Father Cutting our Hair -228

I Remember father Cutting our Hair

It would be around the early 1940's when we started to go to the village school , at the beginning of every new term father would reach up into the top shelf of the old cupboard and get out his hand clippers and scissors, these scissors were kept just for hair cutting and hidden away so they would not  be used for cutting paper or anything else that would blunt there fine edge.

On his right hand father only had a thumb and the first two fingers and a stump of a finger, and it was with this hand that he worked the clippers and scissors to cut our hair. Those two fingers and the thumb did all the work and were much stronger than what you could imagine. 

Starting with the youngest one, who would be twisting his head and moving about, he would be very careful and go steady, but when it came to the forth and last one sometimes his patience would be wearing a bit thin, the clippers would be pushed up the back of ya neck faster than he was clipping and that would pull ya hair out by the root 

When using the scissors, he would start snapping the scissors at a tremendous rate (or so it seemed to us kids) in mid air, then run the comb up the the back of ya neck n over  ya yed, as if he were doing a practice run, then on the second run lower the scissors into work on top of the comb, working over the top and the all round the back, with hair flying all over the place.

Many folk likened it to his skills at thatching the corn ricks and shearing the sheep, swift and most of the time accurate, he would nick ya earole if ya dinna sit still.

Father Cutting our Hair

At the beginning of every, new school term,

Father said with long hair, no you’ll not learn,

So out with his scissors and comb and clipper,

And lifted us into the old high chair, start with the nipper.

Clippers are worked, by squeezing the handle,

And worked at a speed, more than an amble,

He oils them as if, he were clipping the sheep,

And expects us to sit there, without a peep

He started with clippers, on back of your neck,

And clipped up to where, the cap fitted by heck

Pushing them up faster, than he was clipping,

Pulled hair by the root, us howling and shouting.

When he had finished, around sides and ears,

Quake as the comb and scissors appear.

Combing it back, to make it stand up,

And do it again, as if to warm-up,

Gauging the length, one finger neeth comb,

Cut off all sticks through, all over your dome.

Stand back to see if, it’s even all round,

Snip to the lock that he missed, falls to ground.

No time for a cloth, round the shoulder or mirror,

Next one he lifts into chair, his turn to quiver,

Only five minuets it takes, as he sweats,

As with sheep, more you do, faster he gets.

The hair cut we had, when we now look back,

Was very much the same, as his corn stack ,

Thatched on the top, trimmed up the side,

Old habits’ never die, he does it with pride.

Owd Fred