The Story of the Portuguese Duckling

It was two years ago that Mike and I were sitting in our villa here in Portugal, just looking out on to the garden when something scuttled in front of our patio doors, swiftly followed by a cat. We leapt up to find, huddled in the corner of the patio door, the tiniest of ducklings looking very frightened and lonely. In fact, it was so tiny, even the cat had dived past it, not realising it was

Stroke - the silent killer

In recent weeks the Government has sponsored a major health campaign to help us recognise early symptoms of stroke. It has worked and many lives have been saved already, and we are all that bit more aware of those initial indications – facial signals, slurred speech, restricted mobility particularly from the arms. It has also given us the confidence to pick up the phone immediately if we see

Has Britain really got talent?

I have to admit that this is the first year I have watched Britain’s Got Talent. And the reason I watched it is simply because, quite by chance, I happened to be watching the programme six weeks ago when Susan Boyle walked on to the stage and sang unbelieveably beautifully. I talked about it at my classes, I made my colleagues watch her on YouTube in the office and every time I watched her sing ‘

Bank Holidays and shaping up for summer...

I like Bank Holidays because they punctuate the year and give us a breather from the hussle and bussle of everyday life. But they do much more than that. They give us a point on the calender, a marker from which we can make new beginnings and start new habits.With such beautiful weather for most people over the weekend it really does focus our minds on shaping up for summer. As we shed our warm

Spring Bank Holiday Weekend

The Spring Bank holiday signifies the beginning of summer and it is also half-term so lots of parents will have taken the week off to stay at home with their children. After watching TV last night there is no doubt that the DIY stores are hoping you will be flocking to scoop up their ‘50% off sale bargains, plus another 20% off everything’!These days we cram so much into every day that when a few

Facial-Flex Ultra on TV

Apologies for the absence of Rosemary’s blog over the last couple of days. Unfortunately Rosemary is unwell at the moment but will be back writing her blog as soon as she is feeling better.In the meantime, the team at Rosemary Conley thought you might be interested to know that Facial-Flex Ultra, which Rosemary has personally been using for many years, is due to be featured on Channel 4’s Extreme

Fund raising activities

What a wonderful weekend of fund-raising was carried out by numerous Rosemary Conley members, franchisees and staff. One of our magazine slimmers, Alyson Knowles, successfully completed her 10-Marathons-in-10-days Challenge and has raised over £6,100 for the Brathay Hall Trust. After shedding over 3 stone at her local Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Club, Alyson, a former yo-yo dieter – was able

Forth Road Bridge

Today I’m in Fife for one of our Roadshows and last night we drove over the Forth Road Bridge, which goes over the River Firth. It is the most magnificent feat of engineering and of course it needs painting. As the saying goes, when you get to the end, it’s time to start painting at the beginning again, in other words it’s a lifelong activity!It brought to mind the similarity with healthy eating

Calendar Girls 2009

I was excited to hear that the WI Calendar Girls are celebrating their 10 year anniversary. I wonder if they realised what a sensation they would be when they first had the original idea in 1999?I can remember watching the film and crying with laughter at the brilliant way their story was portrayed.There is of course a serious side to the reason why they produced the calendar in the first place

What is your favourite low fat food?

I wonder what is YOUR favourite low fat food? Mine are Total 2% fat Greek Yogurt, my own branded Less than 5% Mature Cheese made by Wyke Farms, (found in Asda and Morrisons), Dolmio Light Bolognese Sauce, and not forgetting, of course, our RC Low Fat chocolate mousse, (sold in Asda) which is unbelievably delicious. They all taste great and don’t taste like a low fat food. And that’s the key, in

Congratulations Chris Evans!

When I heard that Chris Evans had scooped two of the top awards at last night’s Sony Radio Academy Awards I couldn’t have been more delighted. Voted by 100 industry professionals, Chris won the Music Radio Personality of the Year and Entertainment Awards. Brilliant! He completely deserves both awards in my view.I love listening to Chris Evans on my way home from the office. His happy and positive

The only person who can make you lose weight is YOU!

Obesity is a hot topic and more people are obese than they realise because we have become so used to seeing people being bigger than they’ve ever been. You only need to watch some TV footage of the 70’s to realise that everyone on the screen is slim! These days most people are carrying at least a stone, if not three or four, of excess weight and we are just getting used to it.Being overweight isn

The youth of today can be our inspiration

Last night I had the privilege of watching six teams from Leicestershire Schools battle it out at the Young Enterprise County Finals. They had already progressed from the Area Finals and here they were, in front of a panel of Judges selected from leading businesses, to excite and impress.Each Young Enterprise ‘company’, is set up near the start of the academic year and pupils have volunteered to

Exercise has to be fun!

‘Eat less and do more’ is the simple answer to turning around the growing obesity problem in this country. And we know that’s true, but sometimes it’s hard to change our habits. Life gets in the way of our good intentions and ‘stuff’ happens to knock us off track.Sticking to a proper diet takes time and planning and real discipline. Taking regular exercise takes effort and determination. I know

Can eating at the table help you to lose weight?

Years ago I remember meeting a rather intimidating woman who owned The Golden Door health spa in America during filming for ITV’s This Morning programme. She was emphatic that every meal should be treated as a banquet. ‘Always sit at a table which should be set beautifully. Use pretty dishes to enhance presentation and eat slowly. Enjoy the experience’, she insisted. Of course she was right but

Is breakfast cereal good or bad for our kids?

Over the weekend there have been reports highlighting the high levels of sugar in breakfast cereals specifically targeted at children, plus another report highlighting biscuits for babies and toddlers that contain unhealthy fats and excess levels of sugar and salt. Cow & Gate have withdrawn some of their products and Heinz have defended their range of baby biscuits on the basis that they have a

Is your body ready for a Barbecue Summer?

Yesterday we were given the encouraging news that in the UK we are set for a hot and mostly dry summer with temperatures anticipated to reach as high as 30 degrees. This is great for the travel industry at home and sales of patio sets and barbecues will take an upturn which will delight the Garden Centres and D.I.Y. stores alike.Sunshine makes us feel better and we are likely to become more