Floral in Wroughton

After an extended morning at work, I rushed home to sort out my stock of cards, and put together some supper and a suitable outfit for an evening event. Steve and I loaded the car and headed out in a storm to Wroughton, near Swindon, where we'd been booked to run stalls.

I guess I forgot in April, when I was asked to do this, how early it gets dark in December! The driving rain didn't help, and we took a wrong turning and ended up looping through country lanes in a near-blackout . As we arrived at the community centre, the rain, which had stopped momentarily, began coming down as if a bathplug in the sky had been pulled. All over the car park, women could be seen being propelled forward, bent double by the wind, struggling with blown-out umbrellas.

While Steve unloaded under trying conditions, I found our pitch in the hall and started setting up at record speed. The event was a flower arranging / floral art demo for the Swindon branch of NAFAS. I have to say I knew almost nothing about floral art before this evening, but the demonstration was outstanding.

The demonstrator was Nick Grounds. I gather he's rather well known on the circuit, and is also a plant auctioneer. He made several fabulous creations over the course of almost two hours, keeping up an easy speaking style all the while. Being at the back with our cards stalls, I couldn't hear every single word, nor see too well, but I snapped one of his arrangements at the end. Most of the others had been taken away by then.

We sold cards before and after the demonstration, and I'm pleased to report that I did sell a few more packs of Christmas cards, as well as some florals.

I even bought some dinner candles and pine cones from a wholesaler, so I guess that means I'll be making a Christmas centrepiece, something I've never ever done. This year, I'm trying to avoid buying any Christmas decorations or glitter made from plastic. Makes it a bit harder. (The two trees for which I organised the decorations in the recent festival in Stroud were largely plastic and glitter-free. I do find myself being censorious, though, and I was happy with the demonstrator's environment-friendly tips on flower arranging).

We didn't get back.home until after eleven. The whole gig had taken six hours! Can't say that well be doing it again in winter, but I'm really glad we went, and the customers were lovely, too.