been difficult hassle it. Yes I will miss Claire Sutton she was a joy to watch and I hope all goes well for her and her family. Would you consider doing a podcast with Will Gowing, I am sure you have some interesting stories to tell! Take care Debbie X

  2. Hi Dale

    What lovely pictures I was sad to see Claire go she was so vibrant. Glad you could catch up with family its been an odd year. Ellie seems to know its something to celebrate a beautiful dog.

    As you will know from previous reply’s I have left I just love you and Andi together in the Food Fests I normally have a tipple while watching but don’t think I could justify it at 11am but will tune in as always.

    Take care May

  3. Sad to see Claire going. Hope she is well and her family. Can not wait till I see you and Andi back on the screen together. I hope you and your family are well. Kim x

  4. Hi Dale
    Glad you got to see your mum and family
    Doesn’t it make you realise what your priorities are with this covid 19 going on
    I know I see things so differently now myself
    Lovely pics I’ve found myself doing loads more walking too.
    Can’t wait for your next food fest with Andi it will be Christmas in July too yay!!!
    Love to you all
    Rose xx

    1. Thanks Rose – we really enjoyed presenting the show and I thought our Kitchen food prep team were outstanding ! Dale x

  5. Hi dale enjoyed your show with andy maybe one day qvc will give him afull time job at being apresenter
    hope your kids are getting on alright at university.hope you dont mind me asking.

  6. Hi dale iam not back to monday 10th august 1 weeks to go not lookig forward to going back to the new normal at mcdonalds where i work at preffered the old way of working

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