{"id":115142,"date":"2022-04-22T16:00:01","date_gmt":"2022-04-22T15:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/?p=115142"},"modified":"2022-04-22T14:17:46","modified_gmt":"2022-04-22T13:17:46","slug":"stonehenge-and-eye-ops-plus-sneaky-peaks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/presenters\/debbie-flint\/stonehenge-and-eye-ops-plus-sneaky-peaks\/","title":{"rendered":"Stonehenge and eye ops\u2026 Plus sneaky peaks"},"content":{"rendered":"

I couldn\u2019t resist showing you this. Look what my brother added to the photograph I sent to family saying I was okay and it all went well (which it did, thank you for your messages) after I had my cataract operation this week, a pirate flag and a parrot on my shoulder Photoshopped in for giggles! When I saw it , I actually laughed out loud in the reception! He is such a wag, our Derek.<\/p>\n

It was all good and hopefully by the time you read this I will be able to see and drive again, and see up close with a special lens that I asked to be put in, but I still might need glasses on air. (Actually, I found out a super-strange coincidence about Derek this week – see below!)<\/p>\n

Me and Litty at Stonehenge British Museum<\/strong><\/p>\n\"\"\n

Also had a super trip up London earlier this week to see the British Museum exhibition about Stonehenge. When I did my archaeology A-level, one of my exam questions was all about Stonehenge and the landscape in and around it in Wiltshire, and I\u2019ve always been fascinated by that and ancient artefacts, as regulars will know. Loved every minute of it and I recommend it. There were mostly drawings but lots of contemporaneous (I\u2019ve always wanted to use that word since watching the film Roxanne!) finds found here and also across Europe, many on loan from other museums, and some extremely significant. Litty particularly loved looking at the Nebra Sun Disc, something she\u2019s known about for ages, showing that even 3600 years ago, they knew about the movement of the sun and the moon in the heavens and representations of the constellations. Amazing. Some were behind glass like this one, but some, including swords and pots and wooden artefacts, you could almost reach out and touch. What a connection with time gone by. No wonder I\u2019m fascinated by the Last Kingdom on Amazon Prime at the moment, from the Anglo-Saxon era LOL. And they were selling a really interesting book called Stonehenge, a novel by Bernard Cornwell, which I shall probably order on audiobook!<\/p>\n\"\"\n

We decided we have to do more like that. On the way home, I passed what has to be one of my favourite shops in London – will definitely be visiting there when it\u2019s birthday gift time. Now I know what to say to people when they ask me what I want for my birthday next month, although I would have to be very choosy about what fossil to add to my collection in my very, very small display in my flat!<\/p>\n\"\"\n

Also ended up going to the theatre – see below as well! Busy week. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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

That\u2019s shellac!<\/strong><\/p>\n\"\"\n

Talking of old things, look what my mum\u2018s partner dug out of his lock up, some really old gramophone records from the 1920s when they were rock hard and brittle, and made of shellac. The original shellac nothing to do with nails! One of them was I Only Have Eyes For You, I didn\u2019t know this song was that old. Anyway, we were talking about how people are clearing out their houses and how I might have to do mine at some stage in Devon, and selling things on eBay and Facebook et cetera. And he said “what do you think I should get for these?”! Any suggestions where he can find out, let me know. \ud83d\ude42 We did however cheat and ask Alexa to play the songs!<\/p>\n

Duck sitting<\/strong><\/p>\n\"\"\n

We have ducks nesting right outside our office windows by the edge of the lake at the Chiswick Park estate, opposite Gunnersbury tube! Mummy duck sits on the eggs and daddy duck stands not far away most of the time, and I watched as mummy shooed away the little birds trying to peck the bird food someone had left for her when they got too near her eggs or her nest! It\u2019s very sweet! I will keep you informed!<\/p>\n

Tenko tale of the unexpected<\/strong><\/p>\n\"\"\n

Stand by for the weirdest coincidence ever, and I mean ever. Aged 11 or 12, brother Del boy was once in 80s TV series Tenko as an extra. In a Christmas concert scene with Stephanie Beacham, she addressed a group of children sitting on the floor in the audience, dressed in rags and covered with grime, one of whom was my brother. \u00a0She said \u2018Ladies and\u2026 ladies,\u2019 (it was set in a women\u2019s Japanese prison camp or something ), and he waved his arm, and she said \u2018oh and gentlemen\u2019. \u00a0That was his big scene and he has spoken about it from time to time ever since, his big moment when he was a child actor, briefly. Well,\u00a0 just this week he was talking to his oldest daughter who said to him to look at the person sitting almost next to him on the floor in the scene. A fresh-faced, slightly younger actor, also from Meg Shanks Theatre School in Wimbledon, who Derek only vaguely remembered but didn\u2019t know his name. Well, that boy in that scene, all those years ago, just a few feet away from Derek, would grow up to be\u2026 his eldest daughter\u2019s future husband! OMG! They never knew until literally this week! How weird is that! Ever heard of anything like that? If you have leave me a comment below…<\/p>\n

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

Firstly a bit of TV, it has to be The Marvellous Mrs Maisel. This Amazon Prime series is back for its fourth season and for me, it\u2019s better than ever. I love the scenes with willowy comic Sophie Lennon, and the interactions with the diminutive manageress. It is a work of comic genius and well worth watching – set in the 50s and early 60s, based around the life of a female comic something like an early Joan Rivers. Watch it if you can!<\/p>\n

Plus we went to see Come From Away, at the theatre, finally. Me and my little theatre gang had tried to see it before Christmas, but of course things were being postponed again back then. Seems such a long time ago now! It tells the tale of strangers who got diverted to a tiny airport in Canada at the time of 9\/11, and their memories of everyone helping each other when 3000 extra human beings arrived in a little tiny town. Really tested people’s strength of character! Getting great reviews and worth seeing if you can.<\/p>\n

Podcast<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last week, Will sat down with George Clowes. This week, he chats to Anna Griffin. You can listen to all the podcasts here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Vlog<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, guess where I am on this latest clip!<\/a> Go on see if you can\u2026 A video blog over on my Facebook page and don\u2019t forget to follow my social media to see my updates in between each week’s new post here on Stories!<\/p>\n

Book of the week<\/strong><\/p>\n

This week I\u2019ve been mostly reading Amongst Our Weapons by one of my favourite authors, Ben Aaronovitch. I know I\u2019ve talked about this before, but it\u2019s been what I\u2019ve been enjoying while I\u2019ve had to relax! I cannot emphasise enough how much I love the narration by Kobna Holdbrook Smith. Check out the whole Rivers of London series if you\u2019ve not read any yet.<\/p>\n

Also, while not able to see anything clearly as I was recovering, I listened to a lot of Why We Sleep. Really need to get more hours kip every night after listening to this, that\u2019s for sure! Fascinating science on sleep and health. Don\u2019t ignore it. Especially when you get older. We\u2019ve had banging and drilling outside our bedroom windows at the flats while they decorate the exterior and I have to say, having some nights had only four hours sleep, it was not a surprise to me when at the end of last week I came down with a really bad cough. (Not Covid, thank goodness). Definitely need to get a grip on sleep that\u2019s for sure. I\u2019ll add it to my resolutions in my 60s, that start in less than a month on 10th May.<\/p>\n

QVC top deals for the next seven days<\/strong><\/p>\n

Friday<\/strong> (today) – go here<\/a> to see and buy what\u2019s left of the superb Emma<\/strong> hybrid mattress deal. If you haven\u2019t tried this one and you need a softer mattress to cuddle your contours and help with lumps and bumps and bony bits, definitely give this a go. Here are my reasons:<\/p>\n