Sorry I picked the daffy

[SorryDaffodilPicker]

I am currently unemployed but studying while doing an unpaid placement with learners with special needs, in order to hopefully become employed again. My husband has a serious condition, so is unable to work currently after working hard for many years. So we have no current income at all as we are not claiming benefits. We have dwindling savings. We pay our Council rates in full.
I have got my elderly Mum a small gift but wanted to remember my lovely late Mum-in-Law, too, as Mother's Day is this weekend. Today I cut 17 fresh daffodils from a Council verge, which I have put in a vase in our house, in her memory. This was a nearby public area to me, where there was a great abundance of daffodils, I would never pick that many that left an area bare. I carefully selected ones in different spread out sections, so that it did not ruin the beautiful look of the host of daffs. I also ensured that I picked the ones that were fully fledged and had bloomed to their maximum, which would die off soon anyhow.
I feel really guilty about it now, as a lady opposite the grassed area came out of her house and was taking photos of me with them, shaking her head in annoyance. I walked towards her saying "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause any offence", very politely and with a smile. She carried on taking photos but ignored me and went back into her house. I was not rude at all and would rather not be judged or considered an absolute criminal, although I did feel incredibly guilty as a result of this woman's reaction to me. I feel that I shouldn't have done this, I know in my heart that it is nicer to see flowers growing outdoors, unpicked, but it is too late now.

Having checked if my cutting daffodils is illegal here on Mumsnet, I feel even worse after reading all the objections to this. I won't be doing it again, but please can people be less judgemental of 'non-profiteering' flower pickers, some of you branding us all as foul-mouthed, which I find objectionable and 'tarring everyone with the same brush'. Particularly people should not scorn so much at children who pick flowers, as they may be doing it to please their Mothers, when a gentle reminder of helping the environment instead would suffice. Please consider that some of us do it with the best of intentions, even if it may be morally unacceptable. I can appreciate that more now, and vigilantes need to appreciate that there are people guilty of far worse things in society, we all know that. Who are we all to judge others?

[LoveBeingCantThinkOfAName]

Not really sure what you want op?

[HappyAgainOneDay]

No need for me to add anything here. Taking daffodils planted for the enjoyment of the masses, and paid for by the taxpayer(council tax), is just one thing - stealing. And it doesn't matter why the OP stole them. It's still stealing.

[figgieroll]

Couldn't you have just lit a candle in her honour? Or got some reduced flowers from sainsburys?

[whois]

Could you not have left them bloom in the wild in honour of you MILs memory? Why do they need to be in your house?

Exactly. Why did you feel it was appropriate to nick flowers which are there for everyone's enjoyment, kill then and chuck them in a jar in your house? Selfish.

Would have been better to have remembered your MIL with in, you know, your memories. Not dead flowers. It's not the crime of the centuary but it is pretty chavy.

There is a lovely churchyard opposite us and someone picked loads of the daffys from there last weekend. V sad as now it looks very sparse.

[IorekByrnisonsArmour]

I have a sad daffy picking story, it has haunted me for 30 years...

At the top of the road where I grew up was a block of retirement flats. There was a very grumpy man who hated the local children (including me )

Also my friends GM lived in a ground floor flat and we would visit her and she would pass us sweets through her window

We were playing outside her window on the grass when the grumpy man came out and started shouting at us.

I ran home in tears to DM, who had been watching from our front window. He knocked on the door and DM opened it. The man started telling my DM how he had seen me picking the daffodils

My DM was a very shy lady, very quiet and hated any kind of confrontation, but she had been watching and knew I hadn't.

She told him this and that he was very grumpy and always complaining about us kids playing out.

I was so proud and he was taken aback at being caught out.

DM told me to stay away and visit friends Gran another time.

The following day he was taken away in an ambulance and we never saw him again.

'tis a true and sad tale of childhood.

P.S DM might have shouted at the man and told him she wished he'd hurry up and die

[randomfemale]

catsmamma

[Salmotrutta]

Surreal.

[ICanSeeTheSun]

Do you want people to say there there life is hard, don't feel guilty over a few flowers.

Because it just will not happen.

[WeAllHaveWings]

You fancied flowers in you own house so you stole some.

We have a 'field of hope' full of daffs in our town park, for cancer sufferers, it is beautiful until after Mother's Day and Easter when it is decimated by hoards of thieves just like you who only took 17 flowers each. It's quite sad looking afterwards.

[MissDuke]

I think you know what you did was wrong, therefore you don't need us telling you. I don't blame the lady for being cross with you. Sorry you are going through such a hard time, I hope things work out for you.

[LayMeDown]

Could you not have left them bloom in the wild in honour of you MILs memory? Why do they need to be in your house?

[Catsmamma]

gosh....

nothing i want to say comes out without sounding hugely sarky...but really...

throw in a dead dog and a sick child you might get off with murder. Is that the tone you were going for?

[Jolleigh]

Not sure why you felt the need to start a thread that pretty much just uses circumstances to justify stealing.

[Goblinchild]

'Particularly people should not scorn so much at children who pick flowers, as they may be doing it to please their Mothers, when a gentle reminder of helping the environment instead would suffice.'

This puzzles me, small children do make mistakes and need to have the reasons why explained to them gently.
Did someone have a talk with you when you came home with the flowers OP?
Or did you know that already?

[EverythingsDozy]

2 or 3 would be a bit unreasonable but 17??? much?
In my local asda you can get a bunch for about 60p plus you get the delight of watching them flower. I understand you've got little cash but stealing something that you don't even need?!

[rabbitlady]

I wouldn't pick the flowers but some of you are bonkers on here

maybe so.

[UncrushedParsley]

Bit goady, Op....

[ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight]

I'm with candy on this

Bonkers

[gordyslovesheep]

yes you are not working

you are studying

your husband is ill

money is tight

you have no income

but you pay your bills

it's Friday ,sigh.

[candycoatedwaterdrops]

I wouldn't pick the flowers but some of you are bonkers on here.

[rabbitlady]

i don't care about the 'stealing' in this case, but i do care about the sense of entitlement which makes you think that you can take flowers planted for the pleasure of the community (at the council-tax payers' expense) and have them for yourself. i'm quite astounded.

i haven't read the other thread. were you brought up in the uk? if not, you might have different cultural understanding and not have known that we don't do that. we just don't do that. please do not do it again.

[itstheyearzero]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2026240-to-think-someone-should-not-be-picking-daffodils-in-public-areas-that-are-for-everyone-to-enjoy?pg=3&order=

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

How, er, kind of you to come and give us that generous lecture.

[WilsonFrickett]

Thread about a zombie thread and therefore very odd IMO.