John Gibson: This man is forever in the pink!

He is general manager of the Edinburgh branch of Thomas Pink, the shirt retailers in Castle Street, and what’s been good enough for the likes of rugby’s Hastings brother, prime politician Sir Malcolm Rifkind and football’s Darren Jackson has to be worth considering for one’s wardrobe.

More so now. Thomas Maxwell, the long-established florist next door, has migrated to Abbeyhill and Pinks have knocked a hole in the wall, in effect doubling their space.

“We’ve given our women’s department a boost, merged it so to speak,” says Mr Bulman, “but essentially, of course, we are catering for gents. And we have our public here in the capital city legal and financial types, classic shoppers.

“Gavin and Scott Hastings, they plumped for casual , sleeveless items, Mr Rifkind was quite fastidious and Mr Jackson also had a hankering for a bit of style.”

Mr B, 36, six years in Castle Street, ten years with the company, feels Edinburgh is near enough the ideal location. There are 35 Pinks stores in the UK, including three in Scotland. The other two are in Glasgow, where they hate to lose their shirts.

“I might add that we have brought out an Imperial range at either at £135 or £185. They’re the last word.”

Fine if you’ve a few quid to rustle in your tail or, rather, your shirt-tail.

Afterwords . .

. . . Somebody was saying the other day you should never meet your heroes. They’ll always disappoint. Not true. Inevitably there are exceptions. For me, Sinatra. So I didn’t get to meet him but I did, at least, see him very much alive and well in concert. Frank, my quintessential hero. For life.