{"id":113546,"date":"2022-02-18T13:38:31","date_gmt":"2022-02-18T13:38:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/?p=113546"},"modified":"2022-02-18T15:43:30","modified_gmt":"2022-02-18T15:43:30","slug":"drama-blink-security-books-and-bad-backs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/presenters\/alison-keenan\/drama-blink-security-books-and-bad-backs\/","title":{"rendered":"Drama, Blink Security, books and bad backs!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello there!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s actually warmer outside than it is indoors today! 14 degrees in the garden, but pouring with rain, whereas indoors it\u2019s a lot chillier, dry and VERY dusty! The renovations are continuing and Colin has now started work on upstairs as well as downstairs, so we are literally living in the kitchen with the upstairs bathroom and back bedroom! I\u2019m actually really rather enjoying the fact it\u2019s quite compact and cosy \u2013 well it was until the heating packed up on Sunday and now we are relying on our Dyson<\/a> fan and a plug-in radiator to bring the temperatures up. The new heating system will run off a completely different set up so we\u2019re not too worried, and as you\u2019ll see from the photographs, progress is definitely being made and so far we\u2019re pretty much on course time-wise. The wall is now down between the bathroom and the bedroom and everything apart from the loo has been removed. We currently have a bath on our driveway but are hoping that someone will want to come and take it away! : )<\/p>\n\"\"\n\"\"\n

Obviously to enable Colin to crack on with the rooms upstairs I had to systematically go through each room and decide what to keep and what to throw which wasn\u2019t always that easy! However, Oxfam, Macmillan, Marie Curie and the Thames Hospice have all benefitted and I personally feel \u2018de-cluttered\u2019 which is good! It\u2019s definitely better than I felt just after I posted my last blog. Unfortunately having been bending, lifting, stretching and painting a ceiling in the upstairs bathroom, I put my back out, and everything I\u2019d had planned for the remainder of my leave had to be either postponed or performed with gritted teeth and a fair few pain killers! It\u2019s a great deal more comfortable now though and thanks to Caroline Sandry, whom you may remember as one of our fitness guests, I am doing gentle exercise every day to try and keep it in check.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

Apparently I\u2019m \u2018hypermobile\u2019 which is a great thing when one is younger but not so beneficial now. What with osteoporosis and arthritis I\u2019m feeling older than I\u2019d like but am determined to try and help myself. I\u2019ve been taking the Prime Fifty Fighting Fatigue supplements<\/a> for several months and they definitely help with working late nights, but I\u2019ve also just started to take the Your Zooki<\/a> Tropical Hair, Nails and Skin supplement so I\u2019ll let you know how I get on with that – I can tell you it tastes delicious! : )\u201cAge is just a number\u201d said Joan Collins with the rider \u201cUnless of course you happen to be a bottle of wine!\u201d which made me laugh. As someone who eleven years ago wasn\u2019t sure I\u2019d even hit 60 years old, every day is a blessing and having recently celebrated International Cancer Day on the 4th<\/sup> February I know I\u2019m not alone in that thought.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

Before I returned to work though Colin and I had our long-awaited and twice postponed meet up with our dear friends Roz and Chris who live in Dorset. Clutching their Christmas presents, complete with pine needles from the tree under which they\u2019d sat for several months, we made our way to The Crown Inn in Upton where Chris had booked us into a \u201cHigloo\u201d so that we could belatedly celebrate Christmas in style! Located half way between Highclere Castle and Andover, the Crown Inn\u2019s location is fantastic as is the pub itself, but set into the grounds are two of these fabulous \u2018Higloos\u2019, built from wood with a log burner set inside, our one seated the four of us very comfortably.<\/p>\n

We were given rugs and cushions and were treated to a stunning meal created by chef and owner Dave Watts who trained with none other than Raymond Blanc! The hours slipped by and it was so good to catch up with Roz and Chris who are just the best company. We were so caught up with our conversation that we completely forgot to take any photographs of the day, so I\u2019ve managed to capture this little film from the pub\u2019s website to give you an idea of what it was like and to capture some of the magic and I also have this lovely photo of Roz and Chris too.\u00a0 I\u2019d highly recommend The Crown Inn to anyone who wants to make a lunch or dinner occasion extra special.<\/p>\n

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