We will know that a proper recovery is under way when women start spending more on getting their hair done. Philosophically minded hair stylists say that it is their job to reconcile a client’s personal view of herself with the image that she projects to the world. It follows that an epidemic of expensive hair-dos will be a leading indicator of resurgent consumer confidence. Do not bother asking economists where things are headed. Their data are always hopelessly out of date. Instead, ask a crimper where she is going on holiday. If it is Crete rather than Colwyn Bay, tips are rising and good times are rolling again.

Public attitudes to hairdressers are unappreciative, almost as if layering, trimming and highlighting were trivial activities. Some analysts seek to diminish the impressive statistic that there are 4.7m small businesses and self-employed in the UK by saying: “A lot of them are hairdressers.” The writer Douglas Adams hypothesised that, given the chance, society would maroon those inessential snippers on a wilderness planet, where they would dopily use sticks to make curling tongs rather than fires for cooking.