Day 131 - a real honour girls. xx

Saturday 11th May

We are moving forward minus the sun which we are only getting glimpses of.  We are made of tough stuff on Arran so the driving rain matters not.  We said goodbye to our lovely Jan at lunchtime after a truly memorable visit.  I miss her already!  Last night we have dinner at Coast and I just have to say that every mouthful was wonderful.  Dot, their chef, really knows how to cook.  Jan and I were blown away by her iced raspberries with chocolate sauce.  We just know there was more than just chocolate in that sauce but doubt very much whether Dot will tell us! Mark was his usual delightful self and it was a lovely, lovely evening. 

Saturday awoke to preparations for another flower course.  This time five beautiful young women all learning floristry sprinkled with tea and George's chocolate cake.  They were all a complete delight and I felt honoured to be teaching them.

We set about making an arrangement in a cupcake as they tackled some of the basics.  You can always feel the nerves as they make their first stem cuts before making their greenery frame.  I try and encourage no peeking at other people's work so that they are not influenced by other styles.  That way their own creative voice can begin to emerge.  It always amazes me how different the arrangements are and today was no different.

They were all such engaging young women and if they are typical of the younger generation we should all be very proud.  You just couldn't help feeling that they would all make a real impact on life and that their futures are very bright indeed.

The arrangements were, as always, all the better for not over-teaching and I hope they were pleased with them.

After tea and a piece of chocolate cake we set about the basics of a hand tie.  I introduced the language of flowers and I could see they were charmed by this concept.  The Tussie Mussie is such a beautiful thing to make and it always spreads its magic around the room.  Our own English Bluebells and Garden Mint made the point beautifully that bouquets should have fragrance.  The sterile blooms we are all presented with in the supermarket need to make way for old fashioned scented flowers. 





Creating a simple hand tie for the first time is anything but simple.  The first time you do it you tend to tie yourself up in knots.  We attempted a small Tussie Mussie and I thought the girls did particularly well.  I think they all have a natural flair for shape and colour and the technical aspects will come good as they practice.  I have adapted the Tussie Mussie into 'Healing Posies' that I create to order as gifts for people who are just finding life, at that time, a little challenging.  I think the girls could see how this sort of little gift comes with love and hope all bound up with the herbs and the flowers. 

I always give out little goodie bags at the end of every course as our way of saying thank you.  The girls departed having learned new skills and, I think, appreciating the joy of creating with flowers.  They are all of an age when weddings will come and go through the next few years and I do hope they have the confidence to get involved in some of the flower work.  Their natural ability absolutely shone through.




As I move to almost 10,000 page views on this humble little blog I realise what a joy it has become.  Life is full of interesting stories and these girls are just one example. 

Their positivity was most enchanting and they should really try and bottle it.  I think in amongst all the doom and gloom of the current economic climate we need people like these girls.  They bring us all hope for a much brighter future.  I am passionate about supporting our younger generation as they will shape the world.  After today, I am quite happy to leave it to Victoria, Hattie, Helen, Holly and Elle.  A real pleasure girls.

Thank you to all of you who have offered to make prayer flags for auctioning on my Scottish island mum facebook page.  If you are interested in helping look out there for details.  I am planning a really special giveaway to celebrate 10,000 page views.  Who would have known?  Look out for details tomorrow. 

Until tomorrow.  xx