A Cut and Shot

The Barber's Pole on South Street

It's not the fanciest barber shop, and the beige interior has less character than a generic hotel conference room. An employee printed the sign in the window on a computer instead of making it at a respectable print shop. The old radio in the corner has a cassette player but not a CD player, and the reception is a little off so that I can't hear the imported American music. There are only a couple chairs, which don't go up or down like the chairs in true hair salons. No one washes the customer's hair with fragrant shampoo. In fact, this barber doesn't use any water at all, not even water from a spray bottle to moisten the hair before she cuts away with scissors that she did not sanitize after cutting the last customer's hair. She does use an electric shaver with a preset length guard that my friends buy at Wal-Mart so that they can easily cut their own hair at home. There is no clean shave with a straight blade or warm foam, but that is probably too archaic to still happen in barber shops today. Besides, I'm not sure how I feel about a stranger taking a sharp knife to my throat, especially if I did not tip well last time since I didn't know how much the British tip. There are no appointments and rarely a wait. It only costs £6.50 with the student discount, but I should check with other barbers to see if that is the best deal in town.

The best part of the whole gig is the shot of scotch whiskey at the end. They advertise the free shot from their window, but the barber never offers it after the cut. I rarely see customers ask for it. Maybe a shot of whiskey at 3 pm is too much. Then again, it does come with the cut. I'm not about to pass up a free shot of whiskey, and the pre-happy-hour time is no deterrent. The whiskey is an unglamorous mixed blend whose bottle doesn't boast being in a single barrel for 12 or 21 years. I think the same bottle has been sitting up on the counter since my last hair cut a month and a half ago. At least the barber pours a full, healthy shot into a touristy shot glass with Scottish scenery painted on the side. It's better than the tiny and expensive shots at the pub. I asked the barber if other shops give free shots of whiskey after haircuts. Apparently, it's a gimmick that only this shop does. Well, it's a memorable gimmick that gets the university students' attention.