(20) "I´m not a barber: I´m a hairdresser!"

On the afternoon of April 7th 1987 it occurred to me that I needed a haircut.
Then I recalled how in 1980 I had offended a trainee who was doing my hair in Bedford by saying something about going to the barber’s.

"I’m not a barber: I’m a hairdresser."

That evening the BBC screened a programme which was a showcase of new comedy talent from the eastern region.

At one point there was a sketch involving four men having their hair cut.
It was a crazy scenario, with one man having a bag over his head and another facing the wrong way round, etc.

A ´haircutter´ walked between them. One of them referred to him as a barber.

He took great offence and insisted that he was a hairdresser.
Later he was again called a barber and once more took umbrage, insisting that he was a hairdresser.

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