Florist’s pink paint job divides Welsh town and inspires a thousand memes

A much-loved valleys florist has divided opinion on social media, and inspired a flurry of meme-making, thanks to its unique pink paint job.

Roberts’ Florist, which has operated successfully in Brynmawr town centre for over 40 years, surprised locals recently with a hot pink upgrade which left many in shock, while others have come out in favour.

Sharing the news on Facebook on 9 May, Royal Shine, the company responsible wrote: “You will not miss it when it’s done as the colours are so eye catching for the town and the shop will look brilliant when complete.”

The paint spray job, which came about in support of the Pink Ribbon Foundation has come under the scrutiny of passers-by, however, who have not only raised concerns about the appropriateness of the colour, but also the standard of work carried out.

Memes

To the delight, and groans, of the townsfolk on Facebook, Brynmawr Community Page has been awash with meme upon meme, with the hot pink building proving an inspiration for some funny, and not so funny memes.

“Dreadful”

The paint spray hasn’t been embraced by everyone in the town, however, with a number of people complaining about the colour choice, and the standard of finish – something the business owners themselves have taken issue with.

One comment reads: “Local nursery kids would do a better job. That is absolutely dreadful.”

Responding to the criticism of the paint work, Robert’s Florist which is one of the town’s most successful and loved businesses wrote on 30 May: “We are aware of the false accusations and defamation of our business and character that are being shared around on social media. There are always 2 sides to every story.”

“We have been in business over 50 years and would hope all our customers over the years would know that what is being shared is not in our nature and we appreciate your continued support. We are conducting this in the correct manner through the proper channels.

“What was supposed to be a very exciting project has turned into a very upsetting one. We have had an assessment on the work carried out by Royal Shine and we would like to apologise to the public for the state of our building & surrounding area. This will be fixed but unfortunately will take time. Thank you.”

“Some like that”

Looking at the bright pink side, Abi Gail wrote: “Love the colour! (just a shame about the saga), hopefully some of the other shops will go bright paint colours as well to get Brynmawr noticed.”

While Luke Prisk, who lives in Brynmawr, told Nation.Cymru: “I don’t know why everyone’s complaining, it’s been a breath of fresh air seeing such an upbeat colour.

“People have been driving here just to see what the fuss is about, which can’t be a bad thing for local businesses either. Let’s hope it’s tidied up soon, but I for one think the more colour the better. Long live this fabulous business!”

A petition has since been created calling for the high street to be revitalised with shades of pink, but with ten signatories at the time of publishing, this dream might be a long way off yet.

Find out more about Robert’s Florist’s chosen charity, The Pink Ribbon Foundation.