{"id":92433,"date":"2020-01-17T09:02:10","date_gmt":"2020-01-17T09:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.qvcuk.com\/?p=91063"},"modified":"2020-02-07T09:53:32","modified_gmt":"2020-02-07T09:53:32","slug":"big-wellness-weekend-and-qvc-night-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/presenters\/debbie-flint\/big-wellness-weekend-and-qvc-night-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Big wellness weekend and QVC night out!"},"content":{"rendered":"

How many QVC faces can you spot! See below for even more. Yes, this week, as you will know if you follow our social media, many of us went along to Lee Hohbein’s and James Murden’s big QVC night out. I went for a little while on Monday after doing my shift, collecting granddaughter Blake from nursery, then driving back to Devon! Flying visit but well worth it, lots of fun was had.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

I almost never, and I mean never, go to things like this, so I\u2019m glad I made myself go. Nice to see people outside of work and everyone looked lovely. What was it in aid of, someone asked me? The answer was\u2026 just for the sake of it! A post-Christmas event to brighten a dull January. Do you do anything in January to brighten things up? Let me know by leaving a comment below, or tell me on my social media.<\/p>\n

Do follow my Twitter, Facebook or Instagram to see what I get up to in between the Friday publication dates of this blog. There is plenty to see including my regular vlogs – video diaries!<\/p>\n

Just vlogging in the rain<\/strong><\/p>\n

Go here<\/a> to see one such vlog, including a little bit about Monday night, as I walk the streets of Devon in the dark in the rain with the dog!<\/p>\n

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

Debbie does sightseeing<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of my best friends in the world, Gill, and I went to London for a day of sightseeing on top of one of those open top buses last week. It was our belated Christmas get-together and it was such fun. Two and a half hours on an open-topped bus, after a lovely lunch in a pub next to Parliament. The bus took us on the blue route, if you\u2019ve ever done that, and the commentary told us lots of interesting things that I never knew about places in London.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

The problem with having lived on the outskirts, gone to university and worked in London, is that you never get to do the full tourist thing. So we have promised ourselves we will do it regularly from now on. We bought some matching bobble hats as well that we will wear every time we go out in future! Lovely to see her and what a lovely Christmas present it was.<\/p>\n

Flooded<\/strong><\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

The downpour, mentioned above, continued for so long that one of the roads out of Sheepwash was flooded again. This is the road to Black Torrington. It often floods. I posted a little video about it on my Facebook page.<\/p>\n

So far, however, I have never yet been in Sheepwash when the Sheepwash bridge has flooded. Nor when it has snowed heavily (I was in London when the Beast from the East hit.) Nor when there was a mini earthquake, and Cynthia Dufty (whose family used to live in my house,) told me she felt the shake, and the plates on her dresser rattled! I suppose I should be grateful, but we all like a bit of weather drama don\u2019t we, as long as it\u2019s only a bit!<\/p>\n

I tried to walk Daisy a bit more than usual this week because we have a new Fitbit<\/a><\/strong> on the way this weekend, it\u2019s the Inspire HR fitness tracker and it\u2019s an unbelievable low price. Do join me when I launch it on Saturday night at 9pm and at midnight.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

I actually have four launches coming up! See the sneaky peeks below.<\/p>\n

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

Okay I had to go and see it, didn\u2019t I? Star Wars, the final instalment, at the cinema – it\u2019s this week\u2019s big film review. Firstly, I must say that the effects were amazing, the acting was excellent, and it was very nice to see some of the characters again. I laughed when one of them was called Baboo, that\u2019s my nickname for little Phoebe, my 15-month-old granddaughter!\u00a0 But after the movie was over, I felt a kind of sadness. Because that\u2019s it, the series of films that has spanned most of my adult life, in fact all of my adult life, will not have another outing. I just hope that Solo gets a sequel, because I thought that was great (Han Solo shown as a youngster). 8.5 out of ten.<\/p>\n

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

The Strawberry Thief by Joanne Harris. It\u2019s warming up, this week down in Devon. I had four guests at the retreat and we were discussing soporific audiobooks that help you sleep! The Strawberry Thief is not one yet, but I hope it gets a move on. I like the premise however, a lady with a special child (told in part from the child\u2019s point of view) runs a chocolate shop in a village square, and trouble brews when an old neighbour leaves her a parcel of land and the angry relatives arrive. She also wrote the famous book Chocolat, and this one was a Sunday Times bestseller too, so I shall persevere! Marian Keyes says it\u2019s beautifully written and atmospheric, so all good. I just hope it doesn\u2019t join the list of soporific audiobooks!<\/p>\n

I would actually say the best one to listen to if you want to go to sleep is Juliet Stevenson reading Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. Now, Juliet Stevenson is one of the best narrators out there, but combined with the rhythmic prose, her mellifluous voice lulls you into dreamland. I\u2019ve listened to it three times over the course of a couple of years, on and off, and I could not tell you what happened! Have been very, very busy helping to organise a big winter dinner on 1st February at a gorgeous hotel in Tavistock, with three guest speakers including local MPs, so I need all the sleep I can get!<\/p>\n

The other thing I must do is finish my own fifth novel. So, this week I booked a writing retreat. Yes, I know I run one, but living in one does not mean that you end up writing anything! The opposite actually. I\u2019ve decided I can only write when I go away, so go away I shall. First is the big one at the end of April, beginning of May, just before our big cruise holiday to the south Caribbean, which means hopefully I will continue to write when I am away. I\u2019ve also got a mini one planned in February, to my friend Charlie from an urban retreats place not far from here in Devon. She came to mine this week, so I\u2019ll be making a return visit and hopefully even though it\u2019s only two nights, I will get a really good recap done. This is the year, gang, this is the year\u2026 French or Dutch must be finished by hook or by crook.<\/p>\n

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

The challenge of live TV!<\/p>\n