Hair to the throne
David Cameron's given his hairdresser an MBE. Is this justifiable Reward and Recognition?Excellent news for fans of nepotism in the 2014 New Year honours list, after it emerged that Lino Carbosiero has been awarded a well-deserved MBE for ‘services to hairdressing’.
What’s that you say? Lino who? You’ve never heard of him? Well, that sounds about right, as I’d never heard of him either, until now.
But the thing is, Lino doesn’t need to appear on TV or have his own range of sprays, serums and mousses in order to achieve fame. For he is already one of history’s true tonsorial trailblazers, my friends.
After all, this is the man who is credited with guiding David Cameron from the right to the left – his hair parting, I mean.
Lino is the hairdresser who, after the PM visited for a trim, left him with a revolutionary new image – if you consider parting somebody’s hair in the opposite direction a revolutionary development. Yep, that’s it. He parted Cameron’s hair on the left instead of the right. And got an MBE for his efforts.
However, in an age when a political figure’s image frequently attracts more attention than their policies, perhaps it’s wrong to underestimate Lino’s contribution to the Westminster landscape.
But hang on a minute – what did Lino say after hearing of his honour?
“It’s just that I can never remember what side anyone’s parting is on. And when I was cutting his hair, it felt as if that was the way it had to go. For me, it looked great.”
So, it was a fluke. An amnesia-inspired change of direction that papered over the PM’s bald spot.
Perhaps Lino should have kept his mouth shut. He pulled off a career win – who cares if it was an accident or not, he’s basically the Alexander Fleming of hairdressing. (Although for somebody who cuts a politician’s hair, he’s got a lot to learn about keeping the truth to himself.)
So, of all the people who could have been recognised in the honours list, Lino made the cut. Still, I suppose it makes a change from party donors and private club chums.
And it offers a new direction for rewarding those around us. When some fools set out to recognise and reward the hard-working new thinkers around them, don’t forget to throw a bone to the people who’ve achieved accidental success without really trying.
At this rate, my PA Thelma can look forward to a rapid rise and an array of gongs. In 2014 alone she has already served my coffee in a tea cup and brought me a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch the other day, when I specifically asked for cheese and ham. Maybe she’s doing it on purpose.
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