Celebrities, hair and a true hero in Afghanistan
Afghan artist’s studio
A few minutes ago, Poor John announced that he’d been privy to important news today. After he recounted the three events, I nearly choked on my glass of wine.
But before I share the ‘riveting’ tibdits, I’ll report that he got his hair cut today at the local hairdressing school. He had to wait his turn and filled in the time by reading a couple of celebrity-focused magazines.
Those of you who follow this blog will know that Poor John takes special pride in getting a cheap haircut. His best deal ever was $2 in Abuja, Nigeria. His most expensive (from the aspect of price-gouging) was the $16 he was charged in Kashgar, western China. His biggest grumbling occurred at the hairdressing school in Denver Colorado when the cut cost $4 and I made him tip $1. Geez, how could I take the shine off the price with a tip?
Today was a shock for him. The hairdressing school’s price has jumped from $12 to $17. I know he’ll be back because he can’t find a cheaper deal anywhere in town.
That said, we’ll be in Cuba later on in March and in South and Central America in April, and I’m sure he’ll seek out another cheapie.
And now to the celebrity news:
• Nicole is pregnant
• Kate and Wills are thinking of adopting a disadvantaged child
• Bindi’s boyfriend is going to propose.
Of course, I knew that Nicole is Nicole Kidman and Bindi is the daughter of the late Steve Irwin. But I had to confirm that Kate and Wills are the British royals.
Poor John groaned and said, ‘They aren’t called royals—they’re just Kate and Wills’.
The fallout from this is that I hope we’re invited to a trivia night soon. Poor John is terrible at celebrity questions, but every now and then he’s read something, somewhere that makes it look like he’s an expert.
And on a completely different note, I saw an amazing item today about a Afghan woman who is doing street art in Kabul. I’ve used her art to illustrate this post.
In my opinion, she is the true celebrity. Please click through to the article (link above) and see what a hero and great artist she really is.
Could be Poor John’s hair if he hangs out too long for a cheap cut.
Where to next? 
As a woman, I’m happy to only pay $18 for a wash, cut, blow-dry. My hair is all one length, no talent really needed there.
I didn’t know who Kate&Wills was. I actually did know the others!
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Oh, thank you, thank you, for having to confirm Kate and Wills.
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I have to say that you could do a blog on your poor John alone! His adventures are funny and remind me of my father who loved getting a hair cut in Saudi, it was cheap, they did his eye brows, a massage etc. I can’t remember the details but he always bragged about the cost and all that was included. This article sounds amazing! I can’t believe it! Thanks for sharing will have a look!
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We need to get your dad and Poor John together. Oh the stories they could share!
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yes that is so true!!! Dad still talks about it haha
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Poor John is like a dog with a bone on these issues.
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What an amazing fantastic wonderful story. Thanks so very much.
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My pleasure. Thanks for stopping by.
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Pretty powerful image from the artist in Aghanistan. Thanks so much for showcasing it. Funny how hubbies seem to know or read a lot of celebrity news. Mine seems to be extending his knowledge the closer he gets to retirement. I suppose once he retires I will get daily updates…. yikes!
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I can confirm that you will get daily updates. I sure do!
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Great picture. I’m afraid I am just as clueless as your hubby when it comes to ‘celebs’
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I’m beginning to think I’m more clueless than he is. When I go to the hairdresser the magazines can be months, even years, out-of-date. So I’m getting old news about hatches, matches and dispatches that did or didn’t happen.
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Hello Peggy. Celebrities bore the life out of me, what with their Awards, awards and even more award ceremonies . Not for me i’m afraid, I much prefer reading about “REAL PEOPLE”. not imagined idols.
RE: hair. i pay £4 once or twice a year and i feel so sad seeing lumps of my dying hair strewn around the cold dusty floor 🙂
RE: The Royals. Please ask Poor John if he knows what “HRH” means 🙂
I like your blog.
Be well my faraway friend.
kenny2dogs
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Hello kenny2dogs! Glad you like the blog.
