11 minute read
Women’s Wednesday 10&11 The Hair Hero! A new hairdresser starting his own business 12&13 The Turtle Song: How music can
Hail the hair hero
CATRIN JONES
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Hard work, long hours – and having understanding clients – has helped barber Lewis Ellison become a cut above the rest. Lewis, known as Lew, is a prime example of where working towards your own business can take you.
The 21-year-old from St Helens started his career in barbering at a hair salon in his local town, before setting up his own business at home.
“I’ve been a barber for three and a half years now; started in September 2018. I worked in a barber, and it was good cause it was busy, but I only did it to boost up my clients because I always wanted to go on my own.”
Alongside his busy schedule at the St Helens salon, the self-employed hairstylist admitted that to pursue his dream career of offering his own service, he needed to put the time and effort into his side hustle.
“I used to do home cuts on the side at work so I used to go to work and do a 9 till 6 but then I’d come home and do another two or three maybe but that would have been my own money then. It was hard sometimes because I would be cutting hair till about 9 or 10 o’clock at night and then starting at 9am but it is worth it- it’s definitely paid off.”
He explained how his home services allow his clients to feel comfortable whilst receiving their usual haircuts.
“Lads prefer to get their hair cut on a oneon-one basis, rather than having loads of other people around. It’s just me and them and then you get to know them and then they start becoming your mate. I’ve got a couple of mates now I know just from cutting their hair and some are now my favourite people.”
Despite reaching his professional goal, Lew stressed the reality of self-employment and the extra work needed to build up a clientele.
“At the start you hardly have any clients, but you just have to grow them, and then they start becoming regulars. I’ve had people come to me now for three years, when I was learning on some of them and probably not giving them the best haircut, they stuck with me and by now, I’m giving them better haircuts.”
Lew also emphasised the impact of social media on his business as it was a great way for potential clients to get in touch.
“I’ve got quite a lot of regulars now, you just pick it up and then with new ones it’s mainly Instagram, they just message me or it’s word of mouth. My mates will come with their mates.”
The mobile hairdresser is known for his skin fades, a popular style that cuts closely down to the skin and becomes gradually longer towards the top of the head, as it becomes his most requested haircut and with that comes a repetitive day-to-day routine.
“My most requested haircut is definitely a skin fade. It does get a bit repetitive sometimes because I like doing other haircuts as well, but I don’t have many clients with long hair- it’s mainly is skin fade after skin fade after skin fade.”
He currently has his own set up at home to where he carries out most of his appointments; however, he also travels to his clients’ houses if needed.
“I do go to people’s houses but it’s easier for them to come here as it takes a long time to pack up all my stuff, drive there, set it all up, and then pack it all away. I do go to people’s houses if they’re struggling for example, one of my customers had a baby and he couldn’t come here so I went out to his. I’ve got a nice setup coming along and it makes life easier as well.”
A year has passed since the barber set up his own business and he’s never looked back. For many wishing to kickstart their own business, Lew’s message was one to keep in mind for motivation during a period of initial graft.
“You just got to keep working at it- from me, you’ve got to be doing something on the side as a job. I know it was easier for me because mine linked with it.
“I think if I hadn’t done them home cuts after work people wouldn’t know as much that I do it because that’s where a lot of my regulars started to come from. I did them even on my days off sometimes, I’d do five days a week in the shop and then do a day at home.”
Social media has been a great way for Lew to source new clintelle Photo: @lew_the_barber Entrepeneur: Lew Ellison Photo: @lew_the_barber
Steady does it Photo: Lewis Ellison Barbering: Lew set up his own work station at home Photo: Lewis Ellison
Welcome to Lew’s Transformation Station
From a head full of hair to a stylish fade, barber Lew can work miracles at his setup salon
Photo: @lew_the_barber
Before ... ... and after
How the ‘Turtle Song’ helps
By HARRY HUGHES
Music and memory have always maintained a curious relationship. Simply hearing a snippet from a favourite song can instantly whisk listeners back to a time or place they didn’t even know they could remember. But what can music do for those living with memory-affecting disorders? Production company Turtle Key Arts have been holding musical events since 2008 for people living with dementia, and it has arrived in Liverpool for the first time.
The ‘Turtle Song’ project brings music to people living with dementia by meeting once a week to work with professional musicians and students to compose and write lyrics for their own songs. By the end of the free tenweek course, participants and their carers or companions will perform their own concert for friends and family. On average, three events take place around the country each year.
Along with Turtle Key Arts, the project is run by the English Touring Opera and the Royal College of Music. Charlotte Cunningham, Artistic Director for Turtle Key, said: “The isolation is so immense when you’ve had a [dementia] diagnosis. Being able to get out and feel like you’re able to be creative and that you’re making something is incredibly empowering.”
“There’s something of you going into each song, whether it’s a couple of words, an idea, a name or a story.” For the Liverpool event running from February to April 2022, the focus of the songs will revolve around an ‘across the Mersey’ theme. On Friday last week, participants shared their stories with each other at the first session of the event.
