OK I think I’ve finally lost the plot!

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you’ll already know that I’m a workaholic and that I don’t react well to stress. On the whole, those two things don’t work particularly well together. It’s no use running around the shop with a box on my head, making chicken noises when there are twenty orders to get out before 9am.

I seem to be getting up earlier and earlier every morning and never actually switching off. I’m not complaining about being busy or doing something I love for a living, but the thing is I don’t always get to spend the day chatting to people and arranging gorgeous flowers that will make people happy. Instead I spend a lot of my time organising shift rotas, worrying about whether we have too much or too little stock, worrying about the potential effects of Brexit, worrying about whether I’ve bought too many Decorative Easter bunnies and not enough Garden lambs.

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Some weeks are manically busy and I need four florists in on most days. Other weeks are less busy and to avoid doing the boring jobs I order more crazy items from the shabby chic catalogue to fill up the shop.

The worst bit however, is having to be the delivery driver all of the time (Well, almost all of the time, now that John’s swanning about up in London all week). I mean a Delivery Driver!!! Do you know I used to be SOMEONE!! I used to be important, I used to have my nails done and wear shoes…with HEELS!

Seriously, sometimes I quite like driving the van and really, it’s not a bad job. I can escape off on my own and potter around the beautiful Sussex countryside, mostly being greeted with joy and surprise from those I’m delivering too (although there is one lady, who always answers the door in her birthday suit, which is less of a nice surprise from my perspective).

This week however the deliveries got a little too much for me. I started work at 7am because I had so many early orders to get out, but couldn’t start delivering until Becky arrived. So as soon as Becky appeared I ran out, packed the van and shot off.

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The first delivery I had to make was in a small town about 5 miles away. It’s a lovely small town built around a huge National Trust House and Estate. As the town is built around the house and the streets are very narrow, a one way system operates through the town itself. To be honest it’s a little confusing. The traffic into the town comes in from two directions, but then converges into a single direction. If you want to turn around and go back the same way, you can’t. Instead you are filtered up and around the narrow streets, then shoved out at the bottom of the town and made to go around the outside. It sounds confusing but it’s quite easy if you are not stressed out and in a rush.

This particular morning I was stressed and in a rush and ended up driving my little, liveried Flower Shop- Pulborough van the wrong way around the one way system!!!!

Worse, was I realised my mistake right outside a rival Florist shop and I had to do a rather hurried three-point turn (which in my panic turned into a nine-point turn) right in front of the shop, while two members of staff stood watching and pointing.

So, I’ve decided, I need a Delivery Driver. So if you know of anyone who has a clean licence and doesn’t get flustered under pressure, ask them to pop into the shop.

Oh and before I forget…. if you want flowers delivered on Mothering Sunday (next week), get your orders in quickly as slots are booking up fast. xxx