Celebrities bore Poor John and me too. But he’ll read whatever is put in front of him. Next time I bet he’ll take a book. 🙂
You get a £4? Oh boy, Poor John will be putting the UK on his destination list. And it’s okay for us to visit because we both know what HRH means.
Take care faraway friend.
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I had a male friend (from Zurich, Switzerland) who would cut his own hair, using a mirror and scissors. I tried it once but gave up. I am semi-bald, still have brown hair (at one time it was reddish) at 73 yrs old. I would go to NYC’s Chinatown and get a haircut for $8 + $2 tip = $10. The woman barber would massage my upper shoulders, give me a hot towel for my face at the end of the haircut.
A few weeks ago, I decided to try once again giving myself a haircut. This time I used my dogs motorized clippers and the fine/close blade. It really gave me an extremely short cut… and I had my brother do the back of my head, since I did a poor job of leaving clumps of hair. He did not want a tip LOL.I now look like the “King and I” (Yul Brynner) or Mr. Clean (ad on TV).
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I cut my own hair when I was a poor university student, but I was pretty bad at it. Luckily my hair is curly enough it hides most mistakes. Now I get it done professionally, although I had a doozie of a bad haircut in Zambia. No two hairs were the same length.
Glad you brother didn’t expect a tip.
P.S. I still remember the lyrics to the original Mr Clean song.
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Hahaha! Sorry for laughing, but I thought, how could you get a bad haircut in Zambia? I thought we were the land of the best barbers anywhere. 🙂
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Lots of people laughed over this haircut. I looked pretty ragged for a long time. 🙂
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I really enjoyed the article about the Afghani street artist Hassani. She is very brave! I was intrigued with the idea of digital graffiti. It’s really amazing the way the creative spirit will find a way to express itself. Here is a link to some interesting street art in London
https://wordpress.com/read/post/feed/8084815/933798589
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Thanks for stopping by and for commenting. Thanks for the link too.
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Tell him to wait twice as long: he will be shaggy, but he can count it as half-price, 🙂
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It’s been summer holidays in Australia, so the hairdressing school has been closed since November. He got an appointment on the first day they reopened so, in a way, he’s already waited almost twice as long. But that’s not made him any happier about the price rise.
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Hi Peggy, I am like poor John, I need the cheap haircuts, I at one time cut my own hair, but then I had to go have a professional fix the mistake I made. LOL, thanks for a great post – have a wonderful day. 🙂
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Thanks for dropping in. The worst haircut I ever had, worse even than those I gave myself in university, was by a professional in Zambia.
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Thank goodness hair grows back. 🙂
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We were travelling by road through Africa for a year when I got that haircut. Many months later, I finally went to an Iraqi hairdresser in the Sinai. I told her what happened. She looked at my hair and nearly cried. And then proceeded to give me one of the best cuts I’ve ever had.
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Enjoyed reading Peggy; you write really well, I love your subtle humor:)
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Thanks so much.
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So, Peggy, are you still going to make it to Fairbanks. We leave for Alaska on Thursday, will check out the Fur Rendezvous, and then make our way to Fairbanks on the train. Our son made all of the arrangements so I am a little short on details. Anyway, my Email is cvmekemson@gmail.com or curtandpeg@aol.com. –Curt
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Hi Curt, we get to Fairbanks late on 4 March. Do you think we can actually meet? I’ll email you.
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Leggy P. I hope for YOUR sake Poor John doesn’t read the comments on your blog because if he does YOU will be the cheapest barber in the whole wide world: I bought a hair-razor-cutter-thingey at the “dollar store” here. (It was more like about $12). I give my husband haircuts. There are “guides” on the razor and it’s verrrrrrrrrry easy. I figure after the first year at $1.00 a cut it is now free.
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I don’t think Poor John wants me coming at him with sharp objects.
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The older I get, the less interest I have in celebrities, although I do admire Kate & William.
I LOVE Hassani’s art, her determination and her message. So talented and so lovely!
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I was so pleased to come across the article. Hassani is a real champ.
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Yes, she really is!
