“A pleasure to see you, Mr Sorbay,” the dark-haired man in a white coat said, ushering his customer to the leather chair facing a large mirror.
“I bet you say that to all the marks, Bernie,” smiled Sowerbutt, hanging his leather coat on a brass hook near the door in the barber shop in Poplar High Street. The street name had proved controversial in recent years since the borough council decided to change it for no particular reason from High Street Poplar. Not surprisingly, the locals paid little attention to officialdom, calling the long thoroughfare High Bob and its eastern rump Little High Bob.
“But it’s true, Mr Sorbay, it’s true,” Bernie said as he tucked the starched white cape around his customer’s shoulders. “What do I have to do most of the time? Short back and sides, a No 1, a No 2, a quick trim. I, who trained with the world’s best hairdressers in Milan, rarely have a fine head of hair to work on.”
“Bernie, Bernie,” whispered Sowerbutt. “Keep the past private, you never know who is listening. Between us, yes? No-one else or you are off for a long holiday on the Isle of Man. We don’t want any bricks or petrol through your window. The street kids won’t hesitate if they suspect anything.”
“A thousand apologies, Mr Sorbay, you have told me before. I am Bernie White from Clacton-on-Sea. I actually caught a train there and had a walk up and down the front in case anybody asks me about the godforsaken place,” the barber smiled as he began combing and trimming Sowerbutt’s long brown hair.
Benedetti Bianchi was born in Milan a couple of years before the Kingdom of Italy joined the Allies in the Great War. He had jumped ship from MS Augustus, Italy’s famous floating cruise palace, in Gibraltar in early 1933 to escape the clutches of an angry husband. Ending up at the East India Docks some weeks later, he took on a new British identity with the help of Sowerbutt and the Scribe. After Spaghetti’s father died, Bernie was installed in the barber’s shop. amazon.co.uk/Colour-Lemon-Surrender-1940-ebook/dp/B008USR7FA
“I bet you say that to all the marks, Bernie,” smiled Sowerbutt, hanging his leather coat on a brass hook near the door in the barber shop in Poplar High Street. The street name had proved controversial in recent years since the borough council decided to change it for no particular reason from High Street Poplar. Not surprisingly, the locals paid little attention to officialdom, calling the long thoroughfare High Bob and its eastern rump Little High Bob.
“But it’s true, Mr Sorbay, it’s true,” Bernie said as he tucked the starched white cape around his customer’s shoulders. “What do I have to do most of the time? Short back and sides, a No 1, a No 2, a quick trim. I, who trained with the world’s best hairdressers in Milan, rarely have a fine head of hair to work on.”
“Bernie, Bernie,” whispered Sowerbutt. “Keep the past private, you never know who is listening. Between us, yes? No-one else or you are off for a long holiday on the Isle of Man. We don’t want any bricks or petrol through your window. The street kids won’t hesitate if they suspect anything.”
“A thousand apologies, Mr Sorbay, you have told me before. I am Bernie White from Clacton-on-Sea. I actually caught a train there and had a walk up and down the front in case anybody asks me about the godforsaken place,” the barber smiled as he began combing and trimming Sowerbutt’s long brown hair.
Benedetti Bianchi was born in Milan a couple of years before the Kingdom of Italy joined the Allies in the Great War. He had jumped ship from MS Augustus, Italy’s famous floating cruise palace, in Gibraltar in early 1933 to escape the clutches of an angry husband. Ending up at the East India Docks some weeks later, he took on a new British identity with the help of Sowerbutt and the Scribe. After Spaghetti’s father died, Bernie was installed in the barber’s shop. amazon.co.uk/Colour-Lemon-Surrender-1940-ebook/dp/B008USR7FA
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