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NZ5308 : Former Plant Shop

Dicky Shore, the character referred to in the comments to this image died in April 2008. I thought it appropriate to copy the whole of the report of his funeral from the Darlington & Stockton Times dated 25 April 2008:

A town came to a standstill last Friday as hundreds of mourners paid their last respect to a much-lover flower seller.
Friends followed a horse drawn hearse to St Peter and St Paul's Parish Church, Stokesley, for the funeral of 86-year-old Richard William Shore.
Mr Shore, known as Dicky, died on Wednesday, April 9, in the Graceland care home, Guisborough, after suffering from cancer.
For decades he made a living selling flowers he had grown himself from his market garden stall on the road between Stokesley and Great Broughton.
He refused to be forced to close his unkempt, but well-loved, stall despite becoming a target for local yobs.
Mr Shore was the victim of hundreds of break-ins, assaults and thefts.
Local police officers, who kept a regular eye on him, were among the hundreds of mourners at the funeral.
The church was so full that many people had to stand.
The Rev Alison Phillipson, who conducted the service, said: "You will all remember Dicky in your own different ways.
"He was a colourful character, who lived his life as he liked it.
"Dicky was known for his gentle manner and tall tales - very tall tales. But there was never any malice in his stories.
"Dicky was a man who loved to fantasise and loved to entertain people."
Among the mourners were Graham sowerby and Lee Dodgson, two of Mr Shore's longest-standing friends.
Mrs Phillipson told the congregation how highly Mt Shore thought of the two men.
She said: "He referred to Mr Sowerby and Mr Dodgson as 'them two'. He was very appreciative of their help and friendship."
Mr Sowerby said: "we never quite knew if his stories were real or made up. Dicky was a dancer in his day and told us he was friends with musician Acker Bilk.
"We thought it was one of his tales. But when Acker Bilk played in Redcar, he spotted Dicky and recognised him.
Mr Shore, who was unmarried, lived in a caravan near Stokesley, before moving to the nursing home last summer.
Mrs Phillipson said: "He settled well into life in the care home. His distinctive Father Christmas beard had gone by then, and he would take a bath everyday."
Mrs Phillipson told the congregation that Mr Shore had once joked: "I had a bath once - I didn't like it very much."
Donations to Cancer Research were collected in lieu of flowers.