Hundreds escape landslide on Tube: 2006-27-07
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/27072006/344/hundreds-escape-landslide-tube.html
Well folks - I'm one of those persons that this headline represented. My rant on daily commuting with the london transport network came to a head yesterday evening. I'd left the office early, to have my hair washed - little realising this was to be a wasted errand. Mother nature had other plans and had I held out a couple of days till the weekend, the fee to the hairdresser might not have left my pocket in exchange for mother-nature-freebie. It had been so hot over the past weeks that carrying a brolly let alone wearing sensible shoes to cover the feet was not deemed necessary. My flip flops were just as good to counter the effects of getting heat blisters. Before long though, blisters were the least of my worries to the feet as wading through puddles of rain water and fighting to look dignified were paramount. Come to think of it - not even a brolly would've helped with the winds moving faster than any man-made vehicle at the time.
So there I was all doled up from the hairdressing salon, hoping to catch the eye of all things male that went by me to reaffirm that I did look worth the trip to the salon when puff - first the winds changed the smoothly coiffed bob to disarray and the rain made mince meat of the whole effect. I was just fortunate I guess that the bus stop wasn't far from the salon even if I had to board it with a carrier bag over my head much to the amusement of the driver if not fellow travellers.
BTW this salon near my workplace is a godsend - now I can nip in during my lunch time to fix up my hair, nails ... Before that, unless you were European, you just had to wait for the weekend to fight it out with the sistas as no Afro-Carib salon existed within the 500yards let alone, 3miles radius of my workplace.
Salons for us black persons are very entertaining social arenas I must admit - though I guess not having spent much if at all any time in a european salon I am probably not best suited to compare. Still the differences are very obvious. In the European salons, the prices are advertised so u know full well what you are paying to get done before your butt hits the chair. You also know that if they don't do the job to your satisfaction or agreed advert - you can take the matter up to the legal courts. In the Afro-Carib salons - (unless of some minor reputable ones), the price is given according to how well you can either haggle; or what mood the person dealing with you considers you are worth. Black people's salons are the only places where a hairstyle that takes a whole day (if not two!) can still get client complain that the price is too high. Yet very few would want a job of those hours and be accept a pittance. This is not important an issue to the client who doesn't stop to value the person that has been toiling to assist make them look beautiful; should still be the one to be considerate and accept the little being paid for the service! My favourite motto is - "pay peanuts, you get monkeys work." It's not uncommon for black clients to demand the best hairstyle and expect to pay less than the going rate. Having said this - there are some female stylists hell bent on working out their frustrations and jealousies on unsuspecting clients - perhaps that could explain why there is a growing number of male stylists in comparison to females!
Unless of course you had "Auntie" in her cottage industry biz operating in her council flat nearby where you took turns in the bathroom sink amongst all her else that cohabited in the little space. Either that or suffering back pain from prolonged bending over the bath to use the bucket. Then the gauntlet of having cold or tepid water to wash out was another thing to contend with, because Auntie had to make sure heated water was not over used lest her electric/gas bill came back too high. Tepid/cold water rinses are fine - in the hot climate. They are just not very welcome when it's freezing both in the flat you are having your hair done in addition to going back out in the cold after it's finished. So this salon is indeed a welcome respite!