pumpkinstrokemarrow

I learned this morning of the take over of the gentlemens' hairdressing industry in parts of Surrey by criminal elements from south eastern Europe. Bosnia, Albania, Montenegro, the Cayman Islands and Serbia were some of the places mentioned.

It seems that these elements are setting up hairdressing operations all over the county, working very long hours and offering very cheap haircuts, generally undercutting the business of aboriginals. More seriously, it is alleged that one could never make a living like this and that most of these operations are covers for the more serious businesses of money laundering and sex. Not that great for the first as the turnover was not strong enough to hide much of a load, but I was struck by what a good choice hairdressing was for the second; the perfect excuse to have a continual stream of men of all ages coming and going without arousing suspicion. A far cry from the days of the discrete offer of protectives.

It is further alleged that some of these so called hairdressers smoke on the job. That is to say that you get left on the chair, wrapped up in your nylon sheet, while he takes a fag break outside. Awful.