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1st June 2006
Summer
is here already and the spring cleaning I’ve been threatening to
do (since the start of the year) is still incomplete! I blame it on
my busy lifestyle and I wouldn’t swap my life for the cleanest,
tidiest home in the world. I have a lot to be happy about. The dust
is just a symbolic reminder to me of how beautifully rich my days are. Let’s start with March’s Craft Day on QVC… Crafting, particularly cardmaking, has become a wonderful hobby of mine over the past year or so. I have Dawn Bibby (QVC’s crafting Queen) to blame…sorry, I mean to ‘thank’ for this addiction. Apart from chocolate & lip gloss it’s the only serious addiction I’ve ever had and I’ve got it bad! I was delighted to be selected to launch whole day of crafting on QVC hosting 5 live hours throughout the event. It was fantastic fun with many different types of craft being covered on the day by extremely accomplished experts. I was in crafters paradise! Breast Cancer Care An unexpected bonus to Craft Day was the opportunity for me to raise money for Breast Cancer Care, QVC’s chosen charity. Due to the fact that craft day was set to be an extremely busy day for all of our guests with very little time to make cards for callers requesting them and subsequently to make replacement demonstration cards I came up with an idea to satisfy callers and craft guests alike AND to do some good for a very worthy cause. I declared that no one calling in during my shows would receive a card but I would donate £1 to Breast Cancer Care for each call and text into my shows. Well, not only did I end up with a total of £188 but one of my guests, Nancy Hill (“Die Cuts with a view”) pledged one US dollar for each pound raised so that took it up to £296!! Thank you for all of your calls and texts that day and, of course, a big thanks to Nancy, a beautiful and courageous spirit. Just so you all know the money has gone to where it was needed I have included a letter of acknowledgement from Breast Cancer Care. <<<<< click! It didn’t stop there, though….Diane from Norfolk (a fellow craft addict and QVC viewer) sent a beautiful card with a £1 coin incorporated in the design to me at QVC to add to the money for BCC. I showed Diane’s card on TV and it prompted a wave of crafters to unite in generosity and a steady stream of cards with £1 coins attached have been finding their way to me at QVC! Cheques too! You must all be hugely proud of yourselves. Your warmth and compassion has truly touched me to my very core and made me realise the collective power we have. Of course I am continuing to pass on your donations but would like to suggest that you, instead, make a donation directly to Breast Cancer Care. Wouldn’t want any cynics to think I was putting your pounds toward a new pair of Gucci shoes!! I’m not by the way! Even if you can onlydonate one single pound this year, know that it will count. Thank you for your support. http://www.breastcancercare.org.uk/ Straight from the heart… Seeing as we have made a significant difference to the cause of Breast Cancer Care I'd like to take this opportunity share something personal with you and hopefully help to make a big difference to another charity, The British Heart Foundation. British Heart Foundation (BHF) I lost my father to heart disease in March of 1998. To paraphrase a quote from their latest tv awareness campaign; When my Dad's heart broke, so did mine. Again, gestures do not have to be massive to make a difference but without any gestures there can be no difference. Give what you can if you can. This may be a donation of handmade cards to your nearest British Heart Foundation charity shop to sell in order to raise funds, or just a donation of stuff you don't need anymore. I also lost my brother, Noel, to suicide when I was 15. I feel quite exposed sharing this but if we continue to treat it as a social taboo and sweep it under the carpet then how can we change things? I'm willing to share with you because, again, I believe we can help ourselves and each other if we will just be brave and look under the carpet so the cleaning can be done. There are people to help with the loss you are left with. Cruse Bereavement Care Anyone can contact Cruse if they want to talk about themselves or someone they know how has been affected by a death. http://www.crusebereavementcare.org.uk/ Obviously there are many other charities who can benefit from your money, time, things you no longer have a use for so maybe just pledge £10 this year to ten different causes. Together we have a lot of clout! Thank you for taking the time to read. Onto lighter (and darker..and then lighter again) matters… (Brown) Hair today, gone (blonde) tomorrow! Having been a bottle blonde for the last I don't know how many years I decided it may be time to go back to my roots. The condition had been getting a bit straw like and I fancied a change so I took the plunge and opted for my natural deep chocolate brown shade. This lasted all of two weeks! I discovered that you can take the blonde outta the hair but not outta the girl and so it seemed only right to 'lighten up'! The blonde is back and here to stay!! 'The Father of Motivation' is back! Dr Wayne Dyer, world renowned self empowerment guru is returning to the UK as part of his latest tour. He will be visiting us at QVC UK to reveal a VERY special package. Look out for his shows on Tuesday, the 13th of June. I am delighted to be hosting an hour with Wayne at 10am and would love you to call or text in. Just watching could change your life for the better so make a date for the diary! Trust me, you'll enjoy this very entertaining and enlightening experience more than you know! Other news? I will be attending a craft exhibition towards the end of June in Birmingham so I hope I'll be meeting some of you then. I'm sure there'll be a few other familiar faces, too. Well, don't want to say too much as yet but many of you know I am currently writing my first book. So if I take a little longer than usual in replying to your letters, cards and emails please forgive me and know that this is the reason why. All will be revealed in good time… Finally, I am getting closer and closer to asking my landlord if I can adopt a couple of cats to join my family. I've received an abundance of cat cards and your all making me 'kitten broody'! I'll keep you informed of any 'new arrivals'. Thanks
for visiting the site, see you soon!
22nd January 2006 Firstly, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and NewYear filled with love and laughter. I had a truly memorable time, myself, and was surrounded by masses of your beautiful Christmas cards, many of which were handmade. I have been enjoying reading your letters, emails and cards and am replying to each and every one personally. Because there have been literally hundreds it is taking a bit of time to get back to you but, rest assured, your reply is on the way and I truly do appreciate the time and effort you’ve taken. It is very humbling and warms my heart more than you know.
