You can take the girl out of the country

Hairdressing is so wanky here. Firstly it is common to tip your hairdresser. Not for me thanks, I mean how good can a head massage get?

The second reason relates to the pay scales. You can either get an entry level person, or a stylist, or a designer, or a master designer. You pay more for your haircut as you go up the rankings.

Anyway, I was in pretty bad need of a haircut. So I found a mob and in order to mitigate the risks of just walking in off the street to get my haircut I go for the top of the range. Price: £31. A measly $75 AUD, if you will. But I was certain that I would be getting something pretty special ...

So my hairdresser comes over. Immediately it is obvious that she is from Australia. No problems there, plenty of good hairdressers in Australia. I ask here where she is from. Noosa, she tells me. Noosa. Not exactly the hairdressing Mecca, me thinks. But almost nobody who lives in Noosa has always lived in Noosa, so I ask where she lived before that. The response comes - Swan Hill.

So, in my head I am trying - and failing - to reconcile the fact that I am paying $75 AUD for a haircut from some chick from Swan Hill. And the haircut was very brief - I spent more time ordering and drinking my cup of tea than getting my haircut - and, it seems at this stage, to be very average at best.

But the hairdressing gods have been kind on me. That day was the day of the half price haircut. £15 is far more in line with what I believe to be the going rate for some some bird from Swan Hill.