A bit speechless!
 

Well I've just been and had me hair done:thumbsup: Looks lovely it do. BUT my English hairdresser who has lived in Alberta for 20 odd years is upping sticks and returning to the UK. I must admit I was a little shocked and I completely understand why he is returning. I'm so lucky I got to see him so I could say goodbye - his last day at work is Saturday! Maybe it's only the ladies who will understand but I feel as though I'm losing a good friend.:(

The more I hear and read about peoples reasons for returning and the longer I am here, the more I understand why they want to go back. This winter has been brutal temperature wise and for those that don't relish the thought of snow for 6 months It's gonna be hard and the final nail, if the winter has been a hard one.

So Mr Hairdresser, if you see this thread - I wish you all the best back in the UK. (I know you've been reading the MBTUK forum;)).

Re: A bit speechless!
 

Wow - after 20 years here? And the main reason, that you know of ?

PS - starting all over again and finding a new person is just brutal :ohmy:

Re: A bit speechless!
 

If my hairdressers just beggered off without a by-your-leave I'd be gobsmacked:eek:

that's why I use an an electric razor with a guard on it!

Looks dead nice!

Seriously though:

Are there that many prospects for hairdressers back in England?

Re: A bit speechless!
 

Audrey's on the corner near Rosamund Street always seems to have an opening for a new hairdresser whenever a new character arrives...ditto for mechanics and knicker stitchers.

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I feel your pain Piff Poff

I went to the same hairdresser for 12 years in the UK when she decided to emigrate.

She wrote me a lovely letter, which I still have. It made me cry but I was happy for her.

I grew up with her doing my hair so it was sad.

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You're lucky she left then.

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This is definitely a girl thing;)

I have had the same hairdresser for 12 years and am quite scared about finding a new one in Canada:o:eek:

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I have a great hairdresser here in Edmonton and I'm looking forward to going back in a few weeks time.

As I have a colour put on I can be in there for 2 1/2 hours so I need to be with someone I can have a gossip to, she fits the bill.

So Nikki and Piff Poff there is hope for you both. ;)

Re: A bit speechless!
 

Well, he has given me the name of the lady that does his hair, so I will be trying her out - fingers crossed:thumbsup:

Basically he's not had a happy time at work lately, his parents are not in the best of health and this winter was the final nail so to speak - it's been so brutally cold, he already hates the winter and Christmas was his worse time of year and his daughter wants to study in London. So he's off home.

My daughter was gutted too. She said 'how can he do this to us!:eek:' So at the tender age of 14 she already knows the value of a good hairdresser.

Re: A bit speechless!
 

Crikey that is a long time to be away from the UK and decide to move. Hope the move goes well for him.

I'm doing the hairdressing thing in reverse, I'm besides myself that I can't take mine with me, it is my only real "treat" and I spend a fortune every couple of months but she does a fabulous job so I feel it is worth it.

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Does he know what he's coming back to?! :confused: After reading all the reasons why, I'd still be inclined to stay put rather than come back the hole that the UK is at the moment!

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I don't mean to be rude but just because the part of the UK that you live in is a "hole" it doesn't mean that the whole place is like that;)

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No, maybe not, but family and friends all over the UK assure me where they live isn't a bed of roses at the moment :p

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I'd be gutted if my tonsorial engineer pushed off back home. He knows just what I want and does me in about five minutes. Not that he's likely to go home. He's from Iraq.

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So more of a polish than a cut then?;)

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Nah, just a number 4, all over.

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Dare I even enter a thread about hair cuts. :p

I do have some that requires cutting and I would be very disappointed if my barber were to return to Lebanon but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

No comments about buffing the top required. :sneaky:

Re: A bit speechless!
 

LucyLocket, yes he knows what he's going back to - family and familiarity and Christmassy feeling Christmases. I'm assuming you have not yet left the UK so you wouldn't yet know the effect of weeks of -25 plus a windchill, you also wouldn't know how uncharacteristic some places are. You wouldn't get the pangs for church bells on a sunday and roasting chestnuts in the braziers on a winters day. For some missing those things get to be too much.

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Chinese business adverts always make me smile.

Saw a billboard outside a hairdressers in Vancouver once which said:

HAIR 10
:lol:

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yep......every winter I miss home.....

I hope that each spring will wipe those thoughts away
with the last winter still on my mind and heavy snow agian this winter... it better be a good summer or my days here are numbered

Re: A bit speechless!
 

Don't mean to hijack the thread - but are Canadian winters that bad?

