La Jolie Fleur - Fleuriste. Retired

02/23/2025

Chappell Roan

My new favorite, lady songwriter and 2024 Grammy Best New Artist, getting lipsynched by the coolest girl dad with his babygirl. ❤️

538.9K likes, 2873 comments. “The best Daddy!💕”

11/05/2024

A personal family history

When I was a little boy in Wales, both my grandfathers were ailing. I grew up watching their illnesses steel their lives little by little, and then they finally went.

Our nanas were quiet ladies and they lasted longer than their husbands. Memories of them are more vivid than papa and grancha, more hot sweet tea, biscuits, faggots and peas (a favorite Welsh meal of beef broth, peas and a big soft spicy meatball the size of a softball).

The stories of their lives were anecdotal because us kids learned their family histories from our parents, aunties and uncles.

The common thread that connected their stories was WWII. This was easily believed, not only because we loved and trusted our parents, uncles and aunties, but there was still plenty of physical evidence of that war - everywhere. Black and white photos of our parents as children; war time service tattoos on our uncles arms; scruffy, dirty old men sitting alone on park benches with blank stares and ni****ne stained fingers, some missing limbs.

Stories about those times always stopped abruptly, and now as an adult I think those stops were autonomically unconscious protective behaviors - personal traumatic memories likely halted their next sentences. Every single story from every single adult family member ended this way.

I grew up, no longer a simple 7 and 8 year old and became a grown up, intellectual 9 year old (lol). Discovered big holes in the fields and meadows where we played; asked why was there a half buried “den” at the bottom of an old neighbor’s garden. Did actual bombs fall on Newport, I asked.

They did, and the big holes in the fields it turned out were the result of the home defense tactic of stringing lights to fool the night attacks from N**i bombers. They fooled their pilots into thinking these empty arable night time fields were the Newport Docks.

The half buried kid’s den, it turned out was an air raid shelter for the family that used to live in the old house down a few doors from ours. This question unlocked the bombing story from my mother that affected a family a few houses down from her childhood home.

It turns out everyone then had the option to wait out the raids in padded basements, or use the same kind of half buried shelter I discovered by my own house, out on the edge of Newport butted right up next to dairy cattle / sheep meadows.

That night, mam told us, the dad said to the family, we’re sleeping in the basement. I’ve often wondered why.

On that night, their outside shelter took a direct hit, but because they had opted to stay inside - tucked away in their cellar, they lived to see another day.

There are other hardship stories we learned about, like hunger. Night time netting of roosting starlings in the salt marshes close to my dad’s childhood home. Him and his brothers brought back to nana Maher’s kitchen for plucking and cooking into pies for the family: 3 brothers and 2 sisters. 🥲

So why am I reminiscing?

As I observe the current state of politics in my adopted country, I’m tortured by my history. We Brits and ExPat US citizens (just like me) we all have similar stories and share this history. Why?

Fascism ripped Europe apart in the 1930s, dragged the US and all UK Commonwealth countries into the fray and eventually the threat from AXIS (Hitler’s Germany; Italy’s Mussolini; Franco’s Spain; Japan’s Hirohito) it all ended in exhaustion, hunger, disease, fatalities beyond imagination and eventually a delicate but until now, a lasting peace.

Lives were upended, life itself was brutalized- but somehow, countries concurred (even the defeated) that this must never happen again.

On this eve of the most consequential election in the history of the USA, we find ourselves on the precipice of deciding in what kind of country do we want to raise our children and grandchildren.

It really can’t be a facsimile of 1930’s Europe or a replica of present day North Korea; Russia or Hungary. There’s no reason it has to be.

Collectively we can make the decision to prevent those black and white movie news reels showing the Hitler-like cultish obeisance of 1933 N**i Germany revived in the US; we can prevent violent persecutions of minorities; we can recognize the (God given) opportunities we can provide migrants who are fleeing persecution up to and including their own murders.

What kind of country do we want to be. We can’t be both. Please join me in standing against the darkness and violent path that faces us if we acquiesce to the threat of our lifetime.

Donald Trump is the biggest nightmare for this country since the founding of the USA. This man is inhuman, vile, a convicted criminal and a usurper. Please don’t vote for him.

