An American in Scotland

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Punk Grannies

My fascination with British punk grannies began when Gareth introduced me to his mother on her first and only visit with us in California. I remember puzzling over the contrast of her conservative skirt and blazer and her hair color, which was an exuberant shade of burgundy that was careening toward purple.

Being the sort of woman who prefers having a hairdresser style her hair, a week later we took her to a popular Ventura hair salon. Patrick, the owner, commented that American women of a certain age would never consider coloring their hair anything but some shade of blonde, which she, of course, found strange. The way she viewed it, hair color was one of those things that you should experiment and have fun with; if she didn’t like the result, she’d just get it redone.

A few years later, we relocated to the U.K. and spent three months in Wales before deciding on a permanent move to Scotland. A visit to the Bridgend B&Q (similar to a Home Depot) soon after our arrival brought me face-to-face with a fifty-something cashier sporting a bright blue bob. That same day during a quick stop at Tesco, I spied an older woman in a business suit who reminded me of a parrot in a coif of florescent green. Scottish punk grannies seem to favor bright reds and purples, though I’m sure I’ll eventually come across more colors.

I asked a hair stylist about this and she had no idea why some elderly British women chose to rival their grandchildren on the hair-color front. Maybe doing something fun and outrageous on the outside makes them feel younger on the inside. American women would never take such a light-hearted view of their appearance – they are as focused on being stylish and beautiful as they were when they were younger. Their preoccupation with blonde hair color comes from the outdated belief that it is kinder to aging skin than shades of red or brunette.

As I get older, I’ve come to value my newfound ability to laugh at myself, though I admit my approach to hairstyles remains serious. Perhaps a strategically-placed lock of blue or green every now and then would be good for my soul.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

My mother has pink and green hair, we tell her she looks like a cockatoo.. but I dont think she really cares. Much to my embarrasment at school..

9:41 pm  

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