Thirty Years and Counting

What a whirlwind the past four weeks have been with the emphasis well and truly on QVC’s 30^th Birthday celebrations. As many of you will know if you’ve read my blogs previously, I was the face that launched the channel alongside Jon Briggs (the original Voice of Siri) on October 1^st 1993.

The photo and video of the two of us has been frequently shown over the years, so I thought I’d share this photo instead of six of the original seven QVC presenters. Missing is Kara Tritton who had to leave the photo session early due to work commitments. In fact, there were no photos of all seven presenters as one of the others, Paul Lavers had been working an overnight shift the night before at Anglia Television and didn’t arrive until after Kara had left – little known fact!!

As none of the other original presenters stayed with the channel, I’ve often been asked over the years what my favourite moment is. Well, that’s pretty impossible to answer as it’s been quite a journey with so many changes along the way. I have to say filming in Los Angeles prior to the 2011 QVC Red Carpet Oscars party and then interviewing celebrities such as Helena Bonham Carter, Joan Rivers and Kourtney Kardashian ranks pretty highly. I posted a reel on my Instagram grid (juliagroberts) if you fancy a look. Also, the live broadcasts from Atlantis in the Bahamas, Vicenza in Italy and Phoenix, Arizona will live in my memory bank forever.

What really struck me as I looked back at old footage and photos as the anniversary approached was my different hairstyles. There were many and some I liked more than others, so I’ve only chosen a few to make you smile, particularly if you remember having something similar.

From the start of QVC in 1993 until around 1997 I wore my hair naturally curly. Yes, mine was natural rather than a perm but because perms were popular, I was able to let my hair do its own thing with minimal fuss. The cut was quite short to start with but had grown longer by the time this publicity shot was taken.

This shot was actually taken by the photographer who did the headshots for the presenters at a rival shopping channel. I rated their ‘headshots’ so highly I decided to have him do some of me – I love the lighting and the way my eyes sparkle in this photo.

This publicity photo circa 2004 I was never really one hundred per cent sure about. I used to have my hair cut and blow-dried by a fabulous hairdresser called Marcus at the Aveda Institute in London’s Covent Garden. He ‘persuaded’ me to have my hair at shoulder length and poker straight. What do you think?

But the curls and length were both back with a vengeance in this shot from around 2010. People often remark about how thick my hair is now but honestly it is nowhere near as thick as it was back then – I’m definitely not complaining though as I still have more than my fair share.

Something else I’m often asked and which we asked a lot during our birthday celebrations is, ‘What was your first QVC purchase?’ Mine was this ‘cat and mouse’ watch. The mouse was on the end of the second hand and one of the cat’s eyes used to follow it around as though it was chasing it. I still have the watch but no idea if it still works… maybe I should put a new battery in and try it.

So, that was my first purchase but QVC themselves did a first for this birthday. They asked four of us presenters to design a piece of fashion to be a limited 30^th anniversary edition with a special garment label and a signed hang tag.

I decided to design a dress as I used to make all my own clothes when I was a teenager, and my mum’s come to that. I also made some children’s clothes and smocks for a small boutique when I lived with my sister in Bridge of Allan after I left school. It got me interested in fabric and cut, which is why I selected a really soft viscose jersey and had the tier on the bottom of the dress cut on the semi-circle rather than gathered. It kicks out beautifully when you walk. I’m really pleased with the way the dress turned out.

I was also very handy with the knitting needles when I was younger making things for myself and my husband and children, a skill I learned from my maternal grandmother. But it was my sister who taught me to crochet and whilst sorting out a box in our spare bedroom I came across a bag with a load of random ‘granny squares’ in it.

They are trendy at the moment, so I decided to join them together and make a blanket for Wilfie the cat to sleep on. Not that he’s bothered about fashion, he just finds it super cosy!

Anyway, back to the QVC 30^th Anniversary. It was quite emotional presenting the 2pm show on October 1^st as that was the time that QVC took to the air for the first time, but it was fun dressing up in my original jacket and the one I wore for the audition even though the shoulder pads were somewhat oversized! Once work was over for the day, I headed home and then out to dinner with my family.

I’d had beautiful flowers in the morning from my husband Chris which included sunflowers because he knows they make me smile. They were from Stems, the flower shop in our village whose name I borrowed for Charlottes place of work in the Dilemma. I’ll be giving away a signed copy of that in this month’s giveaway as she is rapidly approaching her first birthday! More on that later.

I also had beautiful flowers from my daughter, Sophie and her partner, Reece. She knows I love roses and she must have spread the word as my son Dan and his girlfriend bought me the rose plant pictured below.

Anyone who is interested in gardening will know that David Austen is a renowned rose grower and this one is not only pretty to look at but is also beautifully fragrant. I had to go out and buy a pot to plant it in but I’m not complaining cos I found this one in my local garden centre at a reduced price! What a result!!

We were very well looked after in the La’De Kitchen and following our meal tucked into this yummy cake made by Nicola at Let Them Eat Cake. I’m not sure where the purple and orange colour scheme originated but it took me back to the bedroom I shared with my sister when I was a child. I’m five and a half years younger than her and at age nine would probably have loved a pink and white room with lots of frills – I was very ‘girlie’. Instead, it was very ‘Mod’ – one deep purple wall and three bright orange ones with deep purple curtains and bedspreads. It is etched in my memory!!

Talking of me as a child, my mum sent me a couple of photos last month one of which is above. I did a little guessing game on an Instagram post asking firstly how old I was when this was taken and also the colour of the costume. There was only one correct guess about my age which is unsurprising as I look much older than eleven. A few more were right about the colour of my outfit. The routine was to Ivor Novello’s ‘We’ll Gather Lilacs’ so the costume was in that pretty shade too.

Which leads me neatly into the other photo my mum sent me of my dad when he fronted a dance band. It’s entirely possible that he sang that song which might give you a bit of a clue as to when this photo was taken.

And that is my competition this month. Not a question as such but a guess about when this photo was taken, not the month, just the year. It’s written on the back, and all will be revealed when I announce the winner in my next blog. Just leave your guess in a comment before midnight on 31^st October to be in with a chance of winning a signed copy of The Dilemma and a £10 John Lewis/Waitrose gift voucher.

Before I finish, a reminder that Little Girl Missing is currently still free to download. She’s bobbing around in the top 50 of the Amazon free chart and now has more than four and half thousand ratings/reviews. Thanks so much if you’ve read and reviewed and even more so if you went on to buy the other two books in the Rachel Hart series – really chuffed that Why She Died has now reached 500 ratings/reviews as she was a bit of a slow burner.

And also to say that The Woman on the Beach has been selected again to be part of a Kindle Monthly Deal – only 99p for the whole of October!

I’m hoping for a slightly better rest of the month health-wise as I’ve been struggling with a horrible chest infection and cough since just after our birthday event. I need to shake it off sharpish as I’m away next week to get some serious writing done. I’m aiming for 20,000 words… wish me luck!

Much love

Julia xx