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An amazing artist. There is more to Afghanistan than bombs. The haircuts now cost at least thirty dollars. I have joined the age where cutting any hair is a celebration. Many men pay more than thirty dollars for the cutting of half a dozen strands of hair. I am happy to still see the floor littered with my hair. One takes joy in the little things. Good post, Leggy.
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Hassani is so talented. I was thrilled to find the article about her.
As for haircuts, I’m glad you get some joy from yours.
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Oh…a decent haircut here in India is pretty expensive. But I loved the way Poor John has described the celebrities… 😀
That was an amazing street-art….thanks for sharing, Peggy… 🙂
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My pleasure. Thanks for visiting and commenting.
P.S. Poor John has had at least three haircuts in India and each one cost very little. I think one was 80 cents.
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I meant a haircut and spa for long hair….like I have…:-D
By the way, the conversion from INR to dollar would make it less eventually…. 🙂
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Long hair always costs more, but overall prices for most things in India are much lower than Australia.
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Many thanks for the celeb update. Saves me from having to go and get my hair trimmed for at least another week.
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Me too. I’ve been thinking about getting a haircut, but now I don’t need to.
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The Bindi news is new to me. The other 2 I read in the check-out queue at the s/makt.
Thank you for the link to Afghan street art. I love the ones of the footpath/road. You don’t see much (if any) on the road here is Oz. It’s truly inspiring to see an Afghan women making her mark in public.
My nephew was based in Kabul for 6 months with the Dept of Foreign Affairs. I didn’t hear much about his work as I don’t see him often. His next posting is Japan for 3 years and he is currently doing intensive language school. Hope to see some more of his stay there in the future, although he rarely seems to update his F/B page, so many not 🙂
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All three were news to me and Poor John says the magazines were a few months old. I am out of touch. 🙂
I loved the street art too. I wish more interesting stuff appeared in Australia, instead of those miserable tags that some do. And as an aside, your nephew and my daughter may know one another. She’s also in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
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My nephew Jeremy (Alford) and Rachel just got married last October (in Canberra). I haven’t seen him in person for a few years now. I don’t get out much socially and Canberra is beyond my health (and purse). In fact, at the moment, I have trouble getting out my front door 😀
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I’ll ask Petra if she knows him.
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Thanks for the intro of Shamsia Hassani, what a very talented artist she is…. and amazing that graffiti is accepted in Kabul… and nobody has ‘white washed’, removed her artwork/graffiti. I really enjoyed seeing her artwork and her comments for each piece.
Aside- In one of her pieces of artwork, the birds appear to me as bats. And in her studio (and second detail of her artwork), the skyscraper is the Chrysler Building in NYC.
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Wow, you are very observant. I wouldn’t have picked that building, but am so glad you pointed it out.
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What an interesting woman and brave. Her observation that ..when women cannot have access to education; this is more of a problem than wearing a burqa” says it all. Her images are striking and haunting.
And as for the celeb news, I had to look back to re-read to find out what you’d said about the others other than Kate and Wills. Who the hell is Bindi?
The Husband and Poor John would get on. He resents paying for his haircut. He has his hair cut by our village hairdresser and payment is not always cash. We have a barter system that works pretty well in the village (at the market, and just generally if one has goods and produce), so if he’s repaired something in her house, that’s the price of one or even two haircuts, depending…. Now mine is a totally different story because I confess to vanity and my hair is/was/can be my crowning glory. Nuf said.
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I noted that comment too. Hassani is a remarkable woman and I’m glad her art is being recognised.
Bindi is the daughter of the late Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. Here’s more about him
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Irwin
I confess to getting expensive haircuts every now and then, but they don’t make much difference so usually I don’t bother. Poor John would love the barter system. I make tons of sourdough bread and I’m sure it’s worth something.
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Ah, yes, I remember him, now. Looking at that link I discovered that I shared a birthday with him, although he’d have been a year older than I.
And yes, sourdough bread is worth its weight in gold!
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Amazing that you share a birthday. And yes, sourdough is amazing.
