HOWARD Hutchings never struggles to remember how long his hair salon H & Co has been open – it has as many candles on its birthday cake as he does.

And both Howard and his shop have now marked 60 years in the heart of the Radford community.

"My mother bought this shop when she was carrying me," he said.

Before it was called H & Co, the shop was known simply as Hutchings – and before that it was named after his late mother, Marion.

"I don't think there's many left alive who'll remember us as Marion's," he said.

"Some customers I've been seeing every week for the last 40 years. At that point in time, they're no longer just a customer."

The oldest customer is 93. In the decades that Howard has run the hair salon in Radford Boulevard, he's got to know more than a few regular customers – "from granddaughters to grandfathers," as he puts it.

But he'd rather cater to everyone than be fashionable.

"As you get older you're not as fashionable as the teenagers," he said. "You might develop a better sense of style, but you won't be as fashionable."

He remembers one teenage customer from many years ago, Su Pollard, who lived nearby at the bottom of Alfreton Road.

"Even as a teenager, she had a good personality," he said.

Howard runs a traditional salon where people can catch up with friends and be part of the community.

Howard's mother began the business in 1945, but for the first three years ran it from the family's Berridge Road home. Howard progressed from 14-year-old apprentice to partner to full owner when his mother retired at 75.

Staff member Rebecca Ensor came to work for Howard as a trainee straight out of school. Almost nine years later, she has no plans to leave.

"I've always been happy here – it's been lovely," she said. "We can have a laugh and it's just nice being close to the customers."

erik.petersen@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk