Lights, Camers, Action

I’ve got the French TV crew visiting on Tuesday, and I’ve been painting and tidying for what seems like weeks. I remember my old boss at The British Museum, Ken Stannard, speculating before a state visit from the Queen that she must always think that anywhere she visits smells of fresh paint - this TV crew is bound to believe something similar! I had a bit of a dress rehearsal last Wednesday as I had a visit from Omar, a photojournalist from “The Smiley Movement”. The Smiley Movement, I hear you ask, who or what is that? So, you know the yellow smiley face symbol, which was synonymous with the acid house movement of the early 90s? Well, it’s owned by the Smiley brand, who, obviously sitting on a lot of money from copyright, set up the Smiley Movement to make a positive change in the world by highlighting organisations and individuals that put purpose, people and the planet before profit. It’s a great mission statement, and I was flattered to be found by them. On Tuesday, the French film crew plans to meet early so they can follow me on a typical day - from flower pick up to a class I run for Age UK and all points in between! Before then, I’ve got table arrangements for a City Bridge Trust dinner to create and deliver to Tower Bridge. Serendipitously, Shuayb, a young offender with a tremendous eye for colour and placement, started his community service with me last Monday. Thrown in entirely at the deep end, he was an absolute joy and helped me create a funeral arrangement for Chris. Her widower told me later in the week that when he kindly brought me a box of biscuits, everyone at the funeral had commented on the flowers and described them as “the nuts”. I can’t wait to tell Shuayb. Have a great week. Ursula