I\u2019m going to start this blog with a big thank you for your support of the charity Breast Cancer Now and also to you for buying my memoir \u2018A New Kind of Normal\u2019! I am delighted to say that from the day I mentioned the charity on social media and all that they do to raise money for the cause, I sold 150 eBooks and a fair few paperbacks too. Thanks to you, I will be forwarding \u00a3165 to Breast Cancer Now for their admirable fight towards promoting awareness of breast cancer and the support they are able to give to those who find themselves facing a diagnosis of this awful disease. I wrote the book because I wanted to try and help those of you facing a diagnosis but also those of you trying to support someone who is struggling to cope with what lies ahead. It\u2019s all about trying to find a universal language so we can talk to each other, and find a way through what can sometimes feel like an overwhelming situation.\u00a0 But above all, it\u2019s about never giving up hope, and always believing there will be a better and brighter future ahead.\u00a0 It\u2019s what I\u2019ve always believed, and 10 years on from my own diagnosis, I know it\u2019s what has kept me going!<\/p>\n\n

It\u2019s been a funny old week \u2013 the seasons seem to be shifting faster than I can keep up with but I was delighted to be able to get out for a walk in the fields close by and witness the sunshine and the clouds, the sunlight and shadow that have always made these walks so special for me. \u00a0I\u2019m really pleased to say that QVC as a company are dedicated to helping us work on our feelings of wellbeing<\/a>.\u00a0 Accepting how difficult it is for us to shut off from what\u2019s going on around us and trying to focus on what\u2019s important to us. Of course there are many ways to do this, and I\u2019d be the last person the try and point you in the right direction, but sometimes sharing positive experiences helps. It reminded me of the other week when I met up with my sister in Farnborough for a walk.\u00a0 Just as we were heading off into the woodlands we bumped into my pregnant colleague Eilidh Nairn with her two-year old son Beau. I\u2019ve not met him, although I\u2019ve loved all the photos she’s posted of him, so it was a real treat to get the chance to catch up and see him for real. After a relatively short catch up \u2013 Beau needed his lunch – Jenny and I headed off out on our walk.<\/p>\n\n

The sky was blue, the birds sang and it was hard to believe that it was autumn, so warm was the sun on our shoulders. Harder still to believe that it\u2019s been almost two years since we lost our mum and so it was a comfort to be together and share childhood memories. We walked and talked and enjoyed the bright afternoon but after an hour or so we realized we were lost! Jenny was convinced she knew where we were headed and how long it would take us to get back to where we needed to be, but in the end we had to resort to searching on my phone and a reliable GPS!<\/p>\n\n

We certainly had to pick up the pace and made a mad dash back to where we should have been in time for our parking tickets. Although in hindsight it was funny, it was pretty stressful at the time! And that\u2019s something I\u2019m finding really hard to contend with as I get older: the passage of time. I remember being 16 years old, getting on a coach at Victoria Coach Station with my best friend Joanne (Yo) and heading to Somerset in the summer of 1976. I can still smell the salt air and the sun scorched grass of the countryside when we finally arrived in Somerset. How can 45 years have passed so quickly? I guess the answer to that will never be known but what holds so dear are the memories of being so young. Weirdly I can still remember the clothes I was wearing that year – mainly bought from Chelsea Girl – even the perfume I sprayed liberally on myself, and yet now I struggle to know now where I\u2019ve parked my car or even where my keys are.<\/p>\n

And that brings me to something else that\u2019s been highlighted and focused on far more in the media these days, and that is the crippling effects of the menopause<\/a>. Those of us continually suffering, those just beginning to experience it, and it\u2019s made me wonder how women centuries earlier managed to cope with it all? Heaven knows being forced into the menopause as I was with my cancer treatment in 2011 wasn\u2019t something I was prepared for. Endless night sweats, hot flushes, insecurity, joint pain, self doubt and fatigue have at times been difficult to contend with, and of course I\u2019m not alone! Thousands of us are going through it and I think it\u2019s great that we now have a much more public voice thanks to the likes of our very own Pipa Gordon<\/a> @pipasqtv<\/a>, Davina McCall,<\/a> @lisasnowdon and Meg Matthews<\/a> – all women who have been working to promote a better understanding of the menopause and how we can make things better for ourselves.<\/p>\n\n

Now from practical to wholly pleasurable, you\u2019re probably aware already of the Yankee Candles Today’s Special Value<\/a>, but just in case you missed it, we\u2019ve got a six-piece collection comprising two large jar candles, two medium and two small in a myriad of your favourite fragrances, including Cherry Blossom, Midnight Jasmine and some festive treats too with Snow in Love, Christmas Eve and Evergreen Mist! The cost for this collection directly from Yankee would be \u00a3109.94 so for our price today of just \u00a346.92 (plus postage and packaging) you\u2019re saving \u00a358.07. I hope you manage to get yours!<\/p>\n\n

We also have a long-awaited TSV from Tova Borgnine\u2019s<\/strong> inimitable Diamonique jewellery collection on Wednesday. A beautiful Panther Dial Watch in three different metallic finishes and all featuring the most fabulously detailed panther on the watch face, encrusted with Diamonique stones around the casing. It\u2019s under \u00a360 and would work beautifully with any other of Tova\u2019s panther-themed jewellery that we\u2019ve brought to you more recently, also perfect as a gift methinks!<\/p>\n\n

The British fragrance brand Shay & Blue<\/strong> will be back on Friday with an imaginative mix of their bestselling scents – a four-piece fragrance gift collection that will feature the very finest from their eclectic collection. Which is your favourite? I have to say I\u2019m very fond of Black Tulip but also the Cherry Blossom which I bought for my daughter Lucy.<\/p>\n

Of course this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to gift giving ideas. We are dedicating many pages on our website<\/a> to all sorts of brands so hopefully you won\u2019t get stuck for ideas!<\/p>\n

Well, I think that\u2019s it from me for now, but thanks as always for your lovely comments and for keeping in touch with me on Instagram<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>.\u00a0 I hope you can do the same this month too!<\/p>\n

With my love,<\/p>\n

Ali xxx<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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