Devon Belles & Birthday Bash 2!

I’m not back at QVC until 18th May, as I took some time off to go to Center Parcs next week, and Devon this week. Had some of my favourite people over, including, left to right in the photo above – Caitlin, Barbara, Wendy, and Holsworthy Sheila. Jennie was running late so I caught her another time, and I also met up with Sheena for a lovely lunch as usual in Hatherleigh on Tuesday, as well as seeing Alix in Belstone separately (see below, Vlog!) We had some birthday cake, a nice pot of tea outside in the courtyard, it was almost warm enough but we ended up or wrapping up in big blankets and… slankets! Lovely Barbara was well impressed!

She said it’s her favourite colour and it kept her very warm.

I did promise myself a big celebration this year, and although it’s not going to be the long-awaited round the world cruise just yet a while, there are several more celebrations still to come! By the time you read this , I will be in Center Parcs at Longleat with my two kids and their children and partners, with all the family joining us in the latter half of the week. I will report back in detail next week, I promise.

Meanwhile, here is my lovely son with his two kids— Kaleb beams his head off when his dad Brad comes in the door at the end of the day‘s work, and won’t let him go – he keeps saying dada dada da! And Blake wanted to get in on the act as well! I love it when my children send me little videos, it makes my day!

Snippets

‘Drifters – My Girl’ at the theatre

Well we nearly didn’t make it actually – I ordered what I thought was tickets for the end of May, and it turned out I’d ordered the end of April instead! Happily mum, sister, Alison and theatre buddy Sara, all came with me to watch one of the best musicals I’ve seen in a long while, I would be hard pushed to say which was better out of that and ‘Come From Away’ which I saw last week. Just five actors play all of the roles including every single one of the singers who came and went from The Drifters over at least three decades whilst it was managed by Faye Treadwell, A woman ahead of her time. Some of the performances were outstanding, particularly one of the guys who made me laugh so much I’d go again tomorrow to see this for a second time! Highly, highly recommended.

Flashback Friday

How much fun did we have back in the day! Mum and I have been going through old photographs, trying to make copies of them and was some of hers date back to the early 1920s, ones she inherited from Nan – some of these take me back as well! This was when we all went to Pontins in Morecambe, in around 1981. My lovely little brother Glenn was only about six, bless him. I was 19 and my mum was just 38! So nice to look back at those times!

Debbie’s Dinners

Latest Devon retreat went well this week, every single person had been before! A lovely group headed up by super tutor Alison May, one of my regulars, and a fabulous Group of fascinating authors, who were very appreciative of the meals I cooked. Did the chicken roast, a stir fry, a variation on my trademark dish – the one with massaged tahini kale – (I did it with some chilli con carne and rice!) – and traditional sausage and mash! loved having them around and I really enjoyed the week’s activities in Devon. Including what I did above and watch out for the Vlog below!

Watch

Couple of big ones for you this week! Firstly, went to see ‘Downton Abbey’ at the cinema, and the new film is superb. Really nice to see it in a different setting, as the Crawley family go on an adventure abroad, I won’t spoil the ending but if you’ve seen the trailers you will know that it is quite a pivotal moment. I went with Caitlin who has not seen any Downton Abbey, which was interesting! She loved it too though. 8.5 out of 10 🙂

Secondly, I’m loving the British remake of ‘Call My Agent’, on Amazon Prime – it’s called ‘Ten Per Cent’ and features some celebrities appearing as themselves – which is weird, but enjoyable: Helena Bonham Carter for instance; did you know Donna who is our ‘Women With Control’ guest, is a celebrity PA and looks after people like her, as you will know from her social media. Anyway, there are some great characters, a really compelling set up, and it reminds me a bit of ‘The Office’ crossed with something written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge who also gets a mention. Well worth a watch!

Finally, my daughter and son-in-law, Lauren and Nick, were also on the telly this week – they were the inspiration for one of the couples on BBC2’s ‘My Unique B&B’, who wanted to build a holiday let out of an old submarine. They explained why bees were the inspiration for ‘The Hiveaway’ in Wales…see, I’m not the only one that likes them! Watch it on catch up. And go here to see my whole collection of the bee jewellery currently on QVC.

Podcast

Last week Will talked to our very own Catherine Huntley about her early years, life and work before QVC and the importance of home. Next week he’ll be chatting to gardening expert, Michael Perry, aka Mr Plant Geek about sustainability, the latest trends, growing your own food and creative tips for summer garden parties. You can listen to all the podcasts here.

Vlog

Look at this gorgeous sight which met my eyes when I saw my friend who lives just inside Dartmoor National Park!!

Book

Currently revisiting ‘Take a Chance On Me’ in the run-up to my big retreat holiday, in the summer. By the way, that’s when Jackie Kabler’s latest novel will be out – take a look at some of her social media where she is counting down the moment till it’s released! And in the meantime, I will move onto Joanna Cannon’s next novel, ‘A Tidy Ending’ – a creepy mystery with a twist- more about that next week!

QVC top deals for the next seven days

Friday (today) – go here to see and buy what’s left of the super Julien Macdonald military style twill jacket, from his JM Fashion range. Grab it while you can!

Saturday – Time for a new mattress? It’s time for the Silentnight Miracoil zonal mattress to transform your night’s sleep.

Sunday – Already online, go here to see and buy the L’Occitane four-piece complete Shea Body collection, really well priced – I bet lots of people will be stocking up.

In fact the whole weekend is all about transforming your garden on Saturday and inspiration for home living on Sunday. Lots of special shows, don’t miss it.

Big deals are available on air for usually a week, they may be longer online if stocks last. New ones every Sunday night!

Adesso leather cross wedge sandal
Gatineau 90 Years Young Tan & Glow collection
Shoon Elan metallic stripe trainer
Elemis three-piece Dynamic Resurface & Reset Night Routine
Phase Eight Margo Longline Linen Blouse
Amanda Harrington 3- Step Tanning Method Face Set
Supersoft by Cozee Home Seersucker 3 Piece Duvet Set
Bell & Howell Set of 4 Glass Mosaic Design Solar Disk Lights

Go here to see and shop them all

And here are the new Big Deals launching on Sunday 8th at midnight:

Radley London Cecil Road Large Phone Crossbody
Skinsense 3 Piece Night Routine
Denim & Co Beach Wrap Front Swim Dress
JPE Fitover Juliette Sunglasses

Now back to the Today’s Special Values for the rest of the week:

Monday – we kick-off the week with a super multipurpose root slayer garden tool from Radius

Tuesday – Just right for warmer weather, Skechers are back with the Go Walk 600 slide sandals

Wednesday – Lee Hohbein, our wonderful king of tech, returns with another Amazon deal – this time it’s the Echo Show 8 second-generation HD smart display and a TP Link smart plug and bulb, I cannot believe the price of this one! I will be watching it from afar and possibly buying!

Thursday – Carole Hochman is back with a tropical blooms dress

Friday – And it’s a big beauty deal with Simply Beauty’s 2 in 1 smooth face and brows hair remover.

Friday 9pm – Bell & Howell bring us the 21 lumen solar stake lights in a set of four.

Next week – The big day is finally here and I am 60 on the 10th, I will bring you all the news of the week in Center Parcs with my lovely children and their babies! And my family! Looking forward to it big time as my annual leave continues with two weeks off to celebrate.

(not back till the 17th I think!)

Have a great week!

Best wishes

Debs

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