Built to last

I saw the oldest known working clock in existence in Salisbury Cathedral dating back to 1392. Windsor castle is nearly 1,000 years old. The stuff around here from the 1700’s is considered recent and new. There is not a single thing in North America that is over 400 years old except maybe a redwood or two. How am I supposed to feel about all of my efforts focused on the creation and delivery of a service and product that is completely gone in 3 weeks? Haircuts just don’t last very long. I guess that is the secret. How much did they charge to carve the intricate stonework of Westminster Abbey? That is no $8 haircut!

The American Haircut

My family was standing in line for tickets to Windsor Castle. An official looking guy was moving along the line directing people to the next queue (that is a line to wait in). As he got closer I could hear the question he was asking to divide the line. Are you a British taxpayer? My guess is that as a British taxpayer you do not have to pay admission to the castle…you own it. As he got to us he was about to ask the question when he looked at me and my head and just stated “U.S. Military haircut”… “till number 6”. Apparently my fresh high-and-tight flattop has me clearly labeled as an American. Needless to say we were paying cash for tickets.

Pub Fare

On a few occasions, we hit a pub for a meal. I am a picky eater under the best of conditions…but I found a lot of good food while here. I’ve had my fill of fish and chips. I tried beef and ale crown pie (that is not beef by my standards), Mushy peas � baby food for adults, is just what the name describes. Order lemonade and you get very sweet 7Up. Chips are fries, crisps are chips. Ketchup has a whole lot more vinegar. Hamburgers taste more like buffalo than beef… a bit gamier, lean and tough, but that is how I like it. Lighting is poor. Air is smoky. Chairs are comfy…A great place to hang out for a while.

London Hair - Ladies

In ladies hair I have seen quite a range. I have seen some great, contemporary, asymmetric shapes. I have seen some bold shapes with very progressive color as well. There are lots of heads with lots of layers. There seems to be quite a bit more short-to-mid-length hair to be seen than we see at home. Most of the straight hair is shoulder length and shorter. Long hair is left to the curlies to display. The mood seems to be that if you have straight hair that can be cut into some great shapes, why waste it on just hanging there? There is a big lesson here for the fashion focused U.S.A. I get the feeling that we are not nearly as fashionable in the states as we would like to think we are. From the looks of hair, ladies hair in the U.S. is all about trying to be sure we all look the same. Here in London there seems to be real effort invested in making sure one looks a bit different.

London Hair - Men

Travel is always a great opportunity people watch. I can sit on a bench with a large Diet Coke and watch the world go by for hours. I am specifically checking out the hair here. I have a week until I will get up on stage in front of the London crowd. This is a big show and I need to show the world what a U.S. clipper cutter has to offer. I am trying to get a feel for what I see in hair trends. It is hard to see a distinct trend or trends. Generally the men’s hair is either a bit longer than what we see in the U.S. or just buzzed off. There is not much in between. There is lots of broken texture punched up with matte finish, chunky styling products. There are lots of messy looking interiors and very few cleanly tapered perimeters.

London Calling

I am off to The Salon show in London, U.K. It will be interesting to see how I do on the flight… 7 hours is a bit much for me to be expected to sit still… Denver is about the longest I can fly without getting major antsy… LAX is not easy for me… Heathrow will be a challenge.

Prowers County, CO

Do you know where this is? Ever heard of it? I know where it is… I’ve been there. Lamar Community College in Lamar, Colorado recently hosted a visit for a clipper cutting class. I was excited to visit there and to see a part of the U.S.A. that only clipper cutting… or maybe cattle ranching might have brought me to. I had dinner in a really modern looking Thai / Chinese restaurant. The food was great and the d�cor could have put this restaurant in any major city in the country. Just outside the restaurant window, on the chamber of commerce square, I got a very up close and personal look at a blade from a wind power generator. You have seen those wind farms along the hills outside of Vegas? There is a wind farm outside of Lamar and they put a blade in town as a local attraction and a promotion for the investment…way cool.

Now Premiering...

Florida is hot. Florida is humid. Florida is muggy. Florida is the site of the Premiere Beauty Show. Premiere is the hottest event on the American beauty show circuit. Andis had a very successful outing at the Premiere show this year. We had classrooms, stage presentations and Spanish language programming. The NEW HeadLight clipper, CeramicEdge blades and of course Lola were BIG hits with show attendees. Mark your calendat for next year…Premiere is moving to June.