Clever Carol sums it all up perfectly!

It’s been a pretty depressing week hasn’t it, with the tragic loss of so many lives following the earthquake in southern Turkey and Syria.

It’s hard to watch the news and see the devastation and the sadness for so many families.

When things like that happen it’s hard to switch off from it and go about our day-to-day lives.

For light relief away from the news, I watched late-night footage of the Grammy awards and it was wonderful to see Harry Styles win the coveted “album of the year” for his album Harry’s House.

Obviously for me it’s quite unbelievable that the young lad who came to audition for X Factor all those years ago continues to astound us all with his meteoric rise to the top.

I know that Beyoncé and Adele fans won’t be happy that he beat both of those stars to win this Grammy, but I honestly believe that Harry’s House gave us something original and it was a well-deserved win.

I will see Harry tonight because I’m going to the Brits where he is also performing. It’s set to be an incredible night, so don’t forget to tune in.

So I’ve been at home for a few days and my cats have been cuddled lots, my house has been hoovered, washings have been done and I’ve loved every minute of normal life.

The last week of Lewis Capaldi’s UK tour was pretty tiring as we ended up going all the way to an extremely cold Exeter, which I’m sure is a lovely place to visit in the middle of the summer but was pretty bleak in February.

As I told you, I was continuing my catching up with friends while touring and my final gettogether was a visit from Carol Vorderman and her daughter Katie who were so happy to come to watch the show.

I forget just how excited people get to meet Carol and it took us ages to move around as Carol was stopped every few seconds for selfies. It was all fun though and I loved that both Carol and Katie danced and sang along to every song.

Of course, like everything Carol does at the moment, her side of stage antics ended up being tabloid news.

Recently she has been bringing the government to task over corruption and cronyism and she hasn’t minced her words or held back from speaking the truth as she sees it.

One Glasgow newspaper has dubbed her “real leader of the opposition” and people across social media have lauded her for her courage in speaking out.

So why have Carol’s words resonated more than others who have spoken out before?

In my opinion it’s because her intelligent, well-researched facts, can’t really be argued with.

She speaks passionately but concisely about the corruption she is calling out and makes sure she can answer any questions put to her about her findings.

Many politicians could learn from her. When they are questioned on details, they often swerve the answer because they don’t want to be called out on an issue but also because they haven’t researched the facts.

That’s where Carol is different. We respect her opinions because we know she will have studied in detail before speaking out.

Of course the elephant in the room is that one of the people she has been speaking out about is Michelle Mone.

Carol, Michelle and myself used to spend time together and, in fact, it was Michelle who introduced me to Carol.

I’ve been asked for my opinion on Michelle, and have chosen, up to now, not to comment because she was always kind and lovely to me, so it’s very hard to then speak about someone negatively.

But if I’m going to speak anywhere it might as well be here. And I will keep it brief.

Of course, like everyone else, I’ve been appalled that anyone could have profited at a time when thousands in our country were dying and people’s lives and livelihoods were torn apart by the pandemic.

But I’m not Carol Vorderman. I haven’t investigated the facts. I only know as much as the rest of you do and my information comes from what I read.

My overriding emotion about this Michelle Mone debacle is it makes me very sad. The more money people have, the more they seem to want and maybe they lose themselves on the way. I’d say be careful what you wish for.

Have a good week, Yvie x

MAKING A NOISE: Harry Styles and, right, Yvie with Carol Vorderman and Carol’s daughter Katie.