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What an amusing guy to have around! I have to agree with him on the hair cut……I refuse to go to a high end salon and pay the big bucks. I am usually able to find a local chain type salon with a good hair stylist and remain pretty loyal to him or her until they move on. Then I start the process over. Senior Day or coupons are always nice to! My husband has even taken to buying clippers and cutting his own hair. I won’t go that far!! ( he usually has a ball cap on so until it grows out nobody notices anyway haha)
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Poor John is a real character.
I rarely go for a high-end salon. The local shops have an okay hairdresser and that’s fine for me. Plus I get a senior’s discount without even asking.
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Yeah, that “not even asking” doesn’t even bother me….. I’m thrilled for the discount. There has to be some perks with getting older!!😄
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To balance things out, the fellow in the grog shop (grog is Aussie slang for booze) every now and then asks for my ID. What a charmer.
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Hi Peggy, I’ll be in Cuba in a couple of weeks. Then back to Mexico. Would be great to catch up if we are near each other.
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Hi Brad, we are in Cuba from 28 March to 8 April. Any dates in common? We’re doing homestays and travelling across the country.
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I will be there at the same time. I’ll be be cycling with a friend but no confirmation on a route yet, I’m still waiting to hear back.
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Our itinerary, in order, is 2 nights Havana, 1 night Vinales, 1 night Havana, 1 night Playa Larga, 1 night Playa Giron, 1 night Cienfuegos, 3 nights Trinidad and 1 night Havana. I’ll email you my mobile number of What’s App.
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I think Poor John and my husband could compete at hair cutting stories. My husband will go anywhere and let anybody cut his hair. Its kind of scary! Love the art too!
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I have to say that Poor John’s latest haircut must have been done by a beginner because he’s looking a bit like Alfalfa from ‘Spanky and our gang’, which you are too young to have ever seen. Alfalfa has a sticky-up bit at the back.
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Oh no! I know Alfalfa, Spanky, Darla and the gang. Watched as a child. Luckily hair grows pretty fast!😊
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I’ll let you know when he’s presentable again.
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Any woman performing street art is definitely a hero as per my standards. Lovely images!
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Hassani is amazing. Glad you like her work too.
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Your poor John sounds like a real character. Thank goodness you survived after almost choking on your wine after he imparted such critical news to you. The artist’s works are hauntingly beautiful.
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Oh he’s a character all right, and usually dispensing news not relating to celebrities.
I was especially delighted to see how much variety there is in Hassani’s work.
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It’s fabulous. I had to share it on Twitter. I like her messages behind the art. She’s a real powerhouse.
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Thanks so much for sharing this. Hassani deserves to have wide exposure.
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This story is really funny on many levels. I am very impressed by this artwork – and off to now check it out – and John’s haircut. I’m not even sure what to say on that. My husband has been cutting his hair for many years now, so I guess I can’t complain on that expense! I guess at least he still has hair to complain about ??
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Yes indeed, I often remind Poor John that he’s lucky to have hair that needs to be cut. 🙂
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It is a good problem to have! Have a lovely day.
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Wow what an amazing story. She is extremely talented, how creative she is too! Oh and I was unaware of the celebrity news so please thank Poor John for me… 😉
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Hassani is worth watching. I wonder how far her art will spread. And Poor John says you’re welcome.
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I think and hope far!
😊
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Ha Ha tell John to come Thailand it’s only 50b and you get a head and neck massage plus a shave if you wish and yes I will let everyone know what I can grow ..no worries there ha ha 😉
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He’s had a few haircuts in Thailand—we lived in Burma, which is where I first met pomelos. 🙂
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Ahhhh well sounds like you need to buy a pair of clippers and give him a numero 1 😉
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I have dog clippers. Maybe they’d work!
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Ha Ha 😉
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Ha! I’m horrible with pop culture, and would be an epic fail at any trivia night. I like to impress my husband with some random snippet about a classic film that I stumble upon with social media. Then he goes into an obscene level of depth on the film, and I have to stop him. “In only read such’n’such on facebook.” “…oh. Well, you should know about…” And awaaaaaaaaay he goes. 🙂
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Poor John is the same. HIs brain is like a sponge for everything he reads except pop culture.
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Reblogged this on Meet The Artists – Art Box.
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