After All These Years, A Chance To Meet!

I’m sitting at my makeshift desk with the Dyson fan directed at my feet so at least the bottom half of me feels warm!  What a weird day of weather… bucketing rain for at least half of it, then blinding sunshine and now a decided downturn in the temperature, but looking back over the photographs I’ve taken this last few week or so has definitely warmed my soul. As did your lovely comments on the last blog – great to hear from you and to know where you’ve been, who’s been celebrating what and what you’ve been reading and watching. Thank you! I’ve got a few suggestions to swap with you and I’ll do that before I finish here… ☺️

As promised I do have some photos to share of the last minute trip Colin and I took when we drove from Perpignan in France down to Barcelona in Spain but before I do, I’ve some very exciting news!  After all these years of writing the blog, working at QVC and keeping in touch on social media, I’ve been given an opportunity for us to actually meet in person if you’re free at 2pm on Tuesday the 12^th November and can get to Milton Keynes!  

So, here’s what’s happening on the day.  I’ll be joining Debbie Flint, Kathy Taylor, Patrick Hoy, Lorna Ko, Marie Francois Wolff, Beverley Cressman and Gill Gauntlet for a fabulous fundraising afternoon tea at the Headquarters of the Medical Detection Dogs charity.   Deb’s been an ambassador for them for years and has assured me there’ll be plenty of tea, a fabulous spread of homemade cakes and scones, a raffle and a small auction, so that together we can raise some much needed money for this charity.

So what do the charity do?  Well, they train dogs from puppy age upwards through games and play, to literally sniff out and detect the early stages of various diseases and also potentially dangerous medical issues.   Using their highly trained sense of smell they can identify changes in the human body – for example a person with diabetes type one can be warned when they need insulin.  People who struggle with POTS syndrome (Postural tachycardia syndrome) which is when your heart rate increases very quickly after getting up from sitting or lying down, are also warned if they’re in danger of passing out.  These dogs are so clever, they can even sense when someone has a cancer in their body or a UTI and have also worked with Covid and Parkinson’s patients. You’ll get to meet some of the dogs and their amazing trainers, and of course all of us as well! ☺️ The tickets are £49 each and there are only 30 of them, so if you would like to come along and help this incredible cause then please click here!

How wonderful would it be if we could make just the smallest difference to someone’s life by helping to provide this kind of service? Do message me below if you want to know anything more, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed that I’ll finally get to meet you on Tuesday the 12^th November in Milton Keynes.  I know it’s going to be a memorable occasion.  

I made more memories last month on a road trip that Colin and I promised ourselves before I retired.  We visited some of the most fabulous places in the south of France including beautiful Bacares, Collioures and Castelnou where we enjoyed the Catalan cuisine, the gorgeous coastline and countryside.  We then headed to Spain and stayed in Roses bay, driving from there to L’Escala and Girona before heading further south to Barcelona.  We covered many miles, ate our bodyweight in paella and tapas and experienced bright sunshine, warm breezes but also torrential rain and howling gales!   I know how lucky I am to have had so many holidays this year, but am now looking forward to spending time at home with the family.  

Work continues on my writing room and my son Jack and I have been busy burning the paint off the wooden/glazed panels. I’m not sure how many coats of paint there were, but I was really grateful for his help when he came to stay last week.  He was ‘let go’ from work a couple of months ago and has really been struggling.   It’s so hard when they live on their own and there’s too much time to think about things, and although I’ve often suggested he comes home and lives with us until things sort themselves, understandably he wants his independence… It doesn’t matter how old they are, your children are always your children and I find it really difficult not to want to try and ‘make it better’.   It was good to be able to spend some special time together though and he has a couple of interviews on the horizon too so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. 

I know I was a little lax last month in giving you suggestions of books and TV shows but I do thank you for your contribution! Colin and I thoroughly enjoyed the BBC’s thriller Nightsleeper starring Joe Cole and the brilliant Alexandra Roach.  It really is very clever and quite exhausting to watch with so many twists and turns but I’d highly recommend it.  The return of Channel 5’s All Creatures Great and Small has been an absolute joy although how it’s missed out being on the BBC or ITV I really don’t know!  It’s absolute ‘feel good’ entertainment – perfect to cheer you on the darker evenings.  I’ve read a fair few books over the summer too including Five Years from Now by Paige Toon which was an exquisite love story – she writes characters so well – and I’m just finishing the new novel from Richard Osman.  It’s called We Solve Murders and is totally separate to the Thursday Murder Club series but in my opinion, even better!  The man is a master with the written word and writes women so well.  I now you’d enjoy it.  I’d better leave it there as I have a carrot cake to make for my daughter’s birthday on Saturday when we’ll all be together to celebrate.  

Take care, do keep in touch here and on Instagram and Facebook and I really hope we’ll be able to make a date Tuesday 12^th November at 2pm.  

With my love,

Ali xxx