Masterchef

Today I had a meeting with a man who sounded exactly like Lloyd Grossman. The meeting lasted an hour, during which time I hoped he would say the immortal phrase "Cogitated, deliberated and digested". Sadly he didn't.

Summertime, and the living is easy

1. and 2. Flowers Chez Miss P, 3. and 4. Rediscovering the delights of Whippet Grey, 5. and 6. Wicker basket by day, patent leather by night.

The Melbourne Grand Prix was certainly an interesting race that caused a lot of debate in our house. A rather magnificent start for Brawn GP, it would have been a great shame if all of last years resources Honda ploughed into the development of the 2009 car had gone to waste. Obviously all it needed was a nice Mercedes engine. What do we all think of KERS? Kubica was doing rather well without it, some needed it's boost, is the additional weight - which we have deduced is akin to having The Hound as a passenger, worth it? Needless to say Mr F thinks it should be abolished, and even had to admit that Mr Hamilton did rather well to start 2oth and finish 3rd. (One place up after Mr Trulli was penalised)

The shop reopens tomorrow - I am thinking Easter, twigs, flowering bulbs, the odd chocolate egg, and a game pie??

Teal is the new taupe

Bringing the colours of Botswana to Rutland, 1.new teal mugs by Le Creuset 2. Dresser revamped with a little help from Dulux Velvet Touch 1 3. Interesting ingredients cooked by The Aristocrat 4. Feta, chorizo and pea tart by Mr Ferrari 5. The Hound has reached new levels of devilment.

The Mother Hen has been in hospital after an accident, but is thankfully on the mend, and will doubtless get better sooner if she rests as instructed!!

A wedding in London

Yesterday was the wedding of my friends Michelle and Tim. Vintage roses, antique lace wedding dress, routemaster bus, the sights, friends old and new, a lot of champagne and the sunniest day. Perfection.

All the fun of the fair

The mid lent fair has arrived in town, providing hours of entertainment for small children, and a traffic and parking nightmare for adults.

As The Hound is allergic to candyfloss, the shop will be closed for the week, and we will reopen on Tuesday march 31st at 9am. See you all then - have a good week.

Mothering Sunday madness

I think insanity is about 10 minutes away from setting in, the giggling has started and the enormity of the task ahead is sinking in. There have already been quite a few late nights......

Mr Ferrari brought me in lunch yesterday, monkfish and octopus salad with a garlic vinaigrette, bread and butter and a knife and fork. It was perfection, sadly he has had to do actual working today, so i have had a horrible sandwich from Tesco, and far too many Extreme chocolate bites from M&S. I am now craving red meat. If you ordered flowers for your Mummy in Stamford, he might be the one to deliver them, sorry ladies you can't request him, it is all done on routes and planned to the last house - supposedly.

We haven't had time to keep up with sweeping the floor, so far we are missing 8 pairs of scissors, 18 pens and 2 small children - perhaps they are under all this?

I carried a watermelon

Once upon a time, Mr Ferrari, Mr Naylor, Miss Watts and I travelled to a glamorous party, set on a hill with a dense carpet of primroses.

We were responsible for bringing the cake, if you have never travelled with a cake piled high of glitter roses I can heartily recommend it for amusement value alone.

The party was hosted in a tent filled with roses, zebra print chairs and scented candles.

We all drank Champagne, feasted on crab cakes and ate a lot of cake.

On the way home we sang 80's songs and decided nobody should put Mimi in a box

A little bit of a big bonanza

A rather fabulous weekend has been rounded off by watching the BBC adaptation of The No.1 ladies detective agency. It is a delicious treat on a Sunday night, to sit with a glass of Sancerre, a piece of Cashel blue, a hunk of sourdough and the colours of Botswana.

Details of the fabulous weekend to follow.

The sun is shining, the sap is rising and a bumble bee has just been for tea.

What a difference the sunshine makes, the streets of Stamford are filled with eager shoppers, chattering and filling their wicker baskets*with goodies from the farmers market. The air is filled with optimism, talk of summer weddings and the first bumble bee made his way into the shop. Drawn in by the heady scent of paperwhites and hyacinth, he has had a cup of Earl Grey and is sat discussing the staggering times set by the new Brawn BGP001 in Barcelona with The Hound. If you have never seen a bumble bee and a lurcher in conversation - I can tell you it is quite the sight.

Hats for Cheltenham

I have just sold one of my favourite pots of bulbs, thankfully to a very lovely regular customer who will treasure it's quirkiness, and fill it with our flowers throughout the year.

