A few years back I had a dream; to create a model Swiss village, complete with a working railway, inside our shop window. It took months of bidding for dioramas on ebay, then paying the local Warrington Model Club to make a track, paint a watch factory and choose the loco and wagons for us. But it was worth it.

The watches sat nicely on the flat piece at the top where the Swiss hotel had once stood, plus we found room on the hillsides for a few more.

We put old mechanical movements inside the wagons, and on a slow day we even wound them up so they ticked as the train trundled through the tunnel and in front of the window. It was a great hit with watch fans in Warrington and a sad day when we had to leave the shop, as the old market hall was being demolished.

Now we barely have room to open a Swiss Toblerone, never mind a village, but hey…a guy can dream! One day we will build another vintage watch display and it will be Mr Selfridge level!