Four years after the fire that ripped the heart out of old Wellington, a men’s hairdresser’s is leading the return to Cornhill. Yvel Bell, plus her daughters Beth and Rachel, are the scissors behind Manny’s, undoubtedly the town’s most glamorous barbers.
They moved into their new salon last week and are delighted with the change. “It’s great,” said Yve. “So many people have walked down to see us and say hello. One or two thought it was a risk being down here before Cornhill is fully open again but I don’t think so at all.
“I hear that the shop next door to us is going to open as an art gallery next month and that’s really exciting news.”
Yve – there is no Manny, she just thought it was a catchy name – opened her business five years ago in the Old Town Hall after re-training as a barber following a career in child care. Rachel trained with her Mum and then Beth joined the team a year or so later.
Manny’s new premises feature a traditional red and white barber’s pole, plus three chairs in the salon. But for Yve the biggest gain is a shiny new loo of their very own. “We used to have to share a horrible old one in the basement. “We always called it the dungeon,” she laughed.