Please don't think I am being dim here. My cousin lives near Brantford and has only great things to say about the winter: her kids love it. That said, my aunty (age 71) who lives with her, absolutely detests the winters and has taken me aside to inform me that Canada is not for the elderly: the winters are too brutal. So I guess I am asking does the severity and length of winter really affect your quality of life?

Apparently we are in for a cold w/e in the U.K. Hey! We might even get some snow. No doubt we'll all be caught off-guard....;)

Re: A bit speechless!
 

It depends, if you’re the one shovelling the drive way snow gets pretty tedious it losses its appeal after you’ve shovelled in the morning to get out, again in the evening to get in and again the next morning
I ski and I’m teaching my boys to ski too, but at -25 and a wind chill it gets too cold to stay out for long and skiing loses it pleasure
Driving in bad winter conditions with the standard of driving here become more of a game about how long can I last before some idiot on all seasons slides into me at a junction, not much fun for a daily commute or the trip to the ski hill
And winters here can be long November till April, the time compounds all of the above

It looks amazing from inside, but if you’re into the outdoors it’s not all it’s cracked up to be

Re: A bit speechless!
 

This is our 4th winter and not one has been like one we have already experienced. This year has been the worse temperature wise. It's been too cold to want to be outside. When it's -20 or below it's just not nice being out and about then when you add a ridiculous windchill you can understand why bears hibernate!

It started warming up a bit last week, so I borrowed 5 sets of skis from the school to have a go at cross country skiing for the 1st time with some friends. (Daughter was to show us the ropes and have a good laugh at the stupid grown ups:huh:). The temps plummeted and we ended up staying home instead. Planning the next weekend now.

When it's been snowing lots and you hear of crash after crash on the highway, it doesn't encourage you to go out and about either so you end up with a bit of cabin fever by the time the thaw starts.

Re: A bit speechless!
 

Here are the climate stats for Brantford.

http://climate.weatheroffice.ec.gc.c...s=&StnId=4737&

They only get 113 cm of snow on average.

My S-I-L and B-I-L and family etc live in Brantford. Many times we have gone from Ottawa to Brantford in winter and left Ottawa with high snowbanks and cold temps and got to Brantford to see brown lawns and crusty snowbanks.

Are you intending to move there....if so, be warned it is quite a lunch bucket town with loads and loads on non-hyphenated Canadians (that may be a good thing for you..not sure). Curry is in short supply as is real ale.

Re: A bit speechless!
 

Would you SHUT UP!!! You'll have us all going back soon!!!

Although I do have to admit that the weather in Regina has been wonderful this winter. Lovely warm sunny days -- no snow -- flowers in bloom!!! Mind you - you can't actually SEE the flowers in this photo!

Re: A bit speechless!
 

Err, you ever been to England? I imagine -25 is cold but at least you can leave home feeling safe for half the year....Havent heard church bells on a sunday morning for a long time (think some pikeys might have nicked them)...chestnuts in a brazier? Not sure theres many people left that would know what a brazier is let alone where to find good chestnuts! Youre living in a dreamland if thats what England is to you!

And before you say it no, Im sure Canada isnt a dreamland and if he doesnt like it then good luck to him. I have to ask though, are you gonna be following him back? Cos it doesnt sound like your enjoying it there!

Re: A bit speechless!
 

Yes, you do assume and assume wrong. I have not yet left the UK for Canada, but have left plenty of times to visit other places which experience -25 and lower, Norway and Sweden, perhaps...that ok with you? And yes, they were also uncharacteristic and gave me pangs for being with family back home, but that was the whole point, to experience the culture and ways of another country, including weather and all!

And I don't want to get into a big argument about this, but I thought the whole point of forums was to voice your own thoughts and views about subjects. Which I've done, and given my opinion about how I feel the UK is at the moment. For me, Canada offers a much brighter future (and I know it's not going to be all rosy, nowhere is ever going to be), but it sure as hell is going to be better than what I live in now.

There. Opinion voiced! Bring on the chill!!! :p

Re: A bit speechless!
 

Wow did I hit a nerve??????? I have only been here 3.5 years. The town I moved from still has church bells every Sunday. The market still sells hot chestnuts. I am in no way living in a dreamland. No I'm not going to be following him back. I love living here and have no plans to return. I have however been away from England long enough to appreciate the good bits.

Re: A bit speechless!
 

3.5 years is a long time. The town you moved from must be a real haven, give it time though and it will soon join the rest of this country in its forever downward spiral... I too have lived away from England long enough to miss the good bits, unfortunately when you get back you realise that your memories of the good bits are all that are left.

