In Which I Discover A Fellow Reader

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Friday then. I was off. My wife was off and of course as it was the summer holidays my daughter was off. Unfortunately the weather was off as well.

10:45am Friday

Quarter to eleven on a Friday morning in August and it's so dark cars are travelling with headlights on. Nowhere really to go out today. Might as well go and get my hair cut (note the word cut you understand. I'm too old to have my hair styled).

Though a five minute walk away the weather meant that I had to take the car to the van. Yes I said van, albeit a converted one, capable of two people being attended to at once with a waiting area of available periodicals and a newspaper. Of course when I say newspaper it's The Sun, so that's a debate.Decided therefore to bring one of the books I'm reading with me. Was ready to claim to be the first man (not person should stress) to read an Olivia Manning novel in a barbers whilst waiting to dealt with.

This claim to fame would however pass me by. Walked in just in time to take a free space. Placed the Manning tome on the ledge in front of me with my specs and explained in full technical detail what I wanted. Which was, essentially a trim.

The person cutting my hair is a pleasant slim lady of I guess mid twenties. The few facts I know about her is that she's never been to Maesteg (a half hour's drive away) and that her partner is an ideal man for many women given that he is a chef that doesn't like sport.

She notices the Manning and we start chatting about reading.Figured my hair was not being cut by a mushy romantic or chick lit type, Still didn't expect the response when I asked what her current book was.

Because it was a biography of East End early sixties gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray.

Did not must admit ask why she had picked that book to read stunned as I was by that choice. Being from the East End though not when they were at their most notorious knew of their reputation as it had been embedded in the culture.

She continued to explain that the Krays had lowered in her estimation because they had tried to escape from going on national service. Being murderous gangsters was nothing it seemed to not fighting for your country.

And another book was been read by my hairdresser. A novel about saving children from the Nazis in the second World War.Reading more than one book than at the same time. A lady after my own heart.

But let's go back to The Krays. I said that barbers/hairdressers/hair stylists call them what you will could make good assassins. After all they cut parts off a person's body without care or emotion and of course they are used to handling sharp instruments.

I also thought afterwards. That you could form a squad of hairdressing hit people if needed,flying all around the country to deal with assignments. You could name this squad after the most famous barberian and call it The Sweeney.

What I did mention to her is that as an assassin she could work undercover until called upon to deal with a problem in say Newport. The response suggested that she was impressed with the place. I don't know Newport that well. The last time I went was for a Newport County game so there wasn't a lot of the town I knew of.

Still the area I saw was in decline. Indeed she agreed with me that if some of the buildings could cry they would be in floods of tears by now because you see there were better times in the past. This is a picture I took then as an example.

A Crying Shame

But of course any conversation where I live about declining areas would lead us to Bridgend Town. She told me a couple I did not know. Firstly an Italian restaurant had closed down. Secondly there is apparently a book about not to regenerate a town and Bridgend is used as the example. Whether a Penguin or not that's a book I'd like to read.

I left feeling happy. That's what meeting a fellow reader does to you.

Until the next time.