Our columnist Frank Brandon on visiting the barbers for a beard-trim for the first time in years, some important NCT-related advice for motorists, and Creggs’ new digital storyMap…
It’s Thursday morning, and I have to admit that my nerves are at me as I head into Roscommon to have something done that I haven’t had done professionally for more than 40 (nearer to 50) years.
The thought of sitting in the big black chair with my head held back fills me with dread, and I wonder how I will be when the job is done. The last time I sat in such a chair I was a very young man still playing rugby and football on the respective fields of Connacht and Roscommon, and the recently-retired Paddy Joe was just on the start of his journey to become, like Carlsberg, probably the best (certainly the best-known) barber in the country, if not the world.
By now you will have figured that I wasn’t going to the dentist, but rather to a barber, because over the last half-century or so Carol took on the mantle as my barber, and more importantly, my beard regulator.
Now we always agreed that my hair could more or less grow wild, but my beard needed to be kept relatively tidy. And so last week, after my adult children told me I looked like a monkey – with so much facial hair that you couldn’t see my face (not a bad thing) – I gave in and went to town to get the offensive beard trimmed.
Jose Mourinho, the famous soccer manager, recently got into bother for claiming some members of an opposition bench were jumping up and down like monkeys, so I hope I have not insulted any of the primate (monkeys are primates) family by comparing myself to one of them.
Anyway, off I went, with no idea as to which of the many town barbers I would go to. I simply decided that I would go to the first one I would see, and was on my way to ask my son Mark for his advice when I spotted A1 Barbers and went in.
There was a middle-aged man getting his hair cut when I walked in, which gave me a good feeling about the place, and he was so happy with the finished product that I lost all my fears and nerves. Mind you, when the very friendly proprietor asked me to take off my glasses, I wondered if he didn’t want me to see what he was doing.
But I needn’t have worried – he did a wonderful job, took loads of time with me, treated me to hot towels on my face (which I only ever saw in movies), and left me with the nearest thing to a designer beard that I have ever had.
Sunny, a native of Pakistan, had worked in Sligo for a number of years before taking the huge step of opening his own very impressive barber shop five months ago, and he tells me that things are going very well for him. He opens seven days a week, and Sunday is a really busy day.
Now I know there are lots of barber shops in Roscommon and I have no doubt they are all very professional and equally good, but I have to say that my experience of A1 Barbers was very positive and I can only hugely recommend it. I will be back when next I look like a monkey.
‘No cert, no cover’
As I looked up the phone number for the NCT centre to book a retest for my (mostly) trusty old Passat, I came across a post from a driver that I have to say surprised me.
He was unlucky enough to have an accident, and then when he made a claim his insurance company refused to pay because he didn’t have a valid NCT cert.
To clear matters up in my own head I rang Axa, whom I am insured with, to find out what the story is, and they confirmed that you are not insured if your car has no NCT cert. I asked them if that meant you were not covered from the time your car actually fails the test, but they said you are covered to drive home, and you will be covered to drive back to the test centre on the day of your retest. You are not covered any other time, so the ridiculous situation is if you have to go to a garage (as you almost certainly will) to get things sorted, you are not covered. You simply cannot drive your car except to bring it back to the test centre.
Oftentimes cars only fail the test on visuals, such as a missing bulb or something small, but according to Axa, it seems to make no difference what it fails for. It can be the most minor of things, but you are treated the same as if the car is falling apart and totally unroadworthy.
That seems unfair to me, and although it was said that Gardaí and insurance companies would take a more lenient look at things (mainly because people are experiencing long delays in getting dates for their tests), Axa were quite clear to me that “no cert, no cover” is the way it is.
I have to admit that I was unaware that that was the position, so in case other companies have different criteria, if you have an expired NCT cert, give your insurance company a ring – it might save you a lot of stress, and more importantly, money.
And finally…
Out here in Creggs, a new digital storyMap showcasing the heritage and history of the area will be launched at an event in the local National School on Friday, March 14th.
The event will feature material from the podcasts and films that were created as part of the digital storyMap as well as traditional music and song to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. There are three podcasts and two videos and it will be an opportunity to celebrate all who have contributed to the history and heritage of the area, and to introduce everyone to the 15 points of historical interest in the parish.
Two men who contributed greatly to the podcasts, Seamus Keane and Paddy Lohan, have sadly since passed away, and the event will celebrate their contributions to the podcast and the wider community on the night.
There is so much to write about regarding this event that my editor, Paul Healy, would have a seizure – so all I can say is get to the National School in Creggs at 8 pm on Friday, March 14th! Admission is free, and the areas of historical interest in the locality will be truly brought to life through the podcasts and short films. Don’t forget!
‘Til next week,
Bye for now!