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I went to the same hairdresser for 22 years and was apprehensive about finding another good one that I like but I found one straight away!:)
If anyone wants a recommendation for a lovely hairdresser in North Van pm me (lots of others whereI work go there too so my recommendation is not in isolation).
Hope you find another good one soon :thumbsup:

Re: A bit speechless!
 

You asked if he knew what he was comming back to, I did not reply in the argumentative manner you have just replied to. It's just another opinion being voiced not an argument to be started! I just stated how he was feeling and what he thinks he is going back to. I'm sorry I do not know of your past, I do not know how long you have spent away from home in cold climates where it is hitting temps of -44 with the windchill for weeks on end and where it takes more than a day to get home to someone who is on a deathbed.

Yes Canada does offer a much brighter future for my family too - it's why we're here and living our dream and we are lucky that we chose the place we are living in as it suits us, we have more time and more security than we have ever had before. There are days where we miss things and times it's really hard. With the amount of people on the forums at the moment returning to the UK, it makes you realise that Canada isn't for everyone and that England does have many many good points - sometimes you have to move away to appreciate them.

I hope you are successful in your move and never feel the pangs of homesickness.

For the record I am not homesick. I am happy living here. My family is happy living here. I have no intention at this time of returning to the UK.

Re: A bit speechless!
 

DOOOM! GLOOOOOM!That's something I DO NOT miss about the UK - all the positivity!

We visited last summer - twice - due to death in the family - twice. Not the happiest of times to go back. We could see the good things still.

We stayed in the village where hubby grew up, we listened to the church bells on Sunday mornings, we watched the kids playing in the sunshine. A haven - no. In the middle of nowhere - no - 5 minutes from Hatfield and Potters Bar.

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:rofl::rofl: I've had the same hairdresser for the last eight years, a set of nicky clarke clippers:thumbsup:- £19.95 from a***s. Take the cover off and grab the mirror-job done, not quite sure what all the bits are for as I don't use the grades but I do agree with the girls it is a girl thing all this hair mularky:thumbsup::rofl:

Re: A bit speechless!
 

Maybe you could offer to pay part of their flight to cut your hair.

No, I love the winter. Summer, with it's thousands of mosquitoes drive me nuts though.

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Ah, whatever. Thanks for making me feel so welcome on the forums.

Re: A bit speechless!
 

Hi Piff Poff

It's lovely to hear such a balanced viewpoint and one I can really relate to. As the global economic downturn continues to take a firmer hold, we have decided to sit tight for the time-being and not pursue a job in Canada to expedite our PR application. However, I am still keeping tabs on day-to-day stuff by reading the BE posts.

When I lived in Australia, everyone back in the U.K would say just how lucky I was to live in such a climate. Until I lived and worked there for a time, did I understand just how the climate impacted my quality of life - for better and worse. I found the heat almost as restrictive as the rain in Manchester!!! I couldn't walk anywhere past 9am until 4pm in the afternoon during the summer because it was too hot. Work could be utterly unbearable at times because of the humidity and as for the mosquitoes and ants...!

For the record, I loved Australia and the climate but there were days I would appreciate the cool temperate climate of the U.K: I should imagine I might feel the same living through a Canadian winter.

My cousin can only say positive things about her life in Canada; the snow days, cold and length of winter - she seems to take all in her stride. However, I never hear any negative stuff about her life there which I find unlikely. Her mum is a little more honest which I find quite amusing!

This is why I am so interested in hearing about the winter and appreciate the honesty of how people really find it. So thank you. Without living there and experiencing it first-hand, it helps to make a more informed and balanced decision when taking it into consideration.

Good luck to you & yours! :)

Re: A bit speechless!
 

Doom and gloom or reality? Depends which country you're in I guess.

Re: A bit speechless!
 

I think it's got a lot to do with your attitude Countries aren't miserable, people are miserable you can choice to look at life in a positive way or just spend you energy complaining.

Re: A bit speechless!
 

I agree about choosing to look at life in a positive way, but it's hard to when the country you live in isn't in a very positive situation at present.

Countries aside, it seems whatever someone writes they'll be shot down if their opinion isn't the same as everyone elses.

Re: A bit speechless!
 

I think the whole world isn't in a very positive situation at the minute but I really think that people in the UK like to complain more than most and the media love to feed off that fear.

I lived in Canada for just over 8 years but for me and my family life is better back in the UK. Especially if I don't watch the News;)