I’m pretty sure everyone already knows, but it was my Birthday this week! I might have kept WHICH birthday it was fairly quiet, but the fact that it WAS my birthday was well publicised.

I like to share celebrations and I need absolutely no excuse to buy cake or drink champagne, whatever the occasion, whatever hour of the day (maybe this is why I’m a florist, it gives me a good reason to join in other people’s celebrations). However I had a busy start to Friday morning with a wedding to get out, a chandelier to decorate and a couple of bouquets to deliver.

I arrived at the shop early as usual only to find someone had already been in.

There were Birthday banners across the door and a box full of my most favourite things (mostly gin) sitting on my workbench. I was as excited as a five year old hoping for a unicorn, clapping like a seal about to be thrown a fish and grinning like a cheshire cat.

If the day couldn’t get more exciting, Alison, Lisa and Becks turned up with CAKE!!!… Lots of CAKE!

My sensible head told me I had to take control of the situation quickly before I fell face first into cake, cracked open the champers and gave up work for the day.

Miche – van keys, two deliveries; one huge birthday bouquet for Bury, one for the school in Fittleworth – GO!!

Lisa, Becks – Amberley Castle, contract flowers and chandelier flowers – GO!

Alison, Me – Orders ready for morning collections – GO!

“Make sure you’re all back here at 11am for cake”

At the stroke of eleven o’clock, work benches were filled with cake, candles and coffee care of the lovely Little Bean Cafe up the road. Traditionally, it would be one candle for every year, but if there were that many candles we’d need a MUCH bigger cake, the fire brigade on standby and a heavy duty leaf-blower to blow them all out, so I settled for one candle for every decade.

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The whole day was wonderful, suppliers and customers kept coming in to wish me Happy Birthday I even received cards and best wishes from lots of people in the village, coffee from the coffee shop, wine from the wine shop…I was really hoping for a house from the estate agent across the road but the hand-made card was just as warming and made me feel most at home, here in the village.