They say, Sunday is a day of rest.

Even the ‘Big Man’ upstairs was said to have had a day off, in the week when he was supposedly creating the world!!!

If however, you are a conscientious village florist, that’s not always possible. People depend on you, weddings, funerals, births and celebrations can’t be put on hold waiting for the flowers to turn up!

Floral tributes say so much and can convey a multitude of messages and emotions. It may seem a little odd, but designing and making up funeral flowers is one of the things I love most about being a village florist.

Now, some people would say I’m a little unconventional, possibly to the point of slightly deranged, but to me funeral flowers say so much about the person to whom they are attributed to and about those that knew and loved them. It’s so important to get them right.

This week has been a roller-coaster when it comes to emotions. We have had tears of laughter, sadness, weariness and intoxication and for once, the intoxication wasn’t down to the wine merchants next door, but due to the high levels of glue and spray can fumes in the shop, while four florists, a loving family, a few friends and  a husband were busily creating, what I can only say were floral masterpieces!

We often have to nip out on a Sunday morning to collect props and vases from wedding venues, but this week we had a SUNDAY wedding at a venue where we couldn’t set up the day before and had a short time slot where we had to adorn tables and decorate chairs, before the groom, guests and (hopefully) the bride were due to arrive.

This meant roping in family and charming one of my best florists, through promises of the finest coffee, mountains of chocolate and by pulling one of my most pleading expressions, which to be honest resembles an overindulged puppy dog, begging for a lick of your ice-cream.

Either way, it worked!

Once the wedding was done, there was no time to sit back, drink coffee and scoff chocolate. Although, being ‘Head Florist‘ and ‘Creative Director‘, it was essential that I had sufficient rest and necessary sugar intake to keep my mind focussed. I’m sure they understood, as they got to work on the floral tributes for the funeral of someone whose family have become very special to all of us in The Flower Shop, here in Pulborough.

In fact, Becky (the Robin to my Batman) needed no persuasion to give up her Sunday in order to come into work. All week we have been working hard to give the family of a young man, who died suddenly, in tragic circumstances, the best send off possible.

We often meet people for the first time in both the happiest and in the darkest periods of their lives and these acquaintances leave a lasting impression, on all of us. It is extremely hard for us to switch our emotions on and off and anyone coming into the shop last week may have caught at least one of us without our usual jore d’vivre nb. if anyone has heard me attempt to speak french, you’ll know I had to look that up.

I am sitting at home tonight, writing this blog, having today held the hand of this boy’s mother as she placed the final rose into one of the many, many floral tributes requested by his family, his closest friends, his girlfriend and those who simply wanted to express their sincerest condolence.

I feel sad, grateful, emotionally drained and extremely humbled.