Vote for Kamala Harris. A leader for our time. Thank you from my heart

11/05/2024

A personal family history

When I was a little boy in Wales, both my grandfathers were ailing. I grew up watching their illnesses steal their lives little by little, and then they finally went.

Our nanas were quiet ladies and they lasted longer than their husbands. Memories of them are more vivid than papa and grancha, more hot sweet tea, biscuits, faggots and peas (a favorite Welsh meal of beef broth, peas and a big soft spicy meatball the size of a softball).

The stories of their lives were anecdotal because us kids learned their family histories from our parents, aunties and uncles.

The common thread that connected their stories was WWII. This was easily believed, not only because we loved and trusted our parents, uncles and aunties, but there was still plenty of physical evidence of that war - everywhere. Black and white photos of our parents as children; war time service tattoos on our uncles arms; scruffy, dirty old men sitting alone on park benches with blank stares and ni****ne stained fingers, some missing limbs.

Stories about those times always stopped abruptly, and now as an adult I think those stops were autonomically unconscious protective behaviors - personal traumatic memories likely halted their next sentences. Every single story from every single adult family member ended this way.

I grew up, no longer a simple 7 and 8 year old and became a grown up intellectual 9 year old (lol). Discovered big crater like holes in the fields and meadows where we played; asked why was there a half buried “den” at the bottom of an old neighbor’s garden.

Did actual bombs fall on Newport, I asked.

They did, and the big holes in the fields it turned out were bomb craters, the result of the Homeland Defense tactic of stringing lights outside the town to confuse the night attacks from N**i bombers. They fooled their pilots into thinking these empty arable night time fields were the Newport Docks.

The half buried kid’s den it turned out, was an air raid shelter for the family that used to live in the old house down a few doors from ours. This question unlocked the bombing story from my mother that affected a family a few houses down from her childhood home.

Families then had the option to wait out the raids in padded basements, or use the same kind of half buried shelter I discovered by my own house, out on the edge of Newport - butted right up next to dairy cattle and sheep meadows.

On that night, mam told us, the kids dad said to the family “we’re sleeping in the cellar tonight” . I’ve often wondered why.

On that night, their outside shelter took a direct hit, but because they had opted to stay inside - tucked away in their cellar, they lived to see another day.

There are other hardship stories we learned about, like hunger that led to night time netting of roosting starlings in the salt marshes close to my dad’s childhood home. He and his brothers brought them back to nana Maher’s kitchen for plucking and they went into pies for the family: 4 brothers and 2 sisters. 🥲

So why am I reminiscing?

As I observe the current state of politics in my adopted country, I’m tortured by my history. We Brits and ExPat Brits who became US citizens (just like me) we all have similar stories and share this history …

Fascism ripped Europe apart in the 1930s, dragged the US and all UK Commonwealth countries into the fray but eventually the threat from AXIS countries (Hitler’s Germany; Italy’s Mussolini; Franco’s Spain; Japan’s Hirohito) all ended in exhaustion, hunger, disease, fatalities beyond imagination and eventually a delicate but until now, a lasting peace.

Lives were upended, life itself was brutalized- but somehow, countries concurred (even the defeated) that this must never happen again.

On this eve of the most consequential election in the history of the USA, we find ourselves on the precipice of deciding in what kind of country we want to raise our children and grandchildren.

It really can’t be a facsimile of 1930’s Europe or a replica of present day North Korea; Russia; Iran, Syria or Hungary. There’s no reason we have to resemble these horrific dictatorships.

Collectively, we can make the decision to prevent those black and white movie news reels being produced in the US (where white supremacy K*K rallies and Americans hailing Trump with raised arms in a worshipful salute would be exported around the world).

The frightening mindless faces of followers showing their Hitler-like cultish devotion to an emperor god king. A revival of 1933, N**i Germany with added color from the zealous opinions of Mussolini and Franco.

This is not a model for the US; we have always stood fast against authoritarianism and fought for the rights of others. We can prevent violent persecutions of minorities; we can recognize the (God given) opportunities the US can provide migrants who are fleeing persecution or murder and share our land with those in need.

What kind of country do we want to be. We can’t be both.

Please join me in standing against the darkness and violent path that faces us if we acquiesce to the threat of our lifetime.

