HEADLINES - SADLY CLOSED
HEADLINES - 247 NORTHDOWN ROAD CLIFTONVILLE
Headlines hairdressing salon door closed for the last time on Saturday 21st March and almost immediately afterwards, the government announced that the hairdressing trade must cease operating completely due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Since then and over the past fourteen weeks my wife Sandy (the proprietor) has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to reopen. At every opportunity she investigated ways in which the business might be rearranged in order to survive, but at every step, still more hurdles appeared.
Unfortunately, coronavirus restrictions run almost totally contrary to the ‘up close and personal’ way in which Headlines operated. The salon delivered a very professional service in friendly and comfortable surroundings and part of that service included a strong community atmosphere. Some small examples of proposed changes, not being able to help elderly customers to and from their cars, no coffee, no magazines, and ‘no small talk’ in the salon are just not the way things worked at Headlines. Then there are the many more practical barriers to a genuinely friendly environment that Covid mitigation has now enforced.
The Headlines style of service would simply not be viable under current restrictions, which would prevent much of the caring nature that friendly staff always provided and greatly reduce client numbers allowed into the salon. Regrettably, the business has therefore closed today.
Sandy is absolutely devastated at having to close. She just loves her salon team who she’s always seen as her ‘extended family’. During lockdown she’s made a point of contacting staff at home every week to make sure they were all staying safe and coping. Their health and welfare have always been a priority and as the person ultimately responsible for them and the health and safety of clients, Sandy became increasingly anxious and concerned about operating the business during the current pandemic.
For Sandy the salon was much more than a business and she will miss being involved in the lives of the clients who she genuinely loved and cherished.
The salon has been at 247 Northdown Road in Cliftonville since 1964 and undergone several refurbishments over the decades. The business prided itself on regular and constant improvement. Sandy was a big part of its history as an apprentice, stylist and manager with Jacques and even more so in taking on the business herself in 2000, when she renamed it as HEADLINES.
I am so very proud of Sandy, an incredible lady who has done so much behind the scenes helping family, friends, colleagues and clients over the years. She also supports and is actively involved in several local charities. I can’t begin to count the number of her ex-apprentices we meet out and about who have gone on to run their own salons or have long and successful hairdressing careers. It’s hard for us to walk anywhere in Thanet without bumping into clients and former clients, genuinely full of praise for both her hair styling and caring nature. She worked hard for decades at 247 and then, for the last two decades, worked in and ran the Headlines business in a way that was second to none!
The HEADLINES team.
Professional styling and always full of fun - from beginning to end.
Sandy sends her love.
