Bolt Holes

Good day – I’m writing this week’s blog from the sunny yet freezing climes of Liverpool. I have had to take leave of absence from Pall Mall Barbers as a job opportunity has presented itself to me up north. I do however wish to continue to write this blog and muse on the world of the modern man.




I’m currently staying in a lodging house – it feels wonderfully old fashioned, with a lovely scouse landlady inhabiting the front room and lodgers in the upstairs bedrooms. Living with strangers however can be tough, or at the very least awkward, so I have found that I tend to retreat to my room and stay up here with the safety of my creature comforts: computer, DVD box sets etc. It is my bolt hole away from home.



It never really occurred to me how prevalent bolt holes are among men until I realised today that I was talking to my father on the phone from my bolt hole to his. My father’s bolt hole is his beloved shed at the allotment. That’s right, he has reached the age of sheds and home grown vegetables. But where else do you find bolt holes and why do we need them?



I would argue that you don’t need to look any further than Pall Mall Barbers for a convenient bolt hole. It has all the essential ingredients. It is away from the man’s usual cohabitants, whether that is family or colleagues or even noisy neighbours. It’s predominantly male, providing a safe environment to say what might be on your mind without fear of repercussion (depending upon what is actually on your mind of course) and it’s also a place for jovial banter, on the whole about something pretty meaningless. A bolt hole doesn’t need all of these characteristics to define it but each one makes it that little bit more the perfect escape.



As a student I had the opportunity to go for a meal at a gentleman’s club in St. James’. It was called the East India Club. Maybe some of you have been there as well, or might even be members. It’s from a different world – wood panelled walls, oil paintings, smoking rooms and extremely attentive waiting staff. It was one of the most luxurious bolt holes I’ve ever been to. It also confirms that the concept and need for a break from it all is not a new phenomenon and no doubt a history of bolt holes could be compiled right back to the time the cave men created men-only dens away from their nagging women wanting to know when they’re going to pick up the T-Rex carcass from the Osbornes’ two caves down.



And before I get accused of sexism by referring to the bolt hole as a male need, I should say that the evidence is there that women need boltholes too. If Pall Mall Barbers is a bolt, it’s easy to see how hairdressers, beauty parlours and of course Spa centres can also be as well. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily bolting from the opposite sex either, just simply taking a break from it. It was a wise man who said we should take half an hour each day to reflect on where we are and how we have treated those around us.



But to consider the men’s bolt holes specifically. What is it that we most want from our oasis of calm? Is it companionship? Is it the advice of a stranger? Is it a stiff drink or the tranquillity of hushed conversations happening around us? Or is it in fact the wood panelling. Take a second to consider the wood panelling of the East India Club and all the fancy clubs in St. James’ and of course the beautifully panelled Pall Mall Barbers, wonderfully set against the white tiles and old fashioned sinks and faucets and I can assure you that my father’s shed is exclusively wood panelled. Here endeth my insane theory from a wood vinyl panelled lodging house in Liverpool.

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