A little bit of Savile Row in the centre of Blackburn

My first encounter with Bob Wilson came after an unsuccessful search for an off the peg suit to get married in 2008. Being of rotund shape and liking a pie and a pint, I found the alternative versions on offer of poor quality or liable to make me look much bigger than I was. My beloved Clare wondered if I had thought about having a suit made and so I looked around the area and went to meet Bob for an introductory chat.

I found a man who held strong and forthright opinions and whose little rooms are quite the centre of this post-industrial mill town. Not only did Bob introduce me to his basement workshop with open arms and a smile but with a rendition of Perry Como’s “And I Love You So” from his very own karaoke machine with microphone.

Born in Bolton, at 12 he was sent to a military boarding school in Surrey. His working life started in the rather exclusive cutting rooms of Savile Row learning to alter for, sew and measure the great and the good.

In between listening to customers' requests and engaging in a plethora of subjects, many different faces of East Lancs life venture into the shop to see how Bob is, to have a laugh, to share a story and even just to have a zip repaired or a dress altered. The customers range from well-heeled businessman, retired footballers, a former bishop and people just passing with an errand from home.

Bob’s little basement workshop in the Sudell Cross area of Blackburn is a hive of activity and a meeting place for some of the real characters of the town, proving the point that modern life is not as grey and boring as some would have us believe.

Added to that, Bob is an amazing mimic and quite the chameleon for after about two minutes he will ape your accent. Very strange for someone with my accent to find I can be speaking fluent Cockney in Blackburn. I have often wondered why Bob is so extrovert a character, able to give a song at the drop of a hat or go into an act.

Try working on your own for half a century.