500-mile trip from Aberdeen to New castle... for a hairdo!
MANY Scots are going to great lengths to get a haircut – by booking appointments at salons south of the Border.
Hairdressers and barbers can open in England on Friday, 11 days before their counterparts in Scotland.
One woman is travelling from Aberdeen to Newcastle – a round trip of more than 500 miles – to lose her lockdown locks.
Jack Crozier, a stylist at Collective Hairdressing, said: ‘She was on the phone as soon as it was announced we could reopen our business. You could almost hear the desperation in her voice when she called – and then the relief when we said that we could fit her in.
‘We have received a number of calls from people in Scotland wanting to come down for early appointments.’
It was a similar story at the Toni&Guy salon in Newcastle, where the booking system went into meltdown minutes after it was confirmed hairdressers could reopen. A spokesman said: ‘The demand, including from Scotland, has been overwhelming.’
Ten miles south of the Border, the cathedral city of Carlisle has also witnessed strong demand from Scots.
One hairdressing salon revealed it has even received early bookings for Christmas from some clients.
Mark Baker, co-owner of Atelier Hair Couture, said: ‘There is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus and a few folk have mentioned that they
think it could repeat itself early next year, which is why they have asked for bookings in December as well as just now.
‘The demand over the last two days has been overwhelming.
‘The phone has never stopped ringing and already we are looking at August and September being the earliest for some bookings.
‘We have a lot in the South-West of Scotland, in Annan, Gretna and Lockerbie, who are prepared to head down the M74 to Carlisle without giving it a second thought.’
Also in Carlisle, barber Monty Stanford will be busy. He said: ‘I have clients coming from Glasgow. It will be nice to welcome them.’
With a chain of barber shops that includes two in Glasgow, Flavia Sanderson, boss of Brazuca Gents Grooming, said: ‘A number of our clients in Scotland are going to head down to Carlisle as it will be open earlier. The more the merrier.’