About me

Miceal is a man of many passions which can be seen from his life and career in television so far. Whilst working for RTE, the national broadcaster in Ireland, he has interviewed Hollywood celebrities, helped raise money for charity through antique auctions, reviewed soaps and films and even appeared on the red carpet at world premieres.

Read Miceal Murphy's full biography

Big Sister Clean Up, Comedy and Good Causes!

Phew, its been a busy week or two. My big sister came to visit last week for a few days and it was great. However, it is a bit like a visit from my mother by proxy so I knew everything had to be spic-and-span.Laundry, vacuuming, cleaning all had to be done with a little more commitment than just a 'lick and a promise' as my mum use to say. (Do people still even say that?)

Anyway, I set to the task with gusto (again, does anyone still use words like this or am I stuck in a time warp?). There was so much more to do once I had started, it's always the way isn't it?

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

Elizabeth Barret Browning got it just very right when she wrote these words. You see, what she realised was that when you love someone, or something, it's often hard to give just one reason. It is, most likely, an accumulation of many elements or experiences that go into creating that feeling of love or adoration.

It is no different with how I feel about QVC. You see, and I will be totally honest with you, before I came to be introduced to the Q, I was what I call a cautious shopper. I tended to only buy brands that I was already firmiliar with, rarely bought on impulse, and always tried clothes/shoes on in a shop, even if I knew they were my size. Heaven forbid I should just go to the checkout, buy them and try them on at home.

Double the joy!

I appreciate as much as the next man how hard we all work on any given day, myself included, I dont mind admitting it. I know this because my Tax Return for 2010/2011 listed seven jobs in one year, five of which I was holding down at the same time!

We are all doing everything we can to keep our heads above water, but let's not underestimate the stress we are all under. What's the best way to beat stress? A good night's sleep of course. Easier said than done when your minds a whirr with all the things you're meant to do but didn't get around to. Lists start forming in your head as you turn over in bed and double the pillow under your head to bolster you and give you some physical support and psychologically, you hope, some mental support.

Homemade cupcakes - what a treat!

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I have an incredibly sweet tooth, but sometimes some chocolate just isn't going to cut it so I thought I would make some homemade cupcakes this week. The reason I thought of making them was because I had been chatting to some of our buyers at work and they happened to mention that there was going to be a Cake Crafting show as part of our US Craft Day tomorrow (Tuesday 21st February) at 7pm.

So, I called up my friends at The Cocoa Box, who I have known for years. As they teach hundreds of people to make cupcakes every week, and I used to teach classes for them, who better to get advice from on making the perfect sweet treat!

You get out what you put in!

Whilst preparing to interview Elizabeth Peyton Jones on The Morning Show recently about her book, Eat Yourself Young, I started to think about what I was eating, what my bad habits were and what I could be doing better. After all, I'm not getting any younger, but there's no reason why I should start to feel, or indeed look, old before my time either.

I realised reading her book that if my body, like a plant, grows from the nutrients it is feeding off, then there is every likelihood that eventually I am going to grow into a horrible mix of sugary breakfast cereals, Belgian chocolate and baked beans - a look that not even the greatest of supermodels could pull off!

Northern Lights? I think the bulb needs changing!

With the snow falling here over the weekend it reminded me so much of my recent trip to Iceland. Having worked over the Christmas holidays I booked myself a weekend away in January so that I could allow myself those three days of eating, drinking, and resting that everyone else got to enjoy. Indulgent, I know, but I had been working hard! I chose Iceland because it is only about three hours on a plane and also, because we had had such a mild winter up to that point I really wanted to go somewhere that would feel Christmassy and snowy. I picked the perfect spot!

I flew with Icelandair - I won't go into details, but unfortunately I have to say I personally had a dreadful customer service experience with them, though my friends who travelled with me didn't. So I guess it goes to prove that one bad experience doesn't necessarily mean the whole company is bad!

The Diamonique Challenge

This week is Diamonique Week here on QVC and I hope you are all enjoying it! Be sure to tune in every day at 6pm to see some beautifully crafted jewellery set with the best simulated diamonds in a variety of cuts and settings all by Diamonique.

I didn't know about Diamonique before I started working at QVC a year ago and when I saw it I honestly assumed it was real diamonds. That, to me, is what makes Diamonique so special, that it gives you the opportuntiy to have the look of diamonds without the expense of buying, or the worry of owning, them. I know many of you agree.

The skill involved in the design and production of Diamonique is of such high quality that you will be sure to love any piece you buy. So many of you have already experienced the beauty of Diamonique, but if you haven't, you can read reviews here on the QVC website from other satisfied customers to hear some of the incredible reactions they have received.

I know some of you will be wondering though, how like diamonds the Diamonique stones are? I know I assumed they were the real thing when I saw them, but was that just me or is that what most people think when they see them? Recently I went out onto the streets of London to ask the people I met if they could tell the difference between a real diamond ring and a Diamonique simulated diamond ring. Why not have a look and see what the results were, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

 

How to wear that special scent

As some of you may know I have an interest in perfume and fragrance. So with the Christmas gifting season just behind us I got to thinking about how many of us may have received a little bottle of scent as a gift in our stocking... quite a few I am thinking. With this in mind I got to wondering - how many of us actually know how to wear, or even where to wear, our fragrances. We have all been seduced by the beautiful leading lady in a movie as she delicately tips up her perfume bottle and dabs it seductively behind her ears, but is this really where we should be putting it?

Helping someone else, helped me

I am almost uncertain as to whether or not to write this blog. You see there is nothing I hate more than being preached to, and I suspect, quite rightly that I am not alone. My worrry is, that in writing what it is I want to say, you may feel that you are being preached to and that is not my intention at all. So read my experience and judge for yourself...

Just before Xmas a friend of mine mentioned that she was spending Christmas Eve helping the Battersea Park Rotary Club to set up for an event they would be holding on Christmas Day for 500 older members of the local community. She invited me to go along.

QVC Xmas party!

Like many of you we had our QVC Xmas party last weekend. This was a first for me as I only started presenting with the channel this year. And what a year it has been! Now, there is a clear rule with office parties, namely, what happens on a night out stays on a night out. With that in mind there won't be any juicy revelations or salacious gossip, mostly because there wasn't any. What there was, however, was such a great spirit of fun and goodwill and we all had a real laugh, just as it should be at a staff party I think! 

The party had a theme - 1920s - and while some people were very dedicated in their mission to properly represent the look, feel and spirit of the theme, many of us (me included) just wanted to dress up and let our hair down, and that we did!