Mum’s locks were still the key to her identity
WHILE looking after our daughter’s cat, I was puzzled to see him looking at me in horror, eyes wide with fear.
Then I followed Jangles’ gaze to the top of my head. He was freaked out by the nest of multi-coloured rollers gracing my head. What did he think they were? Weapons of cat destruction?
The shampoo and set may soon be a thing of the past, as the post-war generation of women decreases, but rollers have come back into fashion. You see them everywhere, particularly in the dressing rooms of Strictly Come Dancing.
My mum was a devotee of the Shampoo and Set. Her regular perms and weekly trip to the hairdresser were a must, well into her 80s. When she needed 24-hour care in a nursing home, the resident stylist took over.
This helped her hang on to the threads of a normal life – for me, as well as her. She may not have known who I was, but she still looked like my mother.
Mum took me along to her proper grown-up hairdresser when I was still at school – a rite of passage I suppose – but fashions were changing swiftly, and by my teens I was having wash and blow-dries in trendier salons.
My hair was poker straight which suited the era of precision haircuts, courtesy of Vidal Sassoon, and immortalised by fashion guru Mary Quant. These days, when the blow-drying is nearly finished, I put in the odd roller to get a bit of bounce.
When I’m heading off somewhere special, I put a roller in my fringe while I’m driving, so it won’t be hanging lankly when I arrive.
I’ve noticed strange looks from fellow drivers at traffic lights, but haven’t (yet) forgotten to remove the roller before going public.
Once, though, when we stepped out of the car, ready to go into a civic dinner with the mayor, Mr F said ‘What on earth is that? A bright green roller had attached itself to my sparkly grey dress.
He had the same expression as the cat. I really must try not to frighten the horses in future…
I WAS sorry to miss Legally Blonde, the summer youth project at the Beck Theatre, because I was ill. However, my goddaughter, 11-year-old Sophia was happy to take my place, saying it was the best show she had ever seen. Well done everyone.