Phil Hutchinson is about to hang up his scissors after a career spanning almost 40 years at Hull's Paragon Barbers. BBC News went along to meet him. "The first advice I was given was don't talk about politics, don't talk about sex and don't talk about religion," chuckles Phil Hutchinson, as he recalls the words of George Pawlett, who took him on as an apprentice in 1985.
"That and always wear a shirt and tie, which I still wear today. You need to look professional." Back then, the 16-year-old, who was paid £30 a week by his mentor, would have had no idea he would still be here four decades later or that his name would be on the shop window.
However, in a few weeks' time, Mr Hutchinson and wife Melody, a cancer nurse, will be forging a new life in Canada, with the shop due to continue trading but under new ownership. "It's going to be very emotional," he admits, eyes darting around the shop he knows every inch of. "Very hard.
Even before being taken on as an apprentice, I came here for a cut." It is mid-morning and already the board outside the shop proclaims they are fully booked. Inside, on a shelf is a framed photograph of Mr Hutchinson with his former employer turned lifelong friend who turns 90 in November.
The shop has a rich history. According to Mr Hutchinson, a Mr Sugar opened the premises in 1942 when his original shop in Chariot Street, also in the city centre, was bombed out during the Hull Blitz. Mr Pawlett joined Paragon Barbers in 1956, before taking over in 19.
