When I was green in judgment: cold in blood,
To say as I said then! But, come, away;
Get me ink and paper:
He shall have every day a several greeting,
Or I'll unpeople Egypt.
Cleopatra by Shakespeare
My garden is so very green, only the lavatera flowers, and as soon as it does I am out there with my chopping it down for the kitchen table. I seem to have gone so terribly
My salad days
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Of nominations and churches
Yesterday The Hound and I discovered this very blog had been shortlisted for a Wedding Magazine Wedding blog award.
I didn't even know we had been nominated, so being shortlisted is lovely. Thank you to whomever nominated us.
We are in the Wedding flower blog category. People who have never read this blog before might find us and think
"What fresh hell is this?"
We aren't exactly big on
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The world was on fire and no one could save me but you
There has been a lot of pink lately, and some starfish.
Which smell,
potentially even worse than gyp.
Add stocks and mint
It is summer "add stocks and mint" is generally the answer to most problems.
and it is very hot (by English standards) which means that the whole town is animated. There is nothing we like more than a good extreme weather front to moan about.
People you
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Ridin' around in your jeep or your Benzos
Summer summer summertime Dj Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince
It has been a gloriously sunny week too bloody hot, but the forecast for the weekend was somewhat apocalyptic.
My heart goes out to brides sometimes. All those cliff top Big Sur weddings on their pinterest boards, all those al fresco tables under festoon lighting. The constant checking of the weather forecast, Flipping
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The other side of the embroidery
On Saturday night Mr Naylor and I went to the cinema to see Chinese Puzzle Romain Duris AND Audrey Tatou. hashtag allthefrenchcliches. It is good.
In the film they make reference to life being like an embroidery. The first half is the front, the pretty picture, and the second half being the raw working side, less pretty but you understand how it all works.
And then
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A wedding
The mother of this bride and I have previous.
We have done this before, for the bride's sister.
So it was an honour to be asked to do the wedding of Mike and Anna.
Roses, peonies, sunshine and morning suits.
A beautiful classic English wedding.
I think that last photograph is so special.
Photographs by Sarah Vivienne
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School days
This morning i received the Old Girls' Guild newsletter. In it were images of the new home economics room. It looks like something from a tv studio, so very different to our day.
I wasn't very good at home economics, at the end of the Upper 4th i remember my teacher leaning over and saying
"I do hope i won't be seeing you next year"
Nice. She needn't have worried, there was no
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Flower school and flower pizza
22nd September
At the shop
Tablecentres
It is a day for anybody who is interested in making table centres.
Whether you are a bride thinking about doing your own flowers, or just somebody that has a lot of dinner parties.
You will make 2 different arrangements in containers provided using two different construction methods. We will discuss the why and wherefores of each method, and the
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If you gave me a million years to ponder
I would never have guessed that true romance and Detroit would ever go together. And til this day, the events that followed all still seems like a distant dream. But the dream was real and was to change our lives forever.
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When you knew that it was over
were you suddenly aware
that the autumn leaves were turning to the colour of her hair
Crumbled feta
2 grated courgettes
handful of herbs
salt pepper
4 eggs
tablespoon of spelt flour
Mix
Make pancakes
Serve with sliced tomato and a crushing of pomegranate
There will be more words next week after a meeting in the city.
Where we are to discuss what happens when you put a
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The Beehive challenge
It was a cold January day, not much was happening in the shop, when Mr Naylor rang
"I'm putting together a team to work with Farm Africa, your skill set might be useful, do you want to come?"
Skill set - this is how he actually speaks
"Sign me up" said I without much thought, it was cold in the shop and Africa seemed like a very good idea. I have been to Africa before, safari
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Soup
Earlier a couple came into the shop
"We've been married for 66 years" They said
"What is the secret to a long marriage?" I asked
"Keep your head down" he said
It is proper soup making weather now.
Roast a head of cauliflower with sage leaves, garlic cloves and some shallots, i peel them afterwards mainly due to laziness the skins slip off so much easier after roasting.
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This much i know - the Tanzanian edition
1 team of 8 people who barely know one another, and not a single falling out or cross word. hashtag beeteam hashtag invincible.
Saving the world would be easier if Kenya airways had functioning air con / tv screens on their planes. hashtag princess
Driving from Kilimanjaro to Babati means you witness almost every imaginable landscape, from the
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Christmas flower school - How to decorate the home
Course: How to decorate the home at Christmas
Date: Monday December 1st 2014
Price: £300.00
We are venturing out of the shop, with it's mediaeval low ceilings, and stone floors, and into a beautiful Georgian home that is all heavenly light and high ceilings.
How to decorate the home at Christmas is a full day class is set in a beautiful Georgian house in the heart of Stamford,
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Of beehives and blisters
We landed at Kilimanjaro International airport at sometime on Monday morning.
The drive to Babati was one of contrasts, watch the video for a taste of it. Arid orange dust, the city of Arusha, herds of cattle, it has it all.
The following morning we met the farmers and carpenters we would be working with. We were
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The road to Endoji
was long and dusty.
11 people and many beehives in one Toyota Landcruiser climbing higher and higher along the pot hole filled track. One of the things that struck me the most was how far away from anywhere Endoji was.
As we unfurled cramped legs and rather inelegantly fell out of the car, we were met by singing and dancing. There is a glimpse
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Christmas Wreath Workshop in aid of Farm Africa
On the 4th of December we are hosting a Christmas Wreath workshop
at Browne's hospital Broad Street Stamford.
The above painting dated 1870 is the room we are using.
You can't beat a bit of history.
You will make your own wreath on a traditional brass ring, with moss, and heaps of mixed foliage.
followed by a fork supper provided by The Stamford Deli.
and a chance to hear about and
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Hold on tightly let go lightly
I have tried to write this post so many times and failed.
The Hound passed away last week, he became very poorly very quickly, and i had to make the decision that was right for him but is haunting me.
I had a day off today, which it turns out is entirely the wrong thing to do, so it is back to the 18 hour days of wreaths and trees and weddings. Distraction.
Thank you to the staff at
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Of Speculoos and Guy Bourdin
Bonne année and all that jazz
Firstly, thank you for all of your wonderfully caring comments on the passing of The Hound. I cried all day everyday throughout December, customers cried with me, people who i have never spoken to put their head round the door to say how sorry they were, remembering him from his antics in the farmers market or as a regular fixture in the Tobie
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New flower school date and a puppy…..
Spring flower school 27th April 2015 - Techniques
This class is a back to basics/ the building blocks of floristry sort of thing.
In the informal surroundings of the shop, you will learn the techniques of
Hand tied bouquets
Vase arrangements for tables for dinners or weddings
Garlanding for garlands, wreaths and hanging arrangements
Photography tips on photographing your work with a
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More Pages to Explore .....
