A point to prove by Luke Travis

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A SATURDAY IN NOVEMBER 1973:

My paper round was to be changed slightly with some extra drops added, the new owners were keen to make things more cost efficient, and with a paperboy having left they did not propose to replace him. My round now had a parade of shops added to it including a ladies hairdressers, unfortunately one day I got the delivery wrong for the shop. The next day the owner opened the door and gave me quite a telling off, so in future I made sure I got her the order right. She certainly was an old dragon, with her beehive style jet black hair in and stern look when she told me off. Quite often she was opening up her hairdressers as I was delivering her papers. As time went on she got a bit more friendly.

One Saturday morning it was pouring with rain and I got soaked, and then I realised that I had forgotten one of her magazines, which I found in the bottom of my bag. I knew I had to take it back to her shop, so I headed straight there. She was now opening up and I took the magazine in, Mrs Turner was pleased and remarked about my hair being all wet.

"Take your coat off Graham and I’ll get a towel for your hair."

I took off my coat and she brought and towel and told me to sit down so she could dry my hair, as she dried my hair, she said the rain would likely stop soon. She then combed my hair.

"Your hair is quite long compared with how you usually have it Graham."

"I have been growing it a bit, to see what it looks like."

"So, what does your father say?"

"Oh he’d like it to be short, but he’s old fashioned like that, and he prefers the short back and sides."

"So he’s not keen on it as it is."

"No not really."

"I take it you have finished your paper round."

"Yes."

"Yes Mrs Turner."

"Yes Mrs Turner."

I replied, having been corrected, the telephone started to ring, and she told me to stay where I was whilst she answered the phone. It was obviously someone cancelling, and she was making another appointment for them. I could hear every word she said.

"Don’t worry these things can’t be helped…oh no the appointment slot won’t be wasted so don’t be feeling guilty…I already have someone lined up for a bit of a snip-snip."

Having said goodbye Mrs Turner came back from the telephone.

"My first appointment of the day just cancelled Graham."

"Yes I heard some of the conversation, but I didn’t realise it was your first one."

"Yes they have car trouble, funny how the phone rang just as we were talking about you having a short back and sides."

"I thought we had finished talking about that."

"No Graham, I don’t think we had, you were telling me how your father likes you to have a short back and sides and I was about to say that I could cut your hair just as short as any barber would, and then the phone rang."

I realised that I could be about to get a haircut, which I wasn’t keen on from Mrs Turner so I tried to think quickly.

"Oh, I think my dad only likes me going to a barbers."

"I could ask him…what’s your telephone number?"

I tried to avoid giving it to her but Mrs Turner was quite insistent.

"Hello…This is Mrs Turner from Valerie’s Hairdressers…I have Graham here with me and wondered if you would like me to tidy up his hair…So you would be happy with that…Oh good and I was thinking of taking at least an inch off all over…More than that…Yes, I could do that….Haha I certainly will"
I sat there dreading Mrs Turner cutting my hair, and heard her say to leave it to her and with that she came off the phone.

"So Graham it’s going to be a snip-snip for you."

I knew that A, I couldn’t refuse to let her cut my hair and B, my father was now expecting me to come home having had a haircut. Mrs Turner wasted no time in fitting an apple-green coloured nylon cape around me, and soon she was snipping away at my auburn coloured hair. As my hair tumbled onto the cape I could see that she was taking a lot more than an inch. Pretty soon the hair which had started to grow over my ears had gone, it would have been only a couple more weeks and the hair would have almost covered them.

"What did my dad say to you?"

"What do you mean Graham?"

"About my hair?"

Mrs Turner chuckled as she took a largish piece of hair and told me;

"He said that I should make the most of my chances."

"So that’s why you took the hair off my ears."

"Best not to dwell too much about what’s happening to you today, Graham."

"But I’m fifteen in a few weeks, I should be able to choose my own hairstyle."

"I know Graham, that’s what you would like to do, but I don’t think that’s going to happen, but what can you do?"

Mrs Turner replied almost sarcastically as he changed her scissors to a pair of half-moon shaped thinning scissors, soon after these were taking even more hair off in clumps.

"I loved my hair the way it was."

"I’m sure you did Graham, and I must admit that you do have lovely hair and with it having grown it had a nice wave in it. A lovely auburn colour too, but I have to say that I’m rather enjoying the challenge of cutting it short."

She was certainly being much too high handed for my liking, shortly after that the door opened and a girl a bit older than me came in. She spoke to Mrs Turner who told her to put her overall on and then get things ready for Mrs Rivers shampoo and set. She explained to me that Sally was the Saturday girl, she then joked that Sally would be sweeping up my hair once she had finished with me. Having dusted down my head of loose hairs with a soft brush, Mrs Turner opened her drawer and took out some hand operated clippers.

"Just a little tidying up at the back and above your ears."

"But you can’t use those things on me, my friends parents use those on their dog."

"These are for human hair Graham, and I need to use them to put the finishing touches to your haircut. Just because I am a ladies hairdresser it doesn’t mean I don’t know how to cut a boy’s hair. So young Graham, when I put your head down you will keep it still for me."

Her hand now rested on the top of my head, and she pushed it down, an shortly after that she started clipping at the back of my head. Click-Click went the clippers, as she began working her way up the back of my head. I sensed that the Saturday girl was now standing close by and I heard Mrs Turner speaking to her.

"So are you all ready for when Mrs River’s arrives?"

"Yes Mrs Turner."

"That’s good, this is Graham our paperboy, I’m just putting the finishing touches to his haircut."

"It looks very short Mrs Turner."

"That’s what he needed Sally, and I have proved to him that I can cut his hair as short as any male barber would."

"Is that what he wanted?"

"It’s what his father wanted done, he said to make the most of my chances, and I think we can safely say that I have."

She held my head firmly as she clipped above my ears, as my head was lifted up and was being brushed down, the door opened and Mrs River’s came in for her shampoo and set. I realised that I knew her as I also delivered her newspaper.

"Isn’t that our paperboy?"

"Yes its Graham."

"My word you’ve certainly stripped his hair right down, but it looks very smart I must say."

"It’s his Christmas box, a bit early but he needed a haircut and it seemed a good idea rather than give him money when the time comes."

"What a good idea, in fact I will pay for his next haircut as a thank you for being a good paperboy."

As Mrs Rivers went to have her hair shampooed, my fate looked sealed, especially when Mrs Turner insisted on making my next appointment for exactly four weeks’ time. She remarked that my next haircut would already have been generously paid for by Mrs Rivers. My four weekly haircuts at Mrs Turner’s became a regular fixture. Not only did she prove that she could cut my hair as short as any barber could, she kept it short.

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