Since me last posting have been approached by a couple of local colleges asking me to give students work experience over Christmas - needless to say I am wary. I don't know about anyone else but where I am there seems to be a real shortage of florists, the colleges tell me they have full classes and plenty of people completing courses but where do they all go after, are they all working from home, doing floristry on the side or just ladies that lunch and dabble now and then to impress their friends? When my right hand girl left me to move up north to be with her boyfriend I really struggled to replace her, in the end I tried the colleges (although I really needed someone with experience) but there was nobody interested in working full time, they only wanted part-time, didn't want to work Saturdays and certainly couldn't do overtime when needed. I eventually had to compromise and take someone who had just finished her 1st year and had no shop experience but was keen and wanted to change career paths, she is doing her 2nd year now and from her feedback most of her classmates will complete their courses, carry on their day jobs and do floristry on the side -from home! Thats fine but NIMBY Not sure I could be as ruthless as you flowerfairy but love the thought of turning me shop into a lounge and have decided to use the idea as window display for after Chrismas, may even sit meself in the window supping a glass of wine during the quiet times, can see it now a nice easy chair and a coffee table with a triangle arrangement on it (just for you Greg )