CHRISTMAS Eve will be the last time Islanders can get their hair cut by Trevor Topham, who is hanging up his scissors after almost 50 years.
The 64-year-old, who runs Trevor’s Barber Shop, moved to Jersey from Yorkshire at the age of 12 and started in the industry aged 15.
He opened up his first barber’s shop on Bagot Road in Georgetown in 1991 and opened a second in the Les Quennevais Precinct in 1995. He operated both shops for ten years before closing the Georgetown business to focus solely on St Brelade.
Commenting on his pending retirement, he said: ‘I just think it is time to hang up the scissors. My body is telling me to have a rest. It has been a wonderful journey but I am 65 in March and I would like to spend more time with my wife and family.’
He added: ‘My first job was in a unisex salon washing hair and making coffees. It was actually in St Brelade at the old Red Houses, where the Waitrose currently is.
‘I have had Trevor’s in the precinct for 27 years and I have been so lucky to have such wonderful staff and loyal customers over the years. Having been doing it for so long, you really get to build a relationship with your customers and I have cut generations of hair, from grandads to dads, to their sons.’
Mr Topham said he had been ‘blown away’ by the messages of support he has received since announcing that the shop would close its doors for the last time on 24 December.
He now hopes that someone will take over his space in the precinct and that it will remain as a barber’s.
‘Fingers crossed, we are working on a solution and hopefully somebody will take it on,’ he said.
‘It is sad to see some of the shops empty in the precinct and I think I have been lucky that you can’t get a haircut on the internet. It would be great if we could get some of the shops full again,’ he added.
