{"id":106858,"date":"2021-06-11T16:00:38","date_gmt":"2021-06-11T15:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/?p=106858"},"modified":"2021-06-11T15:23:59","modified_gmt":"2021-06-11T14:23:59","slug":"packed-week-in-devon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/presenters\/debbie-flint\/packed-week-in-devon\/","title":{"rendered":"Packed week in Devon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two weeks of annual leave for me meant a week in Devon with six guests and a packed itinerary involving catching up with all my favourite people. Barry Parsons is moving away sadly, so we had what will probably be the last catch up while he is still living in his house in Devon. I love Barry to bits and his partner Tom, and I pledged to keep in touch and I will visit him in his new place, assuming it all goes through, in the Lake District somewhere. I hit it off with Barry when I was manning our Association office during the 2017 election, and we realised we both sang and immediately arranged a concert in Sheepwash together! We\u2019ve chewed each other\u2019s ears off moaning about our woes, politics (he was a councillor) and celebrated our successes (he was very proud of me when I held my first Association Zoom meeting this week with Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccine minister). Barry is a really good friend and I will miss him a lot. Thank goodness for video calls!!<\/p>\n\"\"\n

Saw lots of other people, including my lovely neighbour Linda who was back from Portugal, finally. We had a right old gossip and a catch-up! She’s going to be on slug duty for me to help protect the hostas with Richard Jackson’s<\/strong> plant food, which I’ve left a good supply of. \ud83d\ude42 Assuming her house doesn’t sell too quickly. I will have a new next door neighbour in Sheepwash when “Luke’s Cottage” sells!<\/p>\n

I cooked some lovely meals, as usual! I managed on my own quite well, I thought. I was doing over 12,000 steps per day however, and that\u2019s without going for a walk (no dog, Daisy is with brother in Kent, don\u2019t forget) or doing gardening! Forgot to take my charger so Fitbit ran out of charge before the end of the week, so I probably did more than that. I need to, I have my health scan coming up next week, the annual one with Nuffield. Eek!<\/p>\n\"\"\n

The weather was nice on quite a few of the days, which meant alfresco dining on one of the lunchtimes for my retreat guests! I was very happy for them! It was a great week and they are all wonderful people and talented writers. It always inspires me to finish my book, but I told them I\u2019m not talking about doing it anymore because I just need to get it done and everyone is sick of me saying I\u2019m going to! (But I will, one day!) #FrenchOrDutch<\/p>\n

Snippets<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vlog – Baa, Baa \u2018back, sheep!\u2019\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Look what happened when I went to visit my lovely friend Alix in Belstone. The local sheep had been chewing their way around the village and did this! Go here<\/a> to see it on my latest video blog (vlog), on my Facebook page. No wonder everyone has to keep their gates closed! Search around on my social media for more videos from my week in Devon.<\/p>\n

Building site<\/strong><\/p>\n\"\"\n

Remember when I used to post pictures from a really busy Hatherleigh Market? Look back on my social media to 2017. Every Tuesday I would go and it was heaving with stalls and people with lots of places to park. Well, now it\u2019s a building site. There is one sad little hut with some of my favourite suppliers still in there. Whether I\u2019m getting plants from Madewell or jam from Pauline, and fresh local eggs, cheese from the little cheese shop and bread from the bread man\u2026 it makes such a difference to have this local touch. I really hope they find somewhere for them all to go but Hatherleigh market as we all knew it is no more. Very sad. Sheena, one of my best besties, came with me and we had a delightful lunch in the caf\u00e9 down the main high street though, as the George was closed because their boiler was broken! It was lovely to have a catch up with one of my best friends as we talked grandbabies, trials and tribulations!<\/p>\n

\u2018Holsworthy-Sheila\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\"\"\n

Don\u2019t you just love it! Dear friend Sheila (Holsworthy-Sheila!) is pictured here in the main square of her hometown, as we walked around the town before we grabbed a cup of tea in the new posh Totty\u2018s caf\u00e9. Thing is, she had to have a sit down as she kept saying hello to so many people – by name – it never ceases to amaze me! She\u2019ll always know someone, who knows someone, who knows the person we\u2019re talking to! It was always the same when she used to come into our tea room at my place, half an hour away from her home! The beauty of having local roots. Lovely to see her again as usual. Holsworthy is another town where the market is disappearing before your very eyes. Used to be busy on a Wednesday but now just the few stalls in the background. Lots of caf\u00e9s though, so that\u2019s nice!<\/p>\n

Watch <\/strong><\/p>\n

Didn\u2019t have time to watch anything! One thing I will be watching from Sunday 13th though is the new news channel GB News, run by Andrew Neil. Cannot wait! Also eyed up some films – would love to see Cruella with the two famous Emmas, the Anthony Hopkins movie called The Father, and one or two others. Must get back into the habit of going to the cinema though!! You?<\/p>\n

Blooper\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n