‘Oh my, it’s so surreal,’ Florrie said as the camera flashed to her own face. ‘It’s so strange. Look at my hair and make-up! It looks fantastic!’ She laughed, swishing her hair from side to side. ‘But do I actually sound like that? I’m not sure I like my voice.’
‘No one likes their own voice,’ chipped in Martha. ‘I’ll go and cover the van until closing. Sales were a little slow this morning but I think that’s just because everyone was watching you on TV.’
‘There was a crowd gathered at the TV studio gates. I couldn’t quite believe they had made a special trip to try and get a glimpse of me!’
‘Famous you are. Everyone loves you and that van,’ replied Martha before disappearing outside.
While she tucked into her sandwich, Florrie watched the rest of the interview.
‘Ada would have been so proud of you.’
‘Let’s just hope it’s enough and we can stop the planning permission from being approved.’
As soon as Florrie’s appearance came to an end, Isla switched off the TV.
‘I’ll take a look at your socials now and see what the response is to your news.’ Isla looked down at her phone just as Martha appeared at the door.
‘Have you run out of flowers already?’ asked Florrie, concerned by the look on Martha’s face.
‘Not quite,’ she replied. ‘I think you need to come and look at this.’
‘What is it?’ asked Isla, but Martha was already out the door.
‘Gran looked quite serious.’
Florrie pushed her chair back. ‘We’d better do as she says then and take a look.’
Hurrying after Martha they stopped short at the gate of the cottage.
‘Oh my gosh.’ Florrie looked at Isla then back at Martha, who was standing on the other side of the gate in front of a sea of people holding placards.
‘Save The Vintage Flower Van,’ they chanted. ‘Save Rose Cottage Gardens.’
Florrie leaned towards Martha. ‘Who are these people?’
‘Environmentalists. They’re a local group from Glensheil. They advocate for the protection of the environment and don’t agree with harmful human activity – and by that I mean they don’t agree with W. Houston Property Developers proposing to destroy the gardens. They visit Flowers in Bloom every year and couldn’t believe the sad news you shared in your interview this morning.’
‘Wow! I’m not sure what to do or say. This is a good thing, isn’t it?’
‘It’s always good to have support, and these people are very influential when it comes to spreading the word. They have a huge success rate and a track record of saving land from building work.’
‘And who is this?’ Florrie pointed to a large van with blacked-out windows that had just turned into the top of the road.
They stayed where they were and watched as the van pulled up opposite the cottage. The driver cut the engine and a man jumped out of the passenger side, followed by the driver, who slid open the side door of the van and soon had a microphone in his hand.
‘They’re reporters,’ whispered Isla, watching as one of them balanced a camera on his shoulder. ‘It’s TV News.’
Florrie’s heart began to pound. Aidy was right, the media attention was escalating just as he’d anticipated! Everyone wanted a piece of her. She quickly turned towards Isla and grimaced.
‘What are you doing?’ asked Isla, looking confused.
‘Check my teeth. Do I have chocolate brownie or any of my sandwich stuck anywhere?’
‘All clear,’ stated Isla with a chuckle.
‘Florrie, can we have a moment of your time? I’m Ollie, from BBC Scotland News. We’ve seen your interview this morning and would like to chat with you if possible, and take a look around the gardens. Would that be okay?’
Florrie nodded. ‘Yes, of course.’
