WE go back 25 years for this slice of Barrow life when a man could still get his hair cut for a pound – and get 20p change if you were a pensioner!

The Evening Mail on January 16 in 1992 noted the retirement of one of the town’s traditional service providers.

It noted: “Ernie Gomersall is hanging up is scissors and clippers after 42 years as a Barrow barber.

“He has been running his own shop Ernie’s in Risedale Road since 1950 but is retiring at 64 because the shop is being sold by the owners.

“His customers – or friends as he prefers to call them – will be sad to see him go because he offers one of the best value haircuts in town at only £1 a time.”

Mr Gomersall said: “I haven’t a clue what I’ll do when I retire on February 1 but I know the biggest thing I’ll miss is the fellowship of my customers.

“Everybody who sets foot in this shop is a friend of mine.

“I have seen three or four generations come and go.

“Chaps come here and bring their children and then the boys grow up and bring their kids.

“When I started it was eight pence a haircut and people used to come in once a fortnight.

“Now the average is about a month.

“Styles have changed. I have seen long hair come and go and now the young men are keen on pony tails.

The article noted: “Ernie’s low prices are famed throughout Barrow but he insists he is only offering a fair price for what he does.

“But he manages to earn a living by keeping open all hours and still works more than 60 hours a week.

“He opens at 7.30 three mornings a week, so that people working night shifts can have their hair cut before they go home, and stays open until 8.30pm Monday to Saturday apart from his half-day on Tuesdays.”

By comparison in 1992, Ron Simpkins, in Anchor Road, charged £1.80 a haircut and Ken Riley, in Crellin Street, £3.20.