19 July 2020 / leggypeggy

Poor John gets ‘the works’ in Taiwan

Getting the sideburns trimmed

Applying shaving cream

Like many of us, Poor John has been hanging out for a haircut. A couple of weeks ago, he had an appointment at the local hairdressing school which had re-opened. Sadly, he had to cancel because he had the sniffles. He even got tested for Covid-19—negative. Then the school closed for two weeks of winter holidays.

He has a new appointment—for tomorrow—but it won’t compare to the haircut with ‘the works’ that he got in Jui-Fen, Taiwan in December.

Jui-Fen was one of our stops on a day trip from Taipei. Who knew the place was famous for a hairdresser?

Going after the ear hair

We were strolling through Jui-Fen in the early evening, when Poor John spotted someone getting his haircut by Grandma. He went in, expecting to be served fairly soon. Turned out the guy already in the chair was getting ‘the works’. So Poor John waited and waited and waited.

Jui-Fen is a popular and welcoming tourist town

We meandered around the touristy shops and checked on him from time to time. Still waiting. Maybe 45 minutes later, it was his turn. It didn’t take long to realise that he was getting ‘the works’ too. I stayed a while to take some pictures of this extravaganza, but wandered off with the kids to enjoyed the sights of Jui-Fen, including some startling products—most likely tea.

I can’t read Chinese. Soap or tea?

Just so you know, ‘the works’ included a wash and dry, haircut, shave, eyebrow trim, nose and ear hair trim, other stray hair removal and more. It took close to an hour (Grandma even changed clothes). I forget the cost, but it was under A$15.

A snippet from the plaque

Poor John waiting, the plaque is on the window

So what made us think Grandma is famous. There’s a plaque outside her shop. Written in two languages, this is what it says in English:

‘Situated on the Light-rail road, petite Grandma has seen the history of Jui-Fen through her haircuts, ear picking, baby hair trimming. Always wearing her signature thick-sole shoes and her smile. Many miners from old times still use her services, for their families have visited Grandma for three generations.’ I wonder how she and her regular customers have fared this year?

Getting the hair washed. Note the ‘signature’ thick-sole shoes

Poor John’s haircut tomorrow does include a shave. The receptionist told him not to shave over the weekend. The students are studying shaving and he is going to be one of their guinea pigs. I’m not going to take pics.