Mary has a wide variety of flowers, ranging from the exotic flowers, country garden type flowers to…read moreall the usual favourites, like tulips and daffodils. There's never a dull moment when Mary's around, she always manages to make me laugh every time I visit the shop. You must visit the shop! It's a traditional little flower shop situated opp Heaton Chapel train station. In my opinion, it's the jewel in Heaton Moor.

Seeing our wedding pictures on here brings back such happy memories. Jackie did the most fabulous…read morejob with our wedding flowers. She understood what I wanted and then with her amazing ideas, skill and expertise, exceeded my expectations to create the most beautiful centre pieces and bouquets. Thank you Jackie xxx

Bed of roses, blue orchid, daisy lane, build me up buttercup yes the music industry understands the…read morepower of flowers do you? Bon Jovi, The Foundations, The White Stripes, Blue October and The Stereophonics all knew that they were dealing with one of the most powerful aphrodisiacs known to man and thus created great songs for them. Boardmans Teleflora is probably the tiniest spot on the map on oxford road but is home to any bouquet your or her heart my desire. The businesses owner knows flowers and thus can save any man who can't tell a lily from a daisy for that someone special so don't just grab the first set you see have a chat and no doubt your bacon can probably be saved.

Teleflora does sound ridiculously like a Pokémon doesn't it? But what is it really? In fact its not…read moreeven in The Oxford English Dictionary. The closest match is 'teleferic', meaning cable car, first used in October 1916 in Windsor Magazine: 'we walk a little way and then go up by the teleferic'. I am willing to admit that the implications of teleflora and not related to teleferic in any way whatsoever, so mentioning teleferic is completely irrelevant nonsense. It does however, hold the key to decoding the meaning of teleflora. Tele comes from the Greek verb 'to carry'. Cable cars carry people. Flora means plants, as we all know. So the title of this florist is now read Bored Man Carries Plants. Are you bored? Why not spice things up with some lovely exciting anti-boring flowers? Plenty are on sale here, and for very reasonable prices indeed. An alternative way to alleviate boredom would be to have a beer next door at Big Hands. Or you could do both. I like both.

WHSmith at Manchester Piccadilly is a pretty good branch, especially for a travel store, the prices…read moremight be really high, to the point I can't understand why as there are multiple rivals nearby selling many of their items or similar items for less, but they do have a pretty good selection if you're in a rush, ahead of getting a train. I do like the special events they seem to have on here, they sell Airpods and more recently they brought the Carabao Cup here ahead of 2020, giving supporters the chance to get a selfie with the trophy, this was a pretty cool experience to lift the trophy right before Manchester City defeated Aston Villa to retain the trophy for the third year in a row at Wembley back in 2020. (This was an experience offered by Carabao as part of their trophy store, but it is nice to see the store arranging experiences like that) They do also sell the IRN-BRU Energy drink range here, they are one of the few stores outside of Scotland to do so, I think it tastes terrible and at 2.5x the price of Carabao, it isn't worth it, but if you do love IRN-Bru, you'll probably like it. 4* - For a travel location, this branch of WHSmith is good, although I do prefer grabbing my drinks and travel stuff from the Co-Op just outside the station as the store looks a little better inside and is much cheaper.

The Observer? Tick Sunday Times? Tick…read moreTelegraph? Tick Mojo magazine? Tick Elle magazine? Tick Food and Travel? Out of stock. Thanks WH Smith for almost making my Sunday afternoon.

This mid sized florists is central to a row of shops in the town of Heaton Moor, well technically…read moreit is a town but it has a distinct villagey feel with its larger than life characters and points of local interest. The stunning window display of this floral utopia is such a local talking point that people visit it just to take a photo. What sets this florists apart from others is the owner Michael, a flamboyant award winning chorister who sings with The Manchester Gay Choir. This multi-talented chap is (a self-professed) Kylie's number 1 fan and now I am Michael's number 1 fan. His staff are a combination of more mature experienced professionals with younger enthusiatic florists all in awe of the ever exuberant Michael. The Flower Emporium hosts an annual Christmas stock launch every November during which customers are treated to a glass of champers and canapes or a cup of tea ( more my mother's tipple). This florist's quality is not just noted by its patrons, it also supplies the John Lewis group with unique and exotic flowers. It sells plants, gifts and candles and also operates a delivery service. Additionally, if any blushing bride-to-be sets her heart on a bouquet that is a bit off the bridal track, then she will find it at the Flower Emporium. On a more solemn note, the reason why I find this establishment such a find is the care and consideration the staff show to those who have lost a loved one and need flowers for a funeral. My friend recently lost her mum and Michael did her mother's memory justice with a touching floral display complete with peacock feathers. He also prepared a little basket for her grand-daughter to take home on the day. This goes far and beyond the call of service and its nice to know in this cynical world that places like The Flower Emporium do still exist.

Michael provided the stunningly elegant floral table centrepieces as well as multiple breathtaking…read morearrangements for the Mayor's Reception at Stockport Town Hall. This was the occasion when my husband and myself were inaugarated as Mayor and Mayoress of Stockport on the 17th May 2010. We cannot thank Michael enough for his skill and artistry which complimented our day to remember. Thank you Michael.

If you want to get some flowers and flowers that are stylish as well as beautiful, then I think you…read moreshould have a wander in here. The place doesn't look much from outside but it is fabulous. They use many exotic flowers so you can imagine what their bouquets are like; colourful and beautiful. They also do funeral flowers but venue flowers. So if you are having a party and need some expertise, then this place will help you out to make your party look spectacular. If you want to know more than I suggest you have a look at their website. Also have a look at the wonderful flower presentations they have on there!