Typography & design by
Richard Wolfströme

Exhibition and installation
by Standard 8

Website
Words William Shaw
Design Richard Wolfströme
Photography Kenny Laurenson

Publishing consultant Adrian Driscoll

An Unmadeup Production

All the way to Vienna, he carries the blooms carefully on his lap

Gunn’s Florist is one of the oldest family-run businesses in Brighton. Sue Gunn, who runs the shop in Sydney Street, remembers when there were three fresh meat shops, just in their road. 13-14 Sydney Street

Glen has lived in Brighton all his life. He was married for twenty years, single for five. Then Martina came to learn English, renting a room in his house, staying on after the course was finished.

He tried another shop first. They didn’t have any so he came up to Sydney Street instead. It’s not easy to find sunflowers at this time of year but that’s what he wants.

"I’ve only a few left," says the florist.

All smiles, Glen parks his suitcase by the table at the back of the shop, picks out five of the best from the galvanised metal vase, hands them to the woman. She knocks a little off the price; a couple of them are quite small, she says.

He always buys Martina sunflowers if he can.

Clutching them, he trundles his case south, down through the North Laine, across North Street to Pool Valley, arriving in time to catch the Jetlink bus to Heathrow. All the way to Vienna, he carries the blooms carefully on his lap.

The pressurised cabin dries them. He knows they won’t last long treated like this, just a few days on her kitchen table before they start to go.

Martina makes it to the gate just as he walks off the plane. They hug. Standing back he says, "Here’s some flowers," and holds them out to her.

Almost a year he’s been flying back and forth, one weekend a month. Soon he’ll put his house in Brighton up for sale. It’s his turn to learn a new language now. He’ll give up being a builder too. He’s been doing it 20 years; he doesn’t want to do that any more. He’ll be making a new life in Austria with Martina. All his life he’s wanted to live somewhere else apart from Brighton.

It’ll be strange not to have the sea.