A retired highly-respected Italian hairdresser to so proud of being an immigrant that he has chronicled his life in a journal.

Diary of an Emigrant is an inspirational story of how Giovanni Sponziello, then aged 20 and a newly-qualified women’s hairdresser from Sogliano in southern Italy, answered a job advert for an apprentice hairdresser in Manchester and then, from a bumpy start, began an impressive international career.

His hairdressing skills and high professional standards marked him out as a huge asset to his employers Steiner who promoted him rapidly. He was entrusted to write training manuals and to set up a hairdressing school for his employer and flagship stores.

His jet-setting career eventually took him to Plymouth, where he transformed the Co-op hairdressing business and got to know city artist Beryl Cook who was a client and immortalised him in one of her pictures, fondly featuring him at work.

The multi-talented father and grandad then made an exotic hit when he retired from wielding his scissors and brush to open an Italian food market stall and shop serving his own homemade food in Tavistock where he still lives with wife Christine, also a hairdresser, and next door to James, one of his two sons.

Giovanni said: “I am very proud of all I have achieved in my life from humble beginnings in a small Italian town where nothing could be agreed without the mayor or priest agreeing and we all knew each other.

“I am a good example of what an immigrant can do and that is important in these times when people from other countries are not always welcome. However, I have been made to feel very much at home in England and especially in Tavistock.

“I feel we are all ambassadors of our world and are all free spirits to make the most of our time here.”

His daring move to Manchester was not welcomed by his mother who was very upset her only son was leaving her. However, years later she had to admit to being impressed when at the airport when meeting her off the plane,Giovanni was greeted loudly by one of the Miss World contestants whose hair he groomed during his high level career.

His sad mother nearly got her son back when his career got off to a poor start.

Despite not speaking English, he left his Mediterranean home behind and ended up at an impressive upmarket hairdressers in cold wet Manchester with high hopes of a good start.

But he was not impressed by the salon’s professionalism and, determined not to admit defeat to himself or his mama, he started his career properly in Macclesfield in a more suitable multinational salon.

He overcame language difficulties through the novel, but simple method of drawing his own ideas of styles to suit customers, who were usually delighted at the flattering personal attention.

Despite his high-flying career, Giovanni never forgets his roots and admits his proudest moment was receiving an outstanding citizen’s award from his village which has pride of place among pictures of his beloved family.