I thought I’d be clever this time arriving for 9am, just as the owner himself turned the corner, but still there were three others who thought along similar lines and were actually there before me. Apparently today men like being personally pampered and are seriously conscious of their appearance. So much so that waiting to have your head shaved or cut to your specific liking causes them to wait for well over an hour without any major complaint.
Instinctively everyone knows who comes in after them, so it becomes a waiting game to get to that chair. The time passed that bit quicker because of twitter, Instagram, facebook and a few other little thing’s to check on the phone. As I looked around everyone seemed to have one in their hands reducing the general chat, as it does till they’re put away and people once again exercise the lost social skills of conversation .
When my time finally arrived to sit on the chair my friendly barber apologized for the delay, he’s on he’s own here today. Had I come in last Saturday morning I’d have had to wait longer as there were nine people waiting for him to open at 9am. Is this vanity or the new culture in modern Ireland?
The twenty minutes to half an hour he worked his magic on me passed quickly enough as the lad’s waiting after me got to know one another a little bit better. Having a beard which needed sculpting in a way I can’t do delayed proceedings but I was glad to have waited. Oh the vanity of a haircut!
Eugene Ryan 