At last, I’m old enough to be nostalgic! My first true David Shapley moment came on visiting an award-winning Taj grocery store in Hove, where one of the owners greeted me in a way I hadn’t encountered for a good 10 years.

Having invited me down to visit, the enlightened Mr Khan proceeded to tell me he wasn’t in the least bit interested in talking to the trade press. “What do I get out of that? All that happens is that my competitors come and look at what I’m doing,” he helpfully commented, adding that he only talks to the consumer press as they can really help his business.

Although I disagree, everyone is entitled to do what they feel is right for their business. I’d rather have heard it on the phone though.

It reminded me of the general lack of trust in journalists of every ilk that I encountered when I first entered the industry in the mid-1990s. Thankfully, this type of occurrence is extremely rare these days.

But when a copy of the next day’s Brighton Argus arrived in my inbox, it was interesting to note that the friendly consumer media reported that Mr Khan’s brother had been fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £2,000 in costs after environmental health officers found dead mice in amongst split bags of rice in the storeroom of Taj Mahal International Foods Store, another of the family’s Brighton establishments.

That must have helped business no end.