In October I visited Southport - a seaside town north of Liverpool. It is a town which I knew well as a young man. Like so many places the main shopping street is a shadow of its former glorious self. However there is still one splendid emporium: a 'proper' barbers. For those of us in the Apostrophe Club it should be noted that the shop is called The Master Barber's Shop.
A very interesting blog Graham and unusual too. My recent trip to a barbers was to a Turkish Barber an experience that I thoroughly enjoyed and to such an extent that I shall make subsequent visits.
ReplyDeleteHeron, I'm staying in Bishopbriggs (a suburb of Glasgow these days) at the moment and the local barber is Turkish and, indeed, they seem to be thriving in Glasgow. Presumably there is a social element to the Turkish barber just as there was in any barber's shop in Britain when I was young.
DeleteYou appear to have simply hovered outside as it seems that only the gentry are allowed to cross the threshold of those esteemed premises and you my good sir definitely do not belong in that category - in spite of your well-tended facial hair.
ReplyDeleteYP, one may be appointed supplier of shortbread to HM The Queen but that doesn't stop other people eating it. 😉
DeleteA brilliant shop. I remember when there was one similar in Sheffield. I never darkened it's door but now wish I had.
ReplyDeleteIf I'd needed a haircut, Adrian, I might have been tempted but I like the regular hairdresser who has been cutting what's left of my hair for some years now. I'm definitely a man of habit when it comes to barbers.
DeleteFabulous post! Do Google "Ludlow Blunt" barbershop in NYC... I took Bear there to get his beard professionally trimmed, as a treat when he had finished one year of trim-free growing it. It's straight out of the 1920s and gorgeous, gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteMrs S. I'm sure that I've either seen this barber (which I did Google) on your blog or on Bear's FB. It is certainly a great place to go for some barbering.
DeleteYes, that's a classic old store.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed, Red.
DeleteBeards are back in fashion these days. They need to be neatly trimmed and styled. And having a splendid wet shave is also a favourite treat among young blokes in this part of the world. So I am glad it has survived this long - I hope it will now thrive.
ReplyDeleteJenny, many people I know now have beards including my son who has a very fine set of whiskers. My barber (she is a female barber who was trained as such as well as being a hairdresser) wanted to introduce wet shaving into the salon but the rules and regulations governing it are such that it would have been uneconomic. A friend who is also a barber (but in another Scottish mainland town) said exactly the same. I've yet to work out how all the Turkish barbers that have sprung up don't find that a problem.
DeleteWhen I worked on the London Stock Exchange, I used to go to Harrods for my haircuts (Yes, Harrods). It was very reasonable, no waiting, and of a very high standard. It was designed to keep nervous husbands busy while their wives were busy spending fortunes. I simply used it as a cheap haircut.
ReplyDeleteCro, that sound like a very good strategy to me.
DeleteCan ladies have their moustache trimmed there, too? In my town, we have a jewellery and clock maker's shop that has been going for generations. The elderly lady behind the counter has a really impressive black moustache adorning her upper lip. I guess her husband faints with delight every time she kisses him.
ReplyDeleteLibby,I can't beat that comment! When I joined the WRAF over 50 yrs ago, I was advised that I'd have to start using Brylcream and grow a moustache.
DeleteMeike, I guess that that's rather unfortunate for the lady. Potty, I assume that you decided against taking the advice.
DeleteYes, but my Dad said 'get a bed by the stove and never volunteer' !
DeleteNice! You don't see many shops like that anymore.
ReplyDeleteAmy, it's the only one that I've seen in perhaps 40 years.
DeleteHa! Don't mock those who don't have a mustache, their lives are miserable enough! It makes me think of David Suchet playing Hercule Poirot. I saw the film where Kenneth Branagh played him and he wasn't nearly as good.
ReplyDeleteThere is no equal, Kay, to David Suchet when it comes to playing Poirot - he is Poirot.
DeleteWhat I'm wondering is: Why is there a skeleton riding a bicycle in the shop-window?!
ReplyDeleteI have absolutely no idea, Monica, I hadn't even noticed it!!
DeleteWhat a lovely old shop. They sure don't design/build them like that these days...which is unfortunate!
ReplyDeleteTrue, Lee, they are a thing of the past - which is, I suppose, what makes them so interesting.
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