It's back

Our Christmas course.

Wreaths, table decorations, flowers in your hair.

Proper hands on. Make stuff. Take it home.

Details to follow next week.

Divine inspiration

I have just popped into the antique bookshop next door and found a huge pile of beautiful books. Jim the owner of said bookshop has told me their tale. Then we had a quick chat about the Indian Grand Prix.
Back in the 1950's, a group of men decided to put together a series of books on Natural History. They got Collins the publishers on board, and then hunted out all the experts in various genres and made them write books.

I have a romantic notion of these men, sitting around all Mad Men style smoking cigarettes in a gentlemans' club and getting all passionate about entomology. Swoon.

The book jackets were illustrated by a husband and wife team, Clifford and Rosemary Ellis. I don't know how illustrating as a team works? Does one draw and the other colour in?

also for those of you that didn't get the Geof thing, go directly to 2.54 minutes in.

Today's crush is Bruce Wayne. Again the one on the right.

Also if you reside in the UK it is a Kilner jar not a Mason jar.

No matter where I roam

I will come back to my English rose
For no bonds can ever tempt me from she
I've sailed the seven seas,
Flown the whole blue sky.
But I've returned with haste
To where my love does lie.

Nothing more poetic than a bit of The Jam

We are roaming away from roses, time for some non-floral florals.

Some for a wedding, and some just because.

The chocolate cosmos arrives tomorrow.

Thank you for all the web advice, a lot of you are all out there doing your own thing.

and on another note, is it wrong to fancy Geof from Charm City Cakes?  I have discovered The Food Network is on Freeview.

He is the one on the right.

Technology meltdown

It hasn't been the best weekend for technology and I. There was an incident, things were said, it's over.

The wesbite has been hacked, nobody seems to have a copy of the original to upload, i have learnt some very valuable lessons.

Mainly that if you have an I.T. problem Cityboy1 will dry your tears, and in this day and age not understanding code is just ignorant.

So i am going to build my own site. Yes me. It will have a new web-shop with things to buy that are not flowers, so i will be able to cash in on all the international readers....

The web-shop is already under-construction, the rest of it....not so much. It needs to be a catalogue site, with mainly photographs of flowers and a few words.

Who knows of a good package that lets you do this, even if you are a simpleton? please don't say "i design websites here is my number" I am looking for more of a dictator absolute power approach.

So far i know of Wordpress which seems to be the basis of many other sites, and livebooks.

and in other news, after a strawpoll a very large percentage of my customers have allotments. One is under threat. I have been given permission to make pictures to raise awareness. #beyondexcited.

also i have been hunting and gathering interesting things, coral? small houses, amusingly titled books and the world.

and we ate ribs and stuffed potatos in the garden, by candlelight.

Go west

You can choose from the Pet Shop Boys or the actual band.

You know you are going to have a good day in London when your train ticket is stamped with a butterfly.
The reach of Martha Stewart knows no bounds.

Rendez-vous's with brilliant brides, site visits, (i can't wait to get my hands on this place), and consultations held in old haunts.

Then onward to The Garden Museum, both for a site visit and a book launch. Two birds with one stone.

Clara wore a Mama Cass inspired vintage number, I wore the glitter shoes. Everybody else wore green or brown. Finally a chance to meet Mr West. Such fun.

The book is lovely, as the name would suggest, it's the story of an allotment. A little instructional, a little cookbook, but it is the human story that has me sneering at customers interrupting my reading of it this morning.

The characters of the allotments, and the personal final chapter.

There followed a discussion on allotments, what the future held for them, waiting lists, the average age of an allotmenteer that sort of thing. Will the current trend of grow your own whilst wearing Boden and sipping tea from an enamel mug in a bunting decked shed last? Does this really happen? Or is it a myth portrayed by the lifestyle catalogues wanting to increase sales of red wellington boots?

Given the location the chat was mainly of city allotments, where there will always be a demand for extra productive land. What of the allotments in rural areas? where we all have gardens and went a bit Alys Fowler and started growing veg in amongst the shrubbery. There are some near my home, i might have a wander down with my camera and find out. In a photo journalist styley.

Do you have an allotment?  Do you have a secret photo jourmalist styley blog?

The Hound installed himself in the guest wing Chez Mother Hen and The Captain. The perfect vantage point for catwatch.

The book is out now, you can buy it on Amazon, or be old school and buy it in a bookshop. or watch a video of the plot instead. It involves a cat. The Hound has watched it 327 times.

Dividing opinion today

Limonium China Red
Firecracker
Tom Pearce

also can men and women ever really be friends or does the sex part always get in the way?

answers on a postcard if you will.

I never knew i was a techno fan

Completely unrelated post title, i just love the music from the Easyjet advert. The Wombats. I also love that it is stills and not video.

Back to the cake and decoration thereof.

Holly from Mimosa bakery and i were chatting about cakes. I asked her to make me a tall cake sans sugar paste.

She did.

and i styled it up.

Sequins are my absolute favourite thing. If anything stands still long enough i will cover it in sequins. Even cake.

Other favourite things for tops of cake include gladioli flowers.

How to wear flowers in your hair part ?

I have lost count of which number we are up to, but this is only half a post. There isn't a tutorial.

Yesterday I spent many hours wiring roses, hydrangea, lavender, and other things to make headdresses for small children.

Then last night I rummaged through the detritus on the workroom floor and salvaged a few flowers to make one for me.

Just for fun.

Cyclamen, senecio, limonium, and other things i can't remember the name of. Bad florist.

I had to take a few photographs, most were of the ceiling.