Pic taken with Instagram
Threw back the curtains on a Winter Wonderland this morning: the overnight snow had settled on trees and bushes in neighbouring gardens, though it was already melting on the pavements.
Pic taken with Instagram
After a long-overdue haircut from barber Chris Loizou in Southfields, headed up the road to catch the tube into work, where “a normal service” was “operating on the District Line” according to the station announcer.
Though most of the snow had gone, an arctic wind was still sweeping the length of the platform – while the indicator boards simply said “District Line” with no train expected – presumably that’s what they mean by “a normal service”.
When the train finally came I took a picture out of sheer relief.
Taken with Instagram
Chris Loizou has been cutting my hair since about 1995 – when his shop was in Clapham’s trendy Northcote Road. My wife and son became regular customers too, and when Chris’s lease ran out and he moved to nearby Southfields we moved our custom there too. As soon as the infant Child K was old enough for a haircut, it was to Chris’s that we took her.
Chris is a cheerful all-rounder whose salon resonates to his large collection of blues and americana – I’ve never heard the same tune twice when getting a haircut there. But he’s also that increasingly rare thing – a proper gentlemen’s barber. You not only get a decent haircut, but without being asked he’ll trim your eyebrows and nasal hair and – unless you protest violently – will also pull out your ear hairs one by one with a pair of tweezers.
Getting a Christmas haircut isn’t one of the rituals you might normally associate with the holiday season – but Chris was booked solid all this week right through till early closing on Dec 24th. And you can bet there’ll be a queue when he re-opens in the New Year.
Chris’s Phase 2 is at 89 Replingham Road, Southfields London, SW18 5LU
For appointments call 020 8870 3263. See map
