Hair today...

I was looking forward to today because it meant my triannual visit to the barbers.

Not a particularly major occasion, I hear you say, but the guys who cut my hair are such a great laugh, it's always a treat.

It's a bit of a spit-and-sawdust place, where a Dean Martin portrait jostles for position on the wall with calendars of under-dressed ladies, and where the basins are rarely used.

But I've been going there for years and it is number one for entertainment - and you always get a decent haircut.

Two brothers run the place and both are fanatical Arsenal fans, but they have an opinion on most issues - and I say that without wanting to disparage them. It certainly makes for some lively banter.

Anyway, today they were slightly below par because the council has changed the car parking rules outside their shop. To cut a long story short, parking is now a lot more difficult, which potentially means fewer customers.

I have to say the difference with my many, many previous visits was striking - and I had noticed it before they said anything about parking.

I usually have to queue for up to an hour because the place is so popular. Today there was hardly anyone there.

I just hope the council hasn't dealt them a fatal blow. They are one of Cheltenham's hidden trader treasures.