A few years back, I worked as a florist for the beautiful Edinburgh shop, Rose and Ammi. Florists serve at the sharp end of people's lives; birth and death, love and loss, romance and disillusionment, are the stuff our days are made of. Over a couple of years of sharing the daily dramas of flower shop life, the owner, Lydia Cywinski and I became firm pals, as they say up north. I miss her good company and wicked sense of humour and thank her for her endless patience with me!