“Dry-clean only” is probably a phrase that you have seen before. You see it on the labels of certain pieces of clothing—like jackets, trousers, skirts and so on. I know quite a lot about dry cleaning because every Saturday from the age of 15 to 18 I worked at a dry cleaning shop. It was my first job. It was not particularly interesting, and it was not at all glamorous, but, looking back, I think it was important.

The only reason why it was important back then was the money. For the first year I earned four pounds an hour, and after that it was five. It’s almost unbelievable now: that’s the physically hardest job I’ve ever had and the least I’ve earned. But it paid for my social life, my mobile phone credit, a holiday to Spain after my “A” Levels, and my first laptop.