An Annual Tradition by Snipped Sam

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Nothing appeared different since my last visit almost a year before, this time we were having our annual trip during the Easter holidays. The time has now come for my once a year visit to Mr Holmes’s Gentlemen’s Hairdressers. My father had advised me that we would be going that morning, most eighteen year old lads would have died if they had to go with their father to the barbers. But I looked forward to it, and since my first ever visit to Mr Holmes, dad had taken a firmer control on the length of my hair and the frequency of when it was cut. As I sat down on the chair, Mr Holmes was holding the cape ready, he remarked how tall I was getting. Having been caped and prepared for my haircut, I noticed how much shorter the cape seemed to the first time it was fitted, when it nearly reached my feet. Now I was so tall, Mr Holmes didn’t need to pump up the chair to raise it, unlike on my previous visits. Mr Holmes looked over at dad, who said that I was to have the same haircut as Mr Holmes always gave me….No surprises there, I thought as Mr Holmes took hold of his electric clippers, moments later he had bent my head down. As he started the clipping, my father remarked to Mr Holmes that his haircuts were the best I ever had.

Five Years Earlier:


With my awakening interest in haircuts and barber’s shops, seeing an outdoor shop and a gents hairdressers in one place made me more than curious. Without hesitation I wasted no time in stepping inside. As you entered the shop there were walking boots, lots of waterproofs and I also noticed a selection of walking poles and sticks. There was also a number of maps of the area on sale. The gents hairdressers appeared to be on the far side of the shop, and had a slightly screen off area. There was just one man who appeared to be the serving customers and I imagined he was probably also the barber. He was serving a customer, so I took the opportunity to look around the shop. The customer was trying on a jacket, the man was wearing a navy blue nylon jacket which was indicating that he also cut hair. He looked over at me.

"Alright there young man?"

"Yes thanks, just having a look around, if that’s alright."

"Of course, feel free."

"Yes I’ll take this one."

The customer said, handing the man a jacket which he then folded and then put in a bag, I had a quick look at the hair cutting area. It was quite compact, with a barber’s chair, and just three wooden chairs by the partition to sit and wait. He looked over at me.

"I will be with you in a moment son."

The man paid for his jacket and left, I moved closer to the counter and the barber started a conversation.

"Am I right in thinking that you are here on holiday?"

"Yes, we are staying at Fell View Guest House."

"Oh that’s nice, Mr. Brownlow is one of my regulars."

We chatted a bit more, then another customer came in, to buy a new ferrule for his walking stick, Mr. Holmes as I now knew him, fitted it for him.

"That’s grand, and I’ll take a spare to be on the safe side."

"Not a problem, I’ll just get you a little bag for it."

The customer looked over at me.

"Sorry to interrupt young man, I’m not sure if you are on your way to the chair or just off the chair."

Before I had a chance to answer him, Mr. Holmes replied.

"Oh he isn’t just off the chair."

"Well thinking about it, no, I didn’t think so."

The customer paid for two ferrules and left.

"You seem quite busy this afternoon."

"That’s not really busy, just a steady stream of customers, my wife usually works in the shop with me, but she has gone to see her sister who is in hospital. Anyway you had started to tell me
that you had seen the sheep being sheared."

"That’s right, over at the Langdales."

"The weather has been warmer this year, so they have started earlier, so coming up here for the Whitsun holidays meant you got to see it being done."

"That was lucky then."

"Aye very lucky, now speaking of shearing, are you here to have your hair shortened?"

I shook my head, and said no, but I was intrigued by the expression having my hair shortened."

"I didn’t know if dad had sent you."

"No, he doesn’t know I’m here, although when we were watching the sheep shearing, dad had joked about getting me done, but it was only a joke."

"Happen he was joking, but as you’re here now, you could always have a haircut."

Mr. Holmes was perhaps in his late forties, he was a neat looking man with short grey hair and a well-trimmed moustache which was also grey. He seemed a nice man, but was perhaps keen to recruit me as his next customer.

"When I came in, it was to just to have a look around your shop."

"Did you know it was a gents hairdressers as well?"

"I did see the striped pole outside, but it was the shop I was interested in."

"Fair enough lad."

"But just out of interest, how much would a haircut be?"

"How old are you?"

"I’m thirteen."

"It would be twenty-five pence."

I knew that was a very good price for a haircut and that dad would be pleased about the cost and even more that I had been for a haircut. Apart from that I found something quite appealing about having the chance of a different barber cutting my hair. I had a fifty pence in my pocket, so I could go ahead if I wanted to. At that point another person came in the shop, a man with some leaflets for Mr. Holmes to have in his shop. Mr. Holmes seemed pleased to see him and it appeared that he had been waiting for the leaflets for a while.

"I won’t be more than a couple of minutes here son, so you can always go and wait on the chair for me."

