Flowerseller Heidi Celebrates 40 Years As A Guildford Market Stallholder

Published on: 3 Sep, 2017
Updated on: 6 Sep, 2017

Heidi Jones

Heidi Jones celebrated forty years as a stallholder at Guildford market this weekend (2/3 August, 2017). She first opened her flower stall in 1977.

“I just love it,” she said before describing her interesting life history.

Heidi (nee Liniger) came to England from Wiedlisbach, between Berne and Basel in Switzerland to learn English in 1966.

Her first job was to work for Britain’s formost Second World War soldier, ‘Monty” – Field Marshall Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, as a parlour maid at his home in Bentley, Hampshire.

“He was still very military, even in his 80s,” recalled Heidi. “A stickler for detail. Woe betide us if he found any dust. He would wipe surfaces with his finger and say, ‘What is this?'”

It was while she was working for Monty that she met her husband, Joseph, at a Guildford night club Dronfields, above Russell & Bromley’s shoe shop in the High Street.

After a short spell working as a ward maid at Brompton Hospital, Heidi got a job in the brassiere and corsetery department of Harvey’s, the department store that is now House of Fraser.

“There was lots of squeezing people into things,” she chuckled. Her boss at the time became the wife of newscaster Sir Trevor McDonald.

In 1969 she married Joseph Jones from Ash Vale and a few years later they had two children. During this period Heidi worked as a door-to-door collector for Provident Financial.

It was in 1977 that her friend Betty Teed decided she could no longer manage her combined greengrocery/flower stall at Guildford market, situated near the library, so she asked Heidi if she would like to take on the flower selling part.

Heidi is at her flower stall rain or shine. But on Saturday for the 40th anniversary as a stallholder it was shine. Heidi’s stall can be found in North Street market near the rear entrance of Angel Gate.

Despite having no special knowledge of flowers – “I hadn’t a clue about flowers” – Heidi decide to give it a go and has not looked back.

“I just love it,” she enthused. “Guildford people are so friendly and why not? Flowers normally put us all in a good mood.”

What about British weather? “Once you are wet you are wet!” she said fatalistically. And no, she definitely wouldn’t prefer an indoor market, “They hardly ever work,” she said.

Heidi supplies cut flowers and is popular with those who make flower arrangements for churches. She supplies bouquets and Christmas wreathes but not wreathes for funerals. She used to work Woking and Slyfield markets too but now finds working Guildford market is enough.

So what are the “in” flowers at the moment? “Roses and lillies are popular, but pinks not so much. They are seen as old-fashioned. Though they’re still popular with some of my older customers.”

One of her oldest customers, Tamsy Baker, said: “I was one of her first customers in the days there was also fruit and veg on the stall. Of course, she was the top stall outside the library and the butchers then.

“She has always had a loyal team of women and she has always formed strong ties with her customers. At the end of the day she so often sent me home with a bunch of lilies for my husband Pete, his favourite flowers. She has always been so generous and made all her customers feel special.

“And she was always positive, even when it was raining, snowing or windy. As a customer we would go home at 5.30 but she had to take down her stall, pack up the lorry and drive home having started at 3am to go up to buy her flowers from somewhere near Heathrow.

“I think she has been wonderful. She is a Swiss woman who has contributed very positively to Guildford.”