Mr Chapman, I salute you.

This is Mr Chapman. He owns a brilliant sewing machine shop on Parkway London (incidentally, the best sewing machine shop ever in my view).



It is brilliant because they take time to help you out, will scour the earth to find you long out of production bits and pieces for your ancient Bernina (mine) and will sit you down at a machine and make you sew stuff and do things until you've absolutely nailed techniques and what have you. And they do a great line in banter.

Mr Chapman is also brilliant. Not just because he is about 426 (83) and still rocking a fierce work attitude (he's in the shop most days), nor just because he wears a fine pair of tweed slacks. Because it turns out when he was ordering a new car 5 years ago, they said it only came in silver. Mr Chapman didn't want a silver car, oh no. He happened to have a sewing machine colour chart on him and so insisted they sprayed the same colour as his machine, a lovely light duck egg blue number. Brilliant. I mean, you've got to love a fella with that much dedication.

Do pop in if you're passing by. This man is one of a kind.