An Emergency Hairdresser

We had an emergency today, not a big one you understand but one which managed to have both me and the builder quaking in our boots for a little while this afternoon.

Number 2 son has hair like Harry Potter, only lighter! It grows in the shape of a mop and is thick, whatever we do to it, it remains mop shaped! He wants it cut, but preferably without leaving the confines of his bed or being more than a metre away from the x-box controller. This obviously presents a problem but being the slap-dash parents we are we often let the little things in life slide - we weren't always slap-dash but after being either side of 50

 (only one of us is the right side of 50!) and after 3 children all of whom can be demanding in their own way, we try to give up stressing over the "little" things.



Very similar, only darker!



So despite having 3 weeks off over Christmas he still didn't manage to get himself a haircut; he is approaching 15 and we do use the little salon in the village which is within walking distance; but as we didn't man handle him through the door his hair has remained mop-like!

It'll do we thought, I was probably going to get round to sorting something out this coming weekend, I've just got to ease myself back into the normal work/school routine this week

 (only for this 1 week though, I'm away next week  - yipee ).

But at work today an email arrived from number 2 son's school, he's off on a big cricket tour in February (we should be joining him too) and they will be taking photos of the players for the official tour brochure on January the 8th, lunchtime. Ok I thought, I must sort that haircut, wait, what date? Tomorrow!!

Oh crikey (or words to that effect) I thought, that leaves tonight, and he gets off the school bus at 6pm. A haircut was looking unlikely, I could do it myself maybe, I am experienced after all.....

(my experience is at the end of that post!)

Luckily my boss was out all day so I googled a few barbers and hairdressers and made a few calls, sadly none were open late tonight. I phoned The Builder, we both discussed the options, a raging & upset son, with mop hair or we pull out all the stops to find someone who could handle scissors. A Facebook call went out but little response, then the builder phoned me back (thank goodness for bosses on long business lunches!) he had found a free newspaper on the site he's on just now, and therein was an advert. Not a glossy ad I'm afraid just one of those "Hair by Jane" types, a mobile hairdresser from up the road. No photos or pictures, just a telephone number. And apologies to hairdressers called Jane, I don't wish to cast aspersions!

A call was made, she may be free, she would call back later.

We had no other options, mobile Jane or no one it would have to be, number 2 son was reluctant, we encouraged him with lots of "the ad says she's qualified" , "it'll be fine, don't worry"

and some "what could possibly go wrong?".......

He googled a photo of the type of thing he liked and mobile Jane arrived. Well she hurled herself through the door more like and wandered about making comments about the house, "how many bedrooms do you have here", "are you attached to next door then?"

"What would you say your fuel bills are like here ,...roughly?"

 Then proceeded to tell me all about her life, with little regard to the photo of the hairstyle we had up on the laptop

(did I mention my new laptop?)

I could see it start to go wrong with the pointed over the ear cuts, a Dr Spock look alike! and then the back...it didn't need to be straight did it? And the fringe, well she did really well to get that shape without the use of a pudding basin.

I had to stay smiley and positive looking as number 2 son sunk further into the kitchen chair. Mobile Jane explained she was fully registered and qualified (originally we thought that must be a good thing) and lots of people these days aren't you know, we were lucky to find her!

We bid her goodbye and paid the full £10.

So what does it look like now, I couldn't possibly photograph  the end result, but I'm going down to the salon in the village to book an appointment for next week; and tomorrow we'll have to wax it to within an inch of its life, well the bits that are long enough anyway!

So we were lucky to find mobile Jane at such short notice, hopefully we'll lose her just as quickly!