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Right now

Is it busy?

How it is in the shop at this minute, set by Dean or one of the lads from behind the chair. It's not a queue and it's not a booking. It's a read on the room, so you can pick your moment to walk over.

The kiln gauge

Steady

A short wait — take a seat, you'll not be long.

Set from the shop today. It gets changed as the day goes on, so if it says full at two it might say quiet by three.

Quiet
Straight in, or near enough. A chair's free or about to be.
Steady
A short wait. Sit down, have a look at your phone — you're next or near it.
Full
About 20 minutes, give or take. Have a wander round the Gladstone and come back.

It's a rough read, not a timer. Nobody's counting you in and nobody's holding your place — the strip just warms up along its length as the chairs fill, like a kiln coming up to heat, so you know what you're walking into.

Three waiting chairs along a cream-tiled wall inside the barbers, a football scarf over the back of one and a phone face-down on another, lit warm by tungsten light
Saturday, between the chairs. Whoever sat down first is next.

Saturdays

After the match

Saturday's the busy one. Most of the week it's regulars, but on a Saturday the shop fills up with lads walking up from the football, and every one of them asks the same thing at the door: how long's the wait?

So check the gauge before you cross the road. If it says quiet or steady, come straight over. If it says full, there's no rush — we're open all day Saturday, so give it a bit and look again.

Nothing's held and nobody jumps the chairs. Whoever's sat down first is seen first — that's the whole system.

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The late one

Thursday till 8

Can't get in during the day, and don't fancy a Saturday queue? Thursday's the late night. Walk-ins all day and the door stays open till 8 — a proper haircut in Longton after work, no booking needed.

When the door's open

Monday
Closed
Tuesday
Walk-ins all day
Wednesday
Walk-ins all day
Thursday
Walk-ins all day, till 8
Friday
Walk-ins all day
Saturday
Walk-ins all day
Sunday
Closed

No booking

How walk-ins work

There's no slot to pick, no ticket to take and no button to press. The gauge is a courtesy so you can time your walk over. The only step that matters is the door.

  1. Turn up

    Any time the door's open, Tuesday to Saturday, and till 8 on a Thursday. No name on a list, no phone call first.

  2. Sit down

    Take a chair and you're in. The order is the order you sat down in — regulars, first-timers and lads from the match alike.

  3. You're next

    One of us gives you the nod when a chair's free. Fades, beard trims, kids' cuts, hot towel shaves, old fella haircuts — say what you're after and we'll get on with it.

Six years in the same shop, next to the Gladstone. If you're new, here's how to find the door.

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