I bumped into the award-winning dress designer MSB in the queue at the enquiry desk of the Scottish Business Information Service, within the National Library of Scotland. While I had been working (and risking the loss of my MacBook Air by leaving it unattended for long periods), MSB was using published research to help extend her business empire.

Afterwards MSB invited me back to her premises to see her latest work. My niece AF, and her friends HH and LA, came along too. Before long MSB was pulling beautiful gowns from her storeroom for AF to model. The first was a long, ruched creation in shocking pink that belonged back in the 1980s. I thought that AF would refuse to wear it, but she obliged, and on her slim frame the dress itself now looked fabulous. MSB supplied another dress, then a hat, more dresses, then even more accessories, and soon AF had a huge pile of garments at her feet. “You can keep the lot” said MSB to AF, then whispered to me “It’s OK, I’ll sort out the bill with you later”.

Our next stop was MSB’s latest business venture: a posh restaurant. As one might expect of a woman of such style the décor that she had chosen for the dining room was outstanding, but there were three very odd things about the dining experience itself. First, dinner guests could be randomly moved around the room if table space became tight. Second, there were no waiting staff. Third, if you decided to eat here you faced a hefty bill at the end of the meal. A bowl of soup, for example, cost £333.