These local tulips open out like peonies

I have eaten a Caramac bar for my breakfast.

*wicker baskets are still de rigeur in these parts, there was a brief flirtation with modern nylon trolleys, but the bright colours and patterns clash terribly with tweed -don't you find?

For Primrose Hill and all other interested parties

The Flower Shop and Friends book is available from us priced at £25.00 with £5 p+p by first class post within the UK.

It is a very heavy book, so give us a call for postage abroad.

If your heart should desire Miss P can sign it or write a dedication, splendid idea for a Mother's Day.

Things we have sold today

Some sweets and a bit of ribbon

Lots of cards and wrapping paper

The odd flower or two

A lot of daffodils

Photos by the talented Mr Crush - are you bored of me waxing lyrical about him? Tough, I haven't finished yet.

Also, we have been rediscovering our memories of the parents musical choices through Spotify. Songs you might listen to, but don't want them on your i-pod. How have we lived without listening to Ku Ku Kurama for the last decade or three?

Picture for the delight and delectation of The Other Miss Pickering, do you remember the stereo next to the fireplace?, and the old tape recorder we used to record the charts from the radio?xoxo

Defiant

The Hound has had an air of defiance about him all day. It has taken 2 large pieces of cheese, 1 jar of peanut butter, and 3 slices of bacon to encourage him to take his worming tablets and he has traipsed nearly all the soil from the garden into the house. Taking him to dine on smoked salmon with The Aristocrat has only temporarily placated him.

He is now reclining on the chaise lounge reading a biography of Michael Schumacher which he seems to have mysteriously acquired yesterday.

Food

Over the last few days I have been lucky enough to eat good food in the presence of great people.
Over one dinner we discussed our favourite meal. I have found mine to vary depending on my mood. This week it is Pintxos in San Sebastian, Spain, moving from bar to bar eating little morsels. The photograph above of said town is by Mr Emmerich, a very talented photographer friend of mine, it hangs in my sitting room.

The Hound always replies with roast chicken and butternut squash. He is a creature of habit.

Mother's Day - local and nationwide delivery

Mother's Day this year is the 22nd March - two weeks today, when we all say thank you to our Mummy's. Thank you for your support and guidance, for looking after The Hound, and thank you so much in advance for lending me your diamond necklace to wear to the party - that sort of thing.
We will be using the best quality spring flowers, (a lot of them locally sourced) with our signature roses, and gardeny foliage.

Pretty in Pink - from the pale vintage to the bright fuchsia

Crocodile Rock - For those like Mr John who prefer a palette of white

Lady Chatterley- the gardeny one, a mix of roses and spring flowers combined with herbs of rosemary, lavender, myrtle and sage from the garden at the shop, or Miss P's garden or that of the garden of the Mother Hen (a great place to be let loose with a pair of secateurs)

Be Bold - for those who prefer more colour a mix of burgundy, orange and red.

Delivery available throughout the UK, prices Small £45.00, Medium £60.00 Large £80.00 including delivery.

Call us on 01780 482961 to place your order

The above bouquets are our suggestions, if your Mummy prefers oriental lillies and eucalytpus, or a cacophony of yellows, we will arrange a bespoke bouquet for you.

All photography by Mr Crush

The Great Annual Bird of Paradise migration

Once a year we throw open the door, and allow the birds of paradise to fly in, they stayed only briefly before setting off for Oundle. Last year we escorted them to a wedding where they rested atop vases and danced to a steel band. Who knows where they may head to next year? It will be next year before they are seen again.

I heard this song this morning, and remembered what a fabulous video it was, I am terrible fond of an impromptu tango, and riding in the back of a convertible with Alan Rickman. The Hound doesn't share my enthusiasm and has been grumpy all day, one of my customers has declared it to be "A man thing". Also my name isn't Louise.

Easy Living magazine April 2009

Judging by the first flick, a very good issue. 1. Floral dresses, 2. Yellow interiors - my current favourite 3. Big hair, I would like to achieve this look for a party next weekend, how is it done?

The Mad Hatter's Tea Party

Heston Blumenthal's Victorian feast on channel 4 was fabulous. Any man wanting to make a real life version of the "Drink Me" Potion is worth paying attention to. Who else would even think to make the mythical aperitif of toffee, hot buttered toast, custard, cherry tart and turkey? Or a mock turtle soup pocket watch? The mix of alchemy, gastronomy and Victorian titillation was enthralling. Next week Medieval feast - can't wait.

In the shop today