I have left a couple of sausages on the draining board to defrost
For I am off to the barbers today!
It may sound strange but it has become a little bit of a tradition to slip the barber a furtive sausage after he has saved my usual "wreck of the Hesperus" hairstyle and has wrestled it into some semblance of normality.
I blame Auntie Glad for this odd and secret food giving practise, for after every Flower Show Meeting, she will gesture quite madly that "The package" has been left by the door for me to pick up without fuss and without the other Flower Show Committee Members noticing!
(The package, of course, is a neatly wrapped bag of fresh homebaked scones)
The secret nature of the gift has become a joyous tradition between the two of us.... a tradition I am now visiting with the barber, albeit with a bit of home made pork!
It all started when the barber noticed that I had mud all over my arse after I had sat down in his old fashioned leather chair. .
I think it had been a day I had been wrestling with animal helper Pat over a buff Orpington's impacted crop, a fight that resulted in me falling over on the field ....anyhow the barber had noticed the muck on my pants and had commented on them ( he was probably worried about the state of his leatherette!!!)
We got to talking about the birds and then the pigs... and the barber mentioned that he adored home cured bacon, a warm memory from his youth
On my next visit I brought him a couple of number 21s sausages ,a pressie he was genuinely touched by
and the tradition of "sausages for the barber" was started!
You put a smile on my face first thing in the morning John. Fabulous traditions xx
ReplyDeleteHow lovely. When I had hens I gave eggs as presents & very well received they were too !
ReplyDelete'Slip the barber a furtive sausage' - you are your own worst enemy... P.S. Do you really think that the defrosted sausages will still be there when you get back?
ReplyDeleteThat's for tomorrow!
DeleteWhat a fabulous tradition...but why do they have to be defrosted first?
ReplyDeleteI can't give him the full sting! that would be overkill
DeleteSerendipity. I have just wandered past the television and the skinny portion was watching 'Dad's Army'. I don't believe that the woman who cuts my hair would welcome a gift of sausages but then I have never tried either...
ReplyDeleteThat's magic, that is! There is so much we achieve here through barter. Other than Marcia's unofficial bank where she lets people swipe their cards in exchange for cash from the till, there is no bank within 30 kms of here. So we swap, be that produce, labour or the use of my truck. Fishermen barter their catch with us for stuff from the shop. I let people park their boats on my land in exchange for fresh bread from the city, timber, what have you (WHY)? Technically, I am now a drugs dealer. Some bloke broke down outside my place, had no cash for the telephone recharge card he needed so I asked the WHY? question. He offered me a packet of Ganga. He got his recharge cards, a meal and cold beers while he waited for his mate. That packet of Ganga paid Rasta Man to thatch the roof of my barbecue.
ReplyDeleteBartering is so much nicer than cold, hard cash. You cut out the middlemen and everything works out so much cheaper and it binds the community together.
For a few decent home made pork sausages here, John, I reckon you could get laid...
I have to admit that I had Sweeny Todd first thoughts after reading the title of your post (the Angela Lansbury version; though I greatly appreciate Alan Rickman's voice in the new version, or in anything really...), but glad it was much more innocent than that....no. 21 would disagree I'm sure...
ReplyDeleteThese are the little things that add spice to our lives and create memories.
ReplyDeleteDo you really think sweet Albert will be able to resist those?
ReplyDeleteI am laughing" Out Loud"!! I started to read this and thought.....Ok ...what will Tom have to say about this....and of course he already had spoken!! Then I had 30 seconds before told Mr. Dubois....You will be delighted to know that I"m getting my hair cut today so you will no longer have to look at the " Wreck of the Hesperus" !!! Hmmmmmmmm Does this fall under Great minds....not sure........
ReplyDeleteP. s. Everything Aunt Gladys is wonderful....lucky you!!
and a lovely tradition it is too John.
ReplyDeleteJo xx
#21 just keeps on giving.
ReplyDeleteHomemade wine for our chiropractor...keeps him sweet.
ReplyDeleteJane x
that was my thoughts too, do you actually believe they will be there when you get back?
ReplyDeleteGill
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ReplyDeleteYou lucky man!
ReplyDeleteI get my hair done in 'da big city'. The only type of appreciation my salon likes is the green-dollar-type. If I brought in a sausage, I'd be:
a. thrown out
b. hysterically laughed at and teased
c. undoubtly hear, "What the phuk is that?"
d. All of the above
Wanna trade for a day?
Nitty Gritty Momma
No 21 is looking at me as I type...
ReplyDeleteWe too are big meat traders. Recently we bought a little protection from the local sheriff when he came out to investigate the second robbery in our little farm store in 6 months. I figure a free pack of sausage links is worth the arrest of a least ONE scum bag....on second thought the scum are getting bigger I better throw in a ham
ReplyDeleteI like that idea.
ReplyDeleteYour bacon must be so delicious home made.That must be a treat for the barber.
I barter my rent money with exchanges to clean my land lords place or cook for him for a month and do the same for my ex hubby.It keeps a roof over my head and a glass in my hand.
Lucky barber.
I once received a package of frozen smelt for legal services.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Tom- the furtive sausage comment was like giving candy to a baby.
Ah John, of such stuff are traditions and customs made. In the future, when sausage for the barber becomes a custom throughout the land, no-one will ever know where it originated.
ReplyDeleteI love the traditions we bring to life. I always take a dozen fresh eggs to my dentist who was raised on a farm but lives in a condo.
ReplyDeletedont get me wrong people
ReplyDeleteI still had to pay 7£ for the haircut!
£7...for that! Contact your solicitor!
DeleteWhat lovely little 'goings on' there are in your world John.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweetie pie you are!
ReplyDeleteIf I had hair I hope I would be so thoughtful!
ReplyDeleteJohn! slipping the barber a sausage! I'm shocked!
ReplyDeleteAlthough reminds me of the time I met a planner and he offered me a pigs head from the back of his car. Admittedly I was taking the rest of the Tamworth for my pig club. Dodgy Carry On sexual innuendo aside, you are pioneering an alternative economy. xx
Sausage for the barber? Only in North Wales.....
ReplyDeleteStill smiling....in the US, we refer to that as getting porked. Oh, wait, that's something totally different....my mistake.
ReplyDeleteI'm not kidding, I just have to look at the titles of your posts these days to start laughing (laughing with you, not laughing at you!) but I got as far as 'a bit of a tradition to slip the barber a furtive sausage' and I just caved in!!!Your man is so lucky to have you, you funny old thing! :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a nice tradition. My hairdresser's partner is a lobsterman. We often talk about food when she's cutting my hair, but i haven't given her any eats from my garden, and she hasn't given me any lobster.
ReplyDeleteI do like the bartering system, though, and employ it when i can.
I didn't think you were bartering with the barber....just from the kindness of your heart John. He probably does a better job on your hair because of it!!
ReplyDeleteLucky barber!
ReplyDeleteHave a good Wednesday, John. ♥
Oooo John..... a sausage for the barber ..... the double entendres are screaming out at me in their thousands but I shall hold back !!
ReplyDelete..... and, I thought that the sausages would be enough, but it still cost you 7 quid ?!! The old 'swapping your wares' traditions of the countrside are obviously not enough these days.
P.S.........show us your hair cut ? XXXX
I don't know what all the fuss is about your sausage comment...at least it was furtive, right? Keeping up appearances and all.
ReplyDelete