Where’s this? India,West Indies or perhaps North London. Third time right. This wonderful hardware shop can teach those corporate giants a thing or two about how to look interesting.It’s one of those rarities: a real hardware shop! There are few of them around now as they’ve been chucked out by the likes of B & Q, a store where I cannot imagine how they make any profit at all with their row upon row of power tools and things that no sane person would buy, and which have the effect of bringing on depression for the most happy go lucky beast.

Whereas this? It’s a joy to look at. I did not go in, which is a shame, forced to keep walking by the family, but I bet they can get most things for you and know a bloke who can mend anything too.

I have a fond memory of visiting a hardware shop similar to this some years ago and asking a rather geeky young man what he recommended to get rid of couch grass and similar weeds in my garden plot.With a straight face he said “Try getting a small portable record player and a few Leonard Cohen records and play them continuously and the weeds will kill themselves”.

He did not try to sell me chemicals.