My cutting edge experience!
As I wandered aimlessly along Ferryquay Street early on Saturday afternoon, I was cheerfully accosted by a young Canadian man and two girls who were handing out leaflets. "Free haircuts by children" was the extraordinary message from these hawkers and, well, that was enough to grab my attention.
“C’mon, let’s do it”, I said to my partner Brian. “Are you out of your mind?” he bristled back.
“Oh, don’t be silly, it will be fun. We have to give this a go,” I replied with my usual relentless determination.
So, off we went, me trotting merrily, Brian dragging his heels, off to the Context Gallery housed in the beautifully-renovated Playhouse.
Unsurprisingly, I loved it all the minute I crossed the threshold. From the chalk-graffitied walls to the professional-looking hair salon that had been set up especially for this right in the middle of an art gallery.
Young hairdressers - girls and boys - were busy at work. And even the very efficient receptionist was a nine year-old. She consulted her appointment book and told me that, yes, I could be seen straightaway without an appointment. She called Aoife Callaghan over, while an apprentice fetched me a gown.
The very cheerful and, I must say, professional, Aoife showed me to my chair. “Do you want your hair washed or a dry cut?”, she enquired. “A dry cut will do nicely,” I replied. Then we sorted out sundry other issues, whether I fancied having some layers or just a trim and whether I would like any colour.
“See that boy over there, Oisin, I did his colour and he just loves it,” Aoife beamed. I was sold. A trim and colour.
As she confidently snipped away, Aoife proved she was equally adept at the usual salon patter. “So, have you any holidays booked this summer? Do you have any children? Are you nervous getting your hair cut by a nine year-old?”
Well, admittedly maybe the last question wasn’t exactly an old standard.
At one stage, another girl called Nuala arrived over, asking whether she could help. Aoife generously set her to work on the left hand side of my head.
Nuala said she was waiting for one of their teachers, Mrs Murray to arrive, as she was going to cut her hair. “She’s awfully late,” Nuala confided. Moments later, though, Mrs Murray arrived, to a round of applause, and Nuala left to attend her.
I laughed with surprise as I caught sight of Brian in the mirror getting his hair cut. Fair dues, I never thought he’d have gone for it.
From time to time, one of the teachers would come by, have a look and offer some advice. This helped alleviate any nerves.
Just blue and pink!
My only disappointment was that I couldn’t get purple streaks in my hair. They didn’t have any purple. But the blue and pink looked great and I got lots of compliments all day.
I was greatly encouraged to see how many people were willing to submit to this novel experience, which organiser Darren O’Donnell says was intended to bring strangers from different generations together in a fun atmosphere. Well, Darren, you certainly acheived your aim. It was one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had and, judging by the noise level around me, I wasn’t the only one.
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Weather for Derry
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 14 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
