This article was first published in the West Sussex Gazette on November 27th 1997.

Her father was a market gardener at Rock, Washington, a country man who loved life and lived it to the full, even to the extent of riding a penny-farthing bicycle all the way to London; just one of the exploits detailed in last week's introduction to the Goatcher family, a fascinating insight made possible by the loan of a diary kept by Miss E Goatcher's father, Raymond in the 1890s.

Now for further revelations, firstly a note dated February 1892 mentioned that he went to a pantomime at Brighton and slept at the Cricketers. I wonder what was on then? Later that same year, on Wednesday 28th December he returned to Brighton again with Marie and saw another pantomime. 'Went by 10.50 am back home 7.50 pm.'

On another occasion he and Marie both travelled to London to see a show at the Leicester Square Theatre.

Trips he did not relish were those to the dentist to have teeth made to fill gaps in his mouth.

There was the time when Raymond rode his bicycle to Broadwater, setting out at 4.30 pm and returning by 10.25 pm. 'Lively events there in front of the pub, more than at majority of fairs,' he wrote. Which pub would that have been? The Cricketers? The Maltsters? The Old House at Home?

He mentions joining in the local Jubilee celebrations in 1897 to mark Queen Victoria's 60 years on the throne.

Raymond Goatcher spent an enjoyable lifetime working the land, an interest he handed down to his daughter Elizabeth, who went on to become a plantswoman in her own right. She once made a collection of 530 wild flowers of Sussex, all pressed and named, and also took prizes at the Village Flower Show.

Having read of the well-known floral expert, Constance Spry, and having always wanted to take a training, Elizabeth was fortunate in being taken on at Constance Spry's flower shop on the decorating staff, and later worked in close contact with her, teaching and demonstrating at The Winkfield School until she eventually decided to move on to pastures new.

Answering an advertisement for a florist at a West End Hotel, she successfully completed the interview despite, as she admits, she was not in her first flush of youth, not even the second, but she pointed out that she was definitely not tottering into her grave! It was that sense of humour that helped her throughout her career and she became the Head Florist of the Savoy Group.

Thousands of pounds worth of flowers passed through Elizabeth's hands, some from private growers such as rhododendrons from estates in the spring and delphiniums in the summer, and azaleas direct from a nursery in the winter months, but mostly they came from Covent Garden. A lot of thought was required for the needs of special parties at Claridge's and The Savoy, a challenging task that she met head on and tackled extremely efficiently.

From 'green fingers' in the family to being Head Florist of such high class hotels, Elizabeth Goatcher enjoyed her challenging work immensely. About 20 years ago she retired and subsequently moved to Worthing.

This article was first published in the West Sussex Gazette on November 27th 1997.