Life at the fringes.......

Salon International is about much more than just the exhibition floor, the shows, the seminars...... it is a microcosm of the industry- reflecting the huge and wonderous melting pot that is hairdressing. Take this chance encounter between one of the Salon team, and an anonymous individual, at 8.30 AM this morning in the Novatel hotel:The Salon team member was concerned to hear a strange muffled banging sound outside his hotel room. Looking into the corridor, he discovers a man repeatedly walking into a locked fire door. Salon International(SI): " Are you OK?" Strange man(SM): (Slurred voice) "I'm trying to find the lift" SI: "That's not it." SI then accompanies the indiividual to the lift. he can barely walk, is very ruffled(even for a hairdresser!) and is continously sniffing (a cold maybe....) In the lift, SM slumps against the back wall and says: " I am at the show, you know" SI: "Are you an exhibitor or a visitor?" SM: " An exhibitor.... I think. I have to get back to my hotel" SI: " So...this isn't your hotel?" SM: " No" SI: " Oh" SM: (getting emotional) " It's just....hairdressers, they're such party people......I try, I try to resist but....(almost sobbing)....I'm just too weak" He totters off, clearly distressed. Inspiration, aspiration, incapacitation- all part of Salon's rich tapestry.........