Describing an average session, Charlotte said: “Usually, we’ll have a bit of a warm-up in the beginning, Getting people’s voices and bodies warmed up. Then we’ll do some singing. As the weeks go on, we’ll sing some of the songs we’ve already written and then you’ll have part of the session where you’ll actually develop new ideas and new music for another song, culminating in a full song cycle at the end of the project.” Dementia is a term encompassing different brain disorders that trigger a loss of brain function. According to the Alzheimer’s Society, more than 920,000 people are living with Dementia in the UK, and that figure is expected to rise to over a million by 2024.
In recent years, researchers have found that music can have numerous positive effects on people living with memory loss. A 2010 study
Participants singing during the concert at the end of the programme. Image: Shaun Dawson
folk living with memory loss
by researcher Brandon Ally found that music has the power to help people with Alzheimer’s learn new information and a similar study in 2013 discovered that people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries experienced the return of autobiographical memories through the use of music.
Charlotte spoke about one participant in this year’s Turtle Song project. “When I picked him up, he was very quiet and concerned about the whole thing. I thought maybe he’ll struggle to take part and be involved. He didn’t at all. He almost woke up and was able to do the exercises and told us about the things he enjoyed. He was amazing. By the end, he was all chatty.”
Turtle Key Arts formed as a production company in 1989 and, since then, they have worked to create more inclusive participation in the arts for disabled, disadvantaged and socially excluded people. In addition to Turtle Song, the organisation runs many projects, including Key Words, which sees playwrights work alongside young people living with dyslexia to develop their own play, as well as Turtle Opera, The Key Club and Musical Portraits for young people on the Autism Spectrum.
If you’re interested in taking part in the Turtle Song event, it’s not too late to get involved. Head over to the Turtle Key Arts website to apply now.
A Turtle Song rehearsal. Image: Shaun Dawson
The song cycles include movement and dance. Image: Shaun Dawson
Magical panto continues to cast its colourful spell
MNL REVIEW
By OLI JOHNSON
The Wizard of Oz St Helens Theatre Royal
Panto is back! Great half-term entertainment for families around Merseyside.
After the record-breaking run of Goldilocks and the Three Bears last year, Regal Entertainments have returned with another classic pantomime.
Wizard of Oz is one of the most iconic stories in film and stage, and at the Theatre Royal cast and crew have used the story to produce a great pantomime.
This panto is an excellent choice for half-term entertainment - the production team have done a first-class job of making sure there are things to grab the younger children’s attention and keep them entertained. It is a great choice if you want to treat your kids during their week off.
The crowd interaction is a highlight and is just the right amount, but some of the interactions need the right people in the audience for them to work. You suspect if they had picked the wrong person it might not have gone down as well.
The experienced Reece Sibbald (Scarecrow) was good at picking out the right participants on most occasions - although there was one moment where he stole a crutch from a member of the audience seated near the front and took it backstage. Although it was a funny moment and the person did get their crutch back later, it felt slightly out of place and left this audience member at least feeling slightly uneasy.
That said, with something for everybody and humour and entertainment for the whole family to enjoy, this has to be one of the most entertaining pantomimes that has been put on at the Theatre Royal in years.
For anybody who hasn’t seen The Wizard of Oz and isn’t familiar with the story, a young girl called Dorothy and her dog Toto who live on a farm in the middle of Kansas get transported to the magical land of Oz when a twister comes through her town.
Dorothy’s house lands in Oz, crushing and killing the Wicked Witch of the East. Dorothy is met by Glinda, the witch of the south, who is kind to everyone. She tells Dorothy that in order to get home, she must follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City and visit the great and powerful Wizard of Oz. On her journey she meets Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the cowardly Lion, who each help her on her journey and also want help from the wizard.
Dorothy’s journey is met with adversity from the Wicked Witch of the West, who wants revenge for her sister’s death, and tries to stop Dorothy at every opportunity.
One of my favourite things about the performance is a tiny detail which adds to the show’s sparkle - in the first part, before the twister strikes, the set is dark and gloomy and there is no colour in any of the backdrop or the costumes. Suddenly
Humour and entertainment for the whole family ‘ ‘
in Oz there is lots of colour and Dorothy’s costume is now blue and white.
This mirrors the way the original 1939 film - starring Judy Garland - is shot in sepia tones until Dorothy arrives in Oz, when there is an oversaturation of bright colours. A quick costume change from Mia Molloy as Dorothy during the twister sequence and she is wearing the recognizable blue and white dress the moment as she arrives in Munchkinland.
The stand-out performers are Reece Sibbald as the Scarecrow, whose humour will be the highlight of the show for the adults in the audience, and Scott Gallagher as the Lion. A lot of Scarecrow’s jokes went over the kids’ heads but had the grown-ups laughing. As the panto went on, however, some of the more adult jokes became a bit less subtle and didn’t land as well as the others.
The show remains an enchanting and thrilling recreation of a much-loved childhood fantasy.
