COUPE DE CHEVEUX

We went to have our hair cut in Chinon. We go to a barber who only works with men. He can speak a little English but he refuses to allow us – we have to speak in French in his shop. Today, I asked him about the actor, Michel Serreult, who recently died. That started him talking about the great actors of the past. He continued with a treatise on the French actors who have appeared in Hollywood movies. Then he moved on to jazz and the world of great blues singers and musicians who had lived in Paris during the 1950s. All the time we have to stay engaged - he asks questions to make sure we understand. Our haircut turns into a French lesson. Towards the end he reminds us that we have had a haircut, not a horsescut. Our pronunciation has a long way to go yet.