French connection

This encounter happened at Jacques Bar in St Denis, Paris one Friday evening in April. I was standing at the bar waiting to be served when a random stranger said. "Your hair is beautiful." Pleased with being complimented I replied. "Thank you, your hair is nice too." (It wasn't all that but there's nothing wrong in being polite, is there?) We both then embark upon a conversation, you know the usual stuff, like why a British born Jamaican of African descent is standing in a bar in Paris speaking to a French man and his Italian friend... nothing too heavy!

Then his friend who had been eyeing me up the whole time tries to touch my hair (if i had a penny...) Anyhow I say "Please don't touch my hair." He then replies, "I was only touching the ends (hmmm!). Just to mix things up a bit I say, "Only my lover is allowed to touch my hair." This he understands and replies, "Ah yes I'm sorry" (note to self must remember to use lover line again). He then puts his hand in his pocket... and pulls out... some weed. Yes weed. And offers it me as an apology for touching my hair. I decline and we end up talking about the French royalists including Louis XVII mysteriously disappearing and his heart being found in the Basilique.

some people ask the strangest questions

I was at a faith event at a school in Nottingham (the school shall remain nameless) a teacher came up to me and asked: "How do you wash your hair?" With a stunned look on my face I replied, "With shampoo and water!" The teacher replied "Oh."


Sometimes the questions are not so strange, for example, I was in the toilet at the Victoria coach station in London when a random stranger came up to me (I wasn't giving out a George Michael vibe honestly). She said, "how long has it been since you cut your hair?" I said "I've never cut my hair." She accepted that response and then said, "your hair is beautiful" to which I replied "Thank you."

Then a second woman came up to me (George Michael would have been proud!) and said "Is your hair natural?" I said: "Yes." she then said, "Is it your hair?" Although I thought this was a strange follow up question given the first I, in my teach the world mode said, "Yes it is my hair."

However my mother earth I'm all understanding and all giving persona disappeared when she leaned forward and tried to touch my hair... she hadn't even washed her hand after coming out the loo...urghh. I did my Usain Bolt dash and was outta there in a flash!

Hair as a symbol of power

I've just got back from seeing Avatar, now not only was it fantastic in terms of technology, the 3D aspect was mind blowing, but I also loved the way hair had a symbolic representation. The Avatars hair kind of connected them to nature... 'I see you.'

Having dreads is a reminder for me to respect nature and stay in tuned with my spirituality.

Dreadlock noun (used with a plural verb)
a hairstyle, esp. among Rastafarians, in which the hair is worn in long, 'rope like' locks.

origin:
1955-60; DREAD + LOCK

pl. n.
Dreadlocks
1. natural hairstyle in which the hair is twisted into long matted or rope like locks.
2. A similar hairstyle consisting of long thin braids radiating from the scalp.

Dread locked adj.

This blog has been created to share all the amusing anecdotes from my daily hair encounters. It never ceases to amaze me how fascinating people find my dreadlocks. At the last count I had eighty-two dreads ranging from three inches to three foot long. It's difficult to be any more precise than this as new ones spring up randomly and old ones are culled occasionally (car doors, desk draws...etc are a real danger to the trailing dread). I started to keep a hair diary in 2005 and hope you enjoy the encounters I have had and continue to have. Hairs to more encounters!!! Get here..hair.. ah well I tried!