Hairdressers in Perth

Why is it when you are looking for something they all apparently disappear? When we went to Perth last week, we were sure we had seen hundreds of hairdressers.Yet, when Rosemarie decides it is time to have her hair dealt with, there is not one in sight.

Today was the start of summer and the forecast was for temperatures of 37C. Deciding not to be too silly we cancelled a trip on a boat to Rottnest Island where there is little shade and instead decided to go and sort out our hire car for Thursday and to get Rosemarie's hair cut.

By the time we got off the bus in Perth city you could have fried an egg on the pavement. We walked slowly form the bus stop to the car hire agency, but when we got there were told we couldn't have the car early and that they could not do any of the paperwork until the day we a picked the car up. To be fair to them they were very nice about it but it felt a little like a wasted trip.

The great hairdresser search then commenced, shops that had clearly been hairdressers last week were suddenly now nail bars, or they had entered a period of camouflage. We traipsed around for a good hour in the blazing heat looking for a female hairdresser. To be fair to the profession in Perth, it also had to be a salon that Rosemarie liked the look of. At least two did not meet this high level criteria. Eventually we found one and were told we would have to wait for 45 minutes so we agreed to return. 

By this point I was flagging and we decided to go for a sandwich where we had eaten last week. As we arrived in the food hall imagine our surprise to find a hairdressing salon there. The stylist told us she could do Rosemarie's hair and whilst she was saying this inspected Rosemarie's head carefully, I suspect she saw it as a challenge, particularly as she was finishing a short back and sides, yes, this was a unisex hair salon.

We were told to return in a few minutes so we grabbed a sandwich and sat eating it in the food hall. When we returned to the salon I was impressed with the professionalism of the stylist who knew exactly what a she was doing. I was left waiting and became fair game for a bit of Pom bashing form the owner of the shop. It was all good natured banter, at the end all parties were pleased with the result and the owner even recommended a good pub for a pint afterwards, much needed in the oppressive heat.

In the evening we had another first, a visit to an outdoor cinema as part of the Perth International festival, neither of us had been to an outdoor cinema and it was a great experience. We saw Ken Loach's , The Angels' Share and thoroughly enjoyed it.

There have been so many firsts on this trip that it seems to me that we need to remember them carefully and to celebrate the fact that we are very lucky to have this opportunity.