This is what it’s like to get a haircut in Horsham after lockdown

After lockdown hit, I resisted the temptation to go for a full Kojak and made the decision to grow my hair out until barbershops reopened some four months later – despite a set of clippers tempting me on several occasions.

Normally sticking to a closely cropped trim, as my hair grew I invested in a cap to hide the messy barnet to which I had grown accustomed.

When Boris Johnson announced hairdressers could reopen I booked an appointment and with a mullet to rival Billy Ray Cyrus ventured out to Kings Barbers in Horsham’s Bishopric.

Despite ‘new normal’ being the buzz-phrase of the moment my trim felt remarkably similar to the old normal – with the addition of a few safety measures.

From a customer’s perspective I had to wear a face mask and sanitise my hands on entry, while my barber had a visor on and carried out extra cleaning on chairs, equipment and gowns.

The most frustrating part of the cut was when a few bits of hair dropped between my face and mask and I spent the next few minutes trying not to sneeze – not an easy ask for a man who has long suffered from hayfever.

Beyond my head feeling much cooler and me no longer resembling a budget Mel Gibson, getting a trim has been a significant mood booster.

It feels like a delicious slice of normality after months of disruption to almost every aspect of our lives.

Fingers crossed it will be one of the first steps on the road back to the old normal.