I looked over to where the vacant barber’s chair was, and I knew what I wanted to do. So, I walked over to the chair and sat down. The couple of minutes seemed a good while, but while I waited I looked at the various scissors including thinning shears, and hand clippers in front of me. Looking at all this equipment which he could use to shorten my hair made me rather nervous. Especially seeing two sets of meaty looking electric clippers resting on the counter, as well as some black less bulky ones. Part of me now wanted to get back off the chair, and tell him I had changed my mind, but the man was now leaving and Mr. Holmes was approaching the chair. By sitting and waiting on the chair, I committed to having a haircut. In the mirror I could see that he had a determined look on his face, he coughed loudly as if he was asserting his authority. He soon had his hands on my shirt collar and tucked it down, before placing a white cotton towel inside, then the light blue cape was fitted. After pumping up the chair to raise me higher, he then he placed his hands on my shoulders and pulled me right back into the chair, before starting to comb my hair.

"How do you usually have this done?"

"A little above the collar at the back, and well-trimmed all over, I’d really like the sides kept as they are, but my dad likes my hair cut just above my ears so the hair won’t touch them before the next haircut."

"So a neat and reasonably short haircut."

"That’s right."

"It will be a little shorter than that today, but nothing to worry about."

"But I would like it to be done just like I said."

"Trust me, it will look really smart."

Without any further delay, he placed his hand on my head and bent it right down, he then wasted no time in taking hold of his clippers, and soon the electricity was surging through them. I protested, but he held my head firmly as he made the first sweep with them up the back of my head.

"Try to keep your head very still for me, I’m sure you are not too keen on what I’m doing, but it’s no good wriggling like one of those sheep."

"But, I’m not wriggling like a sheep."

I exclaimed as he continued to hold my head firmly and clip the back of my head.

"This looks so much better."

He enthusiastically remarked, as my hair fell from the back of my head and he then tackled the right side of my head. I heard the door open again, it had a distinctive bell which rang when someone came in.

"Good afternoon."

"Afternoon."

"Can I be of any help?"

"I just wanted to take a look at your maps."

"They are just there, just shout if you need me

It was a woman’s voice, and I felt really uncomfortable as he continued with his clippers.

"This parts nearly done son."

He carried on with the left side of my head, and shortly after the woman called out that she would take one of the maps. He made one more sweep and then said perfect timing to her. As he went to his counter to serve her. Just before he left me he told me to keep my head down. I kept my head down but decided to touch the back of my head, I just got my hand to my head and felt the short bristles, when I heard his stern voice.

"Take your hand away from your head."

I immediately did as he said, the woman remarked that I was obviously curious about my haircut. He replied that happen I was. The woman left and he returned.

"When I tell you to keep your head down, that means you sit quietly and wait for me. That means that you do not touch your head to see what I’ve been doing."

"I didn’t know that I couldn’t."

"Well I’m afraid you can’t, if I leave you to serve a customer, you must keep your head in the position I left it and sit still without moving. Understood?"

"Yes Sir."

"Good."

He brushed away the loose hairs from my head, I couldn’t help feeling that this barber was unbelievably strict. Having selected scissors and a comb he started to snip the hair on the top of my head. I wasn’t happy about being so sternly reprimanded and wished that I was anywhere other than sitting in his barber’s chair. But there was nothing I could really do, I thought about stopping the haircut or even making a run for it. But I could not leave with an unfinished haircut, and I was fairly certain that if I had done this, my father would have taken me back to have the job finished. Large pieces of my light fair hair fell onto the cape.

"Alright young man?"

I quietly replied that I was, and he went on to tell me that he had needed to be firm with me and that haircuts were a serious business. Shortly after he lifted up my head and I could see how short he had cut the sides, he combed my hair forward and told me to close my eyes. His scissors made determined snips and when I was allowed to open my eyes, I saw he had cut my fringe very short. Having brushed the fallen hair from my face, he remarked that my hair needed a good thinning out. Taking his thinning shears he set to work blitzing my hair on top, large clumps of hair came away. He really thinned down my hair, and when he combed it into place it lay very flat.

"Shorter than you usually have it cut?"

"A lot shorter."

"That’s not a bad thing though."

At that point a customer came in and he went to serve them, I sat there looking at my haircut in the mirror, I really wanted to feel the back of my head again. But I knew that I wasn’t allowed to. A few minutes later he returned.

"Normally if Mrs Holmes was here, I would have finished your haircut a while ago, but it can’t be helped."

"I know."

"As this is your first haircut from me and possibly your last, you can have the back a touch shorter."

"I’m sure its fine as it is Sir."

But Mr Holmes was already plugging in his black clippers.

"Fine isn’t good enough when we can have perfection son."

He said, as he bent my head right down once again, and then set to work with the clippers, he then worked above each ear. After returning the clippers and a brush down he set to work with a flat razor, taking away any loose hairs on my neck and attending to the sides above my ears. Taking a thin white towel he wiped the areas which he had just shaved.

"Well young man, I have to say that is a job well done. Would you like to see what I have done at the back?"

"Please."

He picked up the oblong hand held mirror, and held it at the back of my head, the back of my head had been severely clipped and there was a large gap of skin between my collar and where there was hair. He also held the mirror so I could see the sides, where he had really cut my hair short above my ears.

"Thanks."

"My pleasure young man."

Without asking he took a can of hairspray and sprayed my hair and then loosened the cape at the back and began powdering my neck and the back of my head. I was released from the chair and I handed over my fifty pence to pay for the haircut. Handing me the change, he said that hopefully I will return for another holiday in the lakes, and would come and see him for another haircut. I didn’t know it then, but this was the start of an annual tradition.

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