Sights in the City

The Price of Vanity

For the last 3 Saturdays whilst shopping on my local High Street, there has been a war of attrition going on between protesters and a local Supplier.  Juliet's in Harlesden started off with one small shop providing black women with their hair products, weaves, wigs etc.  Now Juliets have managed to take over all the other suppliers on what would be described as 'the crown' if you are a local and my age....(its within a few yards of Crown Hill Road).

Local Success I hear you say.......no it means that if you dont buy from Juliets then you have to walk down to PAKs at Craven Park, and when your doubled parked in front of Blue Mountain...(the local shop for buying all your west indian and african staples) and keeping an eye out for the traffic wardens...(another local custom)

Juliets Hair Suppliers in Harlesden has cornered the market on supplying hair products to black women in Harlesden and the surrounding area, now since its one of the largest black communities in London/England this is quite a profitable market.

The problem is....all customers are treated as prospective thieves.....for every 2 members of staff that watch the entrance and follow you around the shop there is one available to actually serve you.  Very often the member of staff doesn't speak English too well and doesnt know anythng about the product.



Now I know that west indians are known for their loud and vibrant personalities but disrespect is the same in any culture. When you are spending your hard earned money, you expect not only value for money but also to be treated as a customer not a theif....

I am pleased to say that whilst some black customers have shopped in Juliets over the last 3 weeks, the shops has gone from full to the brim with customers...to being mostly quiet, with hardly any customers.

3 Weeks a go I was desperate for some black hair dye...as the greys were taking over my scalp at an alarming rate...but I still walked the extra distance to craven park and went to PAKs where I not only picked up my hair dye, some moisturizer but also a few ripe plantain for my Sunday breakfast too.....

The message is, whilst a black woman will pay a high price for her Weave.....

.....Respect for your customers is still the way to build a profitable business.....

Sights in the City

Its been a while since I wrote a blog, or felt the need to express myself in this way, but this week has been most inspirational.  Its easy to think of oneself as a good Samaritan helping those who need it, or who depend on you.  Its easy for someone to say 'thank you, I'll never forget what you have done'.....in truth what you have done is forgotten in a heartbeat after you deed was completed.

I find that those who say thank you all the time are 'takers' as they very often don't hear the words said to them as they don't do anything for anyone else.  Needless to say if I had a £1 for every time I heard 'thank you' I would be very rich indeed.

Back to the point I was making....what sights have I seen in the city lately that have got me chomping at the bit....

Leggings........hmmm

I have been round for a while...a euphemism for being old...... but leggings were something that you wore under your clothes, at best you would wear a long jumper or short dress.  Now it seems that not only are they worn with a short top, they are also see-through. 

Come on.....at what point did see-through leggings become the essential item in your wardrobe!

A friend on Facebook commented on her horror at women who have scary painted eyebrows...I recall interviewing someone for a job who had shaved her eyebrows off and painted on two thick black lines.

 The only problem was that she had got one 'eyebrow' significantly higher than the other one!  Not only was it scary...it meant that her whole interview was spent trying to pretend that they weren't there, but I couldn't remember any of her answers even though I was trying to write them down!

So for all you ladies out there who think that your painted eyebrows are the height of beauty and fashion take a look at these babies!...