Yes, indeed, in the very centre of the town stands The Arcade Cafe which, for six days a week from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., is the friendly meeting place for Nelsonians and regular customers from further afield.

On our picture, we can see the genial hosts of the bustling eating house – on the left, hailing from Rochdale, is the industrious proprietor Ernie Wright, while on the right is Nelsoner and the assiduous assistant, Karen Earnshaw.

Ernie commutes to the cafe from his home in Rochdale each day and has owned the business for over 18 years. The many patrons of Ernie's cafe are always assured of a warm welcome and, not forgetting of course, the menu of delicious home-made fare of which regulars return for daily.

Note on our photo behind Ernie and Karen are just a few of Ernie's 1,500-strong collection of picture discs. Many of these are displayed all around the cafe on the walls and ceiling with stars of popular music from Vera Lynn to Kylie Minogue. Look around and here are Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Jerry-Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, T. Rex, Abba, Madness, Blondie, Bob Marley, the Sex Pistols, Meatloaf, the Spice Girls and literally hundreds more, many of them rare and collectors' items.

Many local characters are seen at Ernie's, including my own son Shaun, a true devotee of Reggae music, the likeable Darren Driver, one of Burnley FC's biggest fans and the former stock-car champion of great note, Len Wolfenden.

Ernie has a genuine empathy with all his many customers who he regards as friends and the warm and friendly ambience of his cafe for everyone who calls is, in today's world, a joy, for as a famous newspaper of the 1950s used to say, "All human life is there".