Puppy love: when Maggie met Debbie

Well, having spent two days – the hottest days of the year – hulking all my clothes, boxes and bags back to my brother’s, I finally moved out of the little house I was in during lockdown. Sheila, my friend Gill’s mum, was well enough to return, and she was delighted with what I had done to her garden! This was my goodbye lunch with Gill in the back garden.

So, I went home to help dog-sit Ziggy the dog for the month, before I move into my own new flat next door to mum in Banstead. He was obviously very pleased to see me. Then he went off on his own little doggy holiday, a staycation with friends, for a couple of weeks. So, I took the opportunity to go and meet my niece’s puppy.

Stephanie, my sister’s girl, has always been known as Maggie May, so she has nicknamed her little pup Maggie Miles. Little Maggie the dog is a King Charles spaniel and only 9-weeks-old. She is very good, very soft, and very licky!

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“No, don’t get another dog,” I hear you cry, if you are anything like the rest of my family. But, I have had 20 years of being the only one who has a dog, and now most of my family do! Ironic. But that’s fine by me, because they can send them to me for their own little staycation at some stage. But for now, I’m dog-free as Daisy is still loving her time in Kent with other brother Derek. It was lovely to have a snuggle with little Maggie though and it won’t be the last. 🙂

Snippets
Carla-fantastic

It was a wonderful show with our fab fashionista Carla Laszlo the other, day and she looks fantastic in this Nina Leonard dress, so I thought I would feature it! It’s a faux wrap at the top, but not at the bottom, so very comfy for the ‘don’t know whether I’m dressing up or not’ events this summer. Come here to see all of the Nina Leonard dresses in our collection, I favour the trapeze ones in particular! And watch out for the big fashion event next weekend.

Sister mugs

Earlier in the year, on roughly the same weekend, my sister and I both took delivery of mugs we had ordered from the internet, both for each other and both personalised to show her and me! We did not know each other had done it! Last week she gave me not only that one, but also one she had had made, which featured all three of my labradors, who have gone over the rainbow bridge. Holly and Patch, both black, and Gracie, chocolate, and a little bit plump! I was over the moon, heart-touching. What a lovely sister I have. By the way, in the background you can see the water tower that is part of the Grade Two listed building that was once the hospital, in the complex of flats both sister, mum, niece Becky and soon, I, live!

Watch

Since Chernobyl gets a re-run after winning BAFTAs, a recommendation for this one and it’s definitely on my list, but I haven’t seen it yet. However, there is one on BBC catch-up called Harlots, which got a lot of attention in the press as it launched on Wednesday. It’s a saucy tale of London’s booming sex industry, based in part on Harris’s list of Covent Garden’s ladies, a real annual guidebook published in the late 1700s. Very politically incorrect – obviously! But filled with humour, bitterly sad stories, revenge, pain and what it was like trying to survive as a prostitute in 1763 in Georgian England at every level of society. One high-class, one down-market. A genius premise.What makes it so good is it’s all about the relationships, the very core of what makes a good story. Looking forward to catching it myself.

Blooper

Did you catch this special guest on set with Jackie?

We weren’t expecting that….. Are you as brave as @jackiekabler? #spiderwoman > https://t.co/mpeSKHRbIp pic.twitter.com/6wC4VNXfmL

— QVC UK (@qvcuk) July 27, 2020

Podcast

Really looking forward to this one, it is Margaret Dabbs’ turn for the Will Gowing podcast treatment. I know she has had an amazing journey and is a clever entrepreneur, so I can’t wait to hear some of her funny stories behind the scenes! Go here to see it, and all of Will’s Inside QVC podcasts.

Vlog of the week

Obviously check out the regular weekly #ThursdayBantz, with the live Facebook sing-song, reviews and catch up banter. But I thought I’d link you to this one: just look at the most beautiful gardens in the place I hope to be living by the end of August. Fingers crossed. (Don’t forget to follow my social media – down below – for updates in between these weekly QVC blogs!)

Book of the Week

The Last Charm by Ella Albright – out 21st August. Always nice to see the finished product of one of our guests’ visits to the retreat in Devon, and Nikki Moore, a.k.a. Ella, has been a couple of times. The book launches pretty soon and you can pre-order it now, paperback due out in November. It’s had some lovely write-ups and sounds fabulous, if you like, for instance, “Me Before You’.

When Leila Jones loses her precious charm bracelet and a stranger finds it, she has to tell the story of how she got the charms to prove she’s the owner. Each and every one is a precious memory of her life with Jake. So Leila starts at the beginning, recounting the charms and experiences that have led her to the present. A present she never could have expected when she met Jake nearly twenty years ago… Time for a nice love story in a novel for the summer? Maybe try this one 🙂

QVC top deals for the next seven days

Friday (today) – go here to see and buy (if there are any left!) the set of four anti-bluelight reading glasses, with Gill Gauntlett explaining why they are so good. We used to have some called Blu-Blockers, do you remember, years ago? I loved them. Very good on the eyes.

Saturday – the big one from Gatineau launches tonight at 9pm, please don’t miss it! If you want to get the appearance of more toned and more lifted skin, this DefiLift set is incredible value. It includes my favourite throat gel, and a new radiance product as well as a body oil that costs 60 odd pounds on its own 🙂 a really good time to stock up!

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Sunday – time to watch Tommy in the garden again, with a new home and garden pressure washer from great brand Greenworks. My mower is from them and they are fantastic.

Also the Big Deals end every Sunday night, here are the current ones…

Sensica Sensilift Mini anti-ageing firming device with serum
LA Tweeze three-piece Pro Collection
Nokia 6.2 Android
Prime Fifty Total Health Gut and Immunity, Omega 3 and Multi Vitamins

Go here to see and shop them all

And here are the new big deals launching on Sunday 9th at midnight and lasting only one week:

Liz Earle British Beauty Icons collection
Ninja Dual Zone Airfryer
VibroSlim Radial Plus 3D firness vibration plate

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

Monday – Margaret Dabbs is back with her supersize three-piece Hands, Legs and Feet collection, just ready for the summer!

Tuesday – Frank Usher return with a pack of two crystal-embellished tops for a really low price. June will be making an appearance in the midnight show and through the day, while stocks last. It will be good to have her back.

Also, watch out for the Judith Williams mini-series, where the lovely lady from Germany will be appearing with her super skincare in regular hours through Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Wednesday – Tarte are back with their fabulous make-up collection, this time with a six-piece set. It goes on sale early, go here to see and buy it.

Thursday – KitchenAid are here for your summer smoothies with a mini food processor that is super affordable.

Friday – going on sale earlier in the week, the Moda in Pelle shoe range features all day Friday, with the Lori ankle boot with trim.

Friday 9 pm – Ruth Langsford brings us a jersey shirt jumpsuit at 9pm. We are not expecting it to last through Saturday, so get in early, on Friday night 9pm, when she is here for a whole hour with Jackie Kabler. It is also part of a two day fashion special on Friday and Saturday.

Next week – going off for a whole weekend on annual leave this weekend, to Wales with the granddaughters. The nearly two-year-old will meet the two and a half-year-old, and my son and daughter will both be there, so I’m very excited! Look out for the pictures and videos on my social media in between, and a big catch up next week. Then on Sunday (16th) I will return from my long break, with Alpha H among others, and a Christmas preview on Sunday night! Can’t believe we are talking about Christmas already… but we are QVC! Plus, we are now getting our schedules through for September. September!

This year, having dragged, is suddenly speeding by, don’t you think! Are you going away anywhere this year? And if so, is it a vacation, a staycation or a daycation!?

Best wishes,

Debs

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