Hot Towel

I never liked the beard and I have rarely survived more than a week without shaving. Last fall, however, for a variety of reasons and strange coincidences, I decided to keep it for the entire winter.
It was not easy to live with, I can’t be bothered grooming myself and managing an uncontrolled growth presented its problems and also its rites. In this I have to thank my wife for her patience and making herself my very personal barber and trying to maintain a semblance of order where order is not.
The months have passed and I have to say that its presence in the long term has become a company. During the long winter months it has protected me from the cold. When it was time to use it as a think tank it never let me down. So, all in all, it was not a bad experience. But of course it could not last forever especially with spring approaching.
It happened that the chance of a trip to Ireland to celebrate St Patrick’s, turned quickly in the opportunity to sit in a chair in a barbershop. And I say, a real barber! The last time I’ve been to the barbershop dates back to my wedding day almost 5 years ago and to be honest, it was not exactly a the barber as I expected, but then there were not many choices.
So here we are on the streets of an old Dublin slowly waking up after the St. Patrick’s festival, with a shy sun to announce the upcoming spring, looking for the right location. I have a couple of names searched on the net sometimes ago, but how often happens that the unexpected is the best thing. We run into a barber shop on the corner of Fleet Street and Parliament Row, The Green Rooster Barbershop. As soon as I’ve seen it I knew it was the right place for me. It was just opening and they told me they could assist me right away, since they didn’t have other reservation so early in the morning, which worked more than fine for me!
At the cash register there is this young guy who turns out to be German, but with Italian roots (his parents moved to Germany from Calabria). He moved to Dublin because in Germany he had no way of expressing his art. The actual barber comes from Poland and after I told him what I wanted he started “the show”.
And so for the first time in my life I was able to enjoy the “Hot Towel Shaving” (just like in the movies!).
An hour and a half later I was again a “proper man” with a clean cut and a smooth face!.