This week’s contender for Barlow’s Best local business is Richard Delaney ‘Ironmongery’ on Mill Lane Macclesfield.

If you’ve seen that brilliant Ronnie Corbett sketch, where he’s asked for ‘four candles’ then returns from the storeroom with fork handles, you’ll love Delaneys. There’s nothing they don’t stock.

If you’re lucky they’ll invite you into the stockroom to help search for whatever you’ve requested. It’s an amazing place; thousands of items and not a barcode on any.

The best is when they calculate your bill.

It’s a masterpiece of ingenuity. No computer just four dusty old ledgers and a pencil.

They probably think Twitter is some form of bulldog clip. They are the happiest bunch of shopkeepers I’ve ever met.

Don’t take my word for it. Go in and ask for ‘four candles.’