The Bucket residence, the lady of the house speaking

Here's a handy tip. If you've got metal buckets full of water, and you hear that the temperature is going to drop to -10 degrees, then EMPTY THEM. Otherwise you get to play the super fun game of Icebucketpalooza, where no one is a winner.

Here are some jaunty photos of the wedding at Lympne Castle which I did just before Christmas. It was great to be a guest at the wedding, as it's quite sad doing wedding flowers, dropping them off, and never getting to see the finished effect, or the reaction it gets. Often you don't even get to see the bride when you drop bouquets off, although when you do see the bride, she bursts into tears - usually of joy....I think.

I had a strict wedding flower timetable, thrown into total chaos when I woke up on day 1 of the Strict Timetable to find I had been stricken by the mystery illness of ultimate doom. Thus, instead of the leisurely, consistant, no-detail-too-small approach I had envisaged, I instead had to do my best impression of a headless chicken. My degree in drama served me well for this, as I was once lucky enough to play the part of a chicken in a production about eggs...

Anyway, it all got done in the end, it looked lovely, everyone had a jolly time and love conquered all. At the wedding I mean, not in the egg play.

Christmas went by in a flash of greenery, food and new socks, and here we are in 2009. Naturally, having made approximately an infinte number of wreaths, I only got round to doing one for my front door on Christmas Eve...

I have a new diary for 2009, and as I leafed through it I noticed that it listed every single obscure international holiday (this year, Cheese Day, Clear Off Your Desk Day, and Presidential Inauguration Day all fall on January 20.) but NOT Valentines day. I was perturbed. Had I got the wrong date? Had I imagined the whole sorry debacle? I'm pretty sure it still exists. I think I'll join the crusade to say NO to red roses on Valentines day, and recommend beautiful posies of scented seasonal bulb like things this year. That's eco love. It seems absurdly early to start thinking about such things but us florists have to get a head start on things. Especially those of us who manage to freeze our own equipment by mistake...