Donald Trump is the biggest nightmare this country has ever faced since its founding. The man is inhuman, vile, a convicted criminal and a usurper. Please don’t vote for him.

Vote for Kamala Harris. A leader for our time and an example our children can emulate. Someone who is decent and responsible; a president we can trust to take care of us and not milk us.

A leader we don’t have to shield our children from when he gives a blow job to a microphone stand in front of his adoring fans (who cheer and applaud). A madman who despises crippled wounded service men and women and calls them losers. You know, you’ve heard and seen him yourself.

Please, please don’t let him occupy the White House, ever again.

Thank you from my heart.

10/14/2024

PSA: Feeling the need to share

It is illegal for non-citizens to vote in the US election - but Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed immigrants are going to.

09/23/2024

Another marvelous example of the innate courage and determination women possess, way in excess of their male counterparts. How they perceive problems and design solutions with so much enthusiasm and intellect, makes me realize (seriously) that women not only demonstrate superior social skills and need to be in more positions re. global leadership.

I’m tired and fed up with toxic masculinity and male fragility. Women are the real answer to our global problems and the greed destroying the planet.

They are genetically predisposed to care, nurture and lead our tribes towards a balanced ecology based on caring and sustaining simple living details guaranteed to perpetuate humanity.

Elizabeth Blackwell (3 February 1821 – 31 May 1910) was an Anglo-American physician, notable as the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the United Kingdom.[1] Blackwell played an important role i...

09/17/2024

Old man breaking house rules by hand feeding carrots to ferocious animals at kitchen table.

09/13/2024

No one felt like a conversation today at the breakfast club.

04/15/2024

Was a lovely Easter dinner. Ty Charlie, you rock the kitchen.

08/01/2023

Memories … it’s been a joy!

08/01/2023

La Jolie Fleur, floral designs by Sean Maher, now CLOSED FOR BUSINES

Sadly, today we are announcing that after 14 years we have closed. The timing and reasons for our decision are not very complicated, but they are powerful:

• reduced sales
• increased material costs
• subtle changes in the floral industry that we have been unable to accommodate.

We experimented with a variety of strategies to mitigate the circumstances, but post COVID and despite our efforts, we have not been able to move inventory as quickly or at the volume we needed to sustain the business.

Over the last few years, Charlie and I frequently discussed retirement but the kind of work we do and love; the shop – our home away from home; the staff - our adopted family and the fantastic clients we serve – all tugged at our heart strings so much, we couldn’t bring ourselves to end this chapter and begin our retirement, until now. The “ride” was a dream fulfilled and I did not want it to end, but without doubt it is the moment for us to close the chapter and begin a new one.

Lots of projects are lined up and we’re looking forward to spending more time with each other. Charlie is busy being a dutiful and loving son, continuing his adjunct professorial work at a local college, looking to sing with a new group of musicians closer to home, all while keeping me on a tight rein. There’s a big list for me too: improve the yield from our vegetable garden and experiment with home grown flowers, pursue my love of photography and writing (let’s see where that goes), revive the old German language skills, startup on French, properly groom and exercise our dogs, and … there may be chickens in the future, we will have to wait and see on that one though.

We wanted to say thank you,

•To our suppliers Fall River Florist Supply, Jacobson, Carbone, Chester Brown, and Delaware Valley, thank you for taking care of us.

•To our everyday customers, brides, event and commercial clients, and our family of local florists for your kind and generous support over these 14 years, thank you!

•To our talented staff and friends: Schuyler, Françoise, Mandi, Tomomi, Emily Day at Bellbrook Farm, Brian, Krissi, Jess, Stephanie, Shaheen, and Beth at Ginger Petals, thank you gang, you are absolutely the best. You rock, and we love you!

•To the start-up team and “rescue” helpers: Beth, Albert, Tomomi, Emily Hill, Marianne, Sarah, Nancy, Sonia, Shirley, Bud, Jon and Ari at Sparkle, thank you for believing in us, you were great!

•Finally, to our parents and families, and all of you who helped (many of whom have become good friends), for your contributions and never-ending support, we are so very grateful.

THANK YOU!

Merci d'avoir choisi La Jolie Fleur, au revoir ! Sean and Charlie