As many of you are now aware (especially if you’ve paid a visit to my ‘Positivity’ section on this site) I am a great believer in positive thinking and personal empowerment. In September of 2005 I had the massive honour of hosting an hour long show, with Dr Wayne Dyer, live on QVCUK. He is regarded, by many, as ‘The father of motivation’ with over 30 years experience and nearly as many books (not to mention all the CD’s, seminars, TV appearances) to his name. We share such a strong passion for people and helping people see the beauty in themselves that it felt like destiny working its magic when I was asked, by him, to go the USA to present a live show with him in January of 2006. I have gained so much from Wayne’s works and was eager to share the gems he has to offer. Many of you share my admiration for this remarkable man and have been corresponding with me to say so. Thank you for taking the time to share your touching personal stories with me. Look out for something very special and new from Dr Wayne Dyer this year. That’s all I can say for now!
I had an amazing start to 2006 beginning with a trip to QVC USA. Myself, Anne Dawson (fellow QVC Presenter) and a full compliment of production members were flown out for our shows with Dr Wayne Dyer to be broadcast live from ‘Studio Park’ located in West Chester, Pennsylvania. It was wonderful having a full team all together from the UK, ten of us in total, as we were able to share the experience which helped with any bouts of homesickness! Arriving at QVC USA was like being at some Hollywood Studio Park! They have customer studio tours on the hour, every hour all day, seven days a week! I tagged along on one of these tours and it was fascinating. I learned all about the humble beginnings of QVC 20 years ago right through to the present day success story that is QVC as we know it today. Here, in the UK, we are live from 9am until 2am. In the States they are live 24 hours a day, 364 days a year! It’s quite a remarkable operation! Anne and I were treated to the luxury of a personal make up artist and hairdresser! In the UK, we presenters, are responsible for our on air appearance in terms of wardrobe, hair and make up. At Studio Park there is a big make up department for all the presenters and guest presenters! I have to admit that it made me feel like a film star for a moment. I only wish I could remember how the make up artist did my eyes and lips as it was very glam. Being there was almost like a home away from home as the US staff are just as friendly and helpful as in the UK. There’s a feeling of deep comeraderie amongst QVC people. A soul nourishing environment which can be hard to find in broadcasting. As I was born in the United States, and spent some of my childhood there, I am a long time fan of peanut butter! I had forgotten how many snacks in America contain peanut butter but I had great fun on my journey of rediscovery! Cheese crackers with peanut butter in the middle, peanut butter cereal and, my fave, peanut butter and chocolate! A veritable peanut butter bonanza! I digress… On our final day we had until around 5pm until our flight back to Heathrow so 5 of us decided not to waste the day and took the train to New York where we enjoyed cramming in as much as we could into around 4 hours. We stood in times square, took some piccies. Looked up at the Empire State Building, took some piccies. Saw the Chrysler Building, took some piccies. Walked through Grand Central Station (gobsmackingly beautiful!), took some piccies and spent our final hour in trendy Greenwich Village and yes, of course, you guessed it! We took some piccies there, too. It felt like being on a film set as there were yellow cabs, neon lighting, skyscrapers and the smoke coming up from the streets! We even saw the Statue of Liberty as our taxi carried us away from our brief encounter with New York. Well, without my glasses she was more of a blob on the horizon but I imagined her beauty and the others seemed impressed! New Year, New You Every Monday and Saturday at 9am and 9pm, throught the month of January, QVC have been featuring special shows to help us become more motivated in achieving our goals for the new year. I will be attending an event QVC are holding in London in honour of this so may well be meeting some of you in person soon. We will be filming some of the 2 day event so look out for the highlights in the near future and good luck with keeping any resolutions you have made! Smile! It’s TSV time! I will be bringing you an extremely affordable Today’s Special Value at midnight on Friday the 27th of January going into Saturday the 28th. It will be launched in my ‘Healthy and Beautiful’ show and will certainly give you something to smile about and not just because of the price! Please tune in and join me to find out more. Christmas in February! QVC’s call centre and warehouse are located in Knowsley, Liverpool. Answering your calls and carefully handling and processing your packages thoroughout the year are our hardworking friends and colleagues. They work particularly hard over the festive period and so deserve a jolly good knees up to let their hair down and, this year, myself and fellow presenter, Anthony Heywood, have been invited to join in the February festivities! I enjoyed this experience with another QVC presenter, Jill Franks, back in February of 2004 when I had only been with the company for a few months. Since then, I have made a few friends in Liverpool and am really looking forward to ‘Oops upsiding my head’ and ‘Whoaaah the hokey kokeying’ with the best of ‘em. You never know, I may even take some piccies of Anthony strutting his stuff, too. He’s a lean mean butt wigglin’ machine on the dance floor! I have seen it with my own eyes! Look out Liverpool, the Huntley-Heywood experience will soon be upon you! Jet setting, bum wiggling and the odd murder thrown in for fun! The past few months have been very busy for me at QVC but my time has also been spent teaching line dancing, co-hosting events and acting in murder mysteries for some fantastic companies. My daughter has assisted me in learning lines, my son has sniggered cheekily (as 13 year olds do at their parents) as I have wiggled my way around the lounge devising new choreography to share with those itching to take to the dancefloor with their imaginary lassoos! I have travelled around the British Isles meeting some great people doing this. Should you attend an event organised by Paul Farris Entertainments www.paulfarris.tv , Clive Panto Productions www.clivepanto.co.uk or www.trueviewevents.co.uk run by Mark Kempner then you may well bump into me! If you do then make sure you come and make yourself known to me! It’d be great to say hi! Well, that’s a bit of news from me. I hope you continue to enjoy the website. Thanks for popping by!
This Month
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