Comments on: #Gauteng52, Week 51: Scala Barber, the Oldest Shop in Melville https://2summers.net/2017/12/22/scala-barber-oldest-shop-melville/ An American in Quirky Johannesburg Fri, 01 May 2020 13:48:06 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 By: 2summers https://2summers.net/2017/12/22/scala-barber-oldest-shop-melville/#comment-129597 Fri, 01 May 2020 13:48:06 +0000 https://430779ae203f.xneelosites.com/?p=24736#comment-129597 In reply to Hendrik Schmidt.

You’re welcome Hendrik! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with Fred.

]]> By: Hendrik Schmidt https://2summers.net/2017/12/22/scala-barber-oldest-shop-melville/#comment-129593 Fri, 01 May 2020 13:19:19 +0000 https://430779ae203f.xneelosites.com/?p=24736#comment-129593 Generally I do not post but feel duty-bound to do so after reading your story about Scala and Fred. I lived in Melville in the 1990’s – on the corner of 5th Ave and 9th street and have cut my hair there numerous times (too many times to remember). Although moving to Cape Town, I still pay him a visit when in Johannesburg. During my stay in Melville and even thereafter, i would have my hair cut just before closing time on a Friday afternoon and order 2 beers from Questionmark (a restaurant which subsequently moved around the corner in 7th Avenue and opened as Full stop but later closed down) as soon as the shop closed. During the 90s his daughters were still at school. His wife unfortunately passed away a few years ago. He is busy writing a book about Melville and it’s stories and is due to be published soon ( I visited him 3 months ago and he was still intent on publishing). As we all know, 7de laan was initially an embodiment of Melville (before changing its intro on TV) and Scala’a inclusion in the previous intro, speaks for itself as a true reflection of Melville and its trendiness (at least before the change). I will always remember Fred and Scala as the embodiment of what Melville was and truly is although it has changed significantly over the years. Thank you.

]]> By: Pieter Beneke https://2summers.net/2017/12/22/scala-barber-oldest-shop-melville/#comment-101394 Wed, 14 Mar 2018 14:18:12 +0000 https://430779ae203f.xneelosites.com/?p=24736#comment-101394 In reply to 2summers.

By the way, May’s Chemist (Pharmacy) has been around in the same place for even longer than the La Scala.

]]> By: 2summers https://2summers.net/2017/12/22/scala-barber-oldest-shop-melville/#comment-101317 Tue, 13 Mar 2018 14:57:07 +0000 https://430779ae203f.xneelosites.com/?p=24736#comment-101317 In reply to Pieter Beneke.

A slum environment?! I strenuously disagree.

]]> By: Pieter Beneke https://2summers.net/2017/12/22/scala-barber-oldest-shop-melville/#comment-101316 Tue, 13 Mar 2018 14:49:05 +0000 https://430779ae203f.xneelosites.com/?p=24736#comment-101316 In reply to 2summers.

Melville wasn’t Afrikaans at all. It is adjacent to Auckland Park, which was VERY British initially. In fact, King George VI and the Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) had 2 houses in Auckland Park during their visit to South Africa during 1947. That is why the 2 most prominent streets in Auckland Park are still named Kingsway and Empire Road.

At the time, Auckland Park was posh (hosting the Auckland Park country club) and Melville was on the “wrong side of the track”, where the miners and labourers lived.

I grew up in Auckland Park during the the sixties and seventies and I frequently had my hair cut at this particular barbershop – schoolboy (e.g. military) style.

When the SABC and the Rand Afrikaans University (Johannesburg University, these days) were built, Melville became more cosmopolitan with the influx of arty types, and underwent a substantial change of character. Sadly, these days it seems to be developing into almost a slum type of environment.

]]> By: 2summers https://2summers.net/2017/12/22/scala-barber-oldest-shop-melville/#comment-98052 Wed, 03 Jan 2018 12:48:30 +0000 https://430779ae203f.xneelosites.com/?p=24736#comment-98052 In reply to Rebecca.

Yes, he’s definitely an icon. And it’s sad to think when Fred is gone, that will be the end 🙁

]]> By: Rebecca https://2summers.net/2017/12/22/scala-barber-oldest-shop-melville/#comment-98034 Tue, 02 Jan 2018 19:49:54 +0000 https://430779ae203f.xneelosites.com/?p=24736#comment-98034 There aren’t a lot of shops like this left in the world! Even in the small country town I grew up in, places like this are closing and being replaced. Great to see he has stuck around and still has his regular customers.

]]> By: 2summers https://2summers.net/2017/12/22/scala-barber-oldest-shop-melville/#comment-97795 Sun, 24 Dec 2017 19:42:03 +0000 https://430779ae203f.xneelosites.com/?p=24736#comment-97795 In reply to Jeroen.

You were there in the early days – only 40 years in! 🙂

]]> By: Jeroen https://2summers.net/2017/12/22/scala-barber-oldest-shop-melville/#comment-97791 Sun, 24 Dec 2017 18:10:50 +0000 https://430779ae203f.xneelosites.com/?p=24736#comment-97791 I had my first Joburg haircut there in 2009, classic place. Ever watch the “7de Laan” soap series on TV? Scala features in the intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBdEAAfhZNc

]]> By: 2summers https://2summers.net/2017/12/22/scala-barber-oldest-shop-melville/#comment-97753 Sat, 23 Dec 2017 05:16:29 +0000 https://430779ae203f.xneelosites.com/?p=24736#comment-97753 In reply to autumnashbough.

Hahaha. I suppose he does. No surprise I was intimidated, although he really is very nice.

]]> By: autumnashbough https://2summers.net/2017/12/22/scala-barber-oldest-shop-melville/#comment-97747 Fri, 22 Dec 2017 23:22:40 +0000 https://430779ae203f.xneelosites.com/?p=24736#comment-97747 Fred does look scary.

]]> By: 2summers https://2summers.net/2017/12/22/scala-barber-oldest-shop-melville/#comment-97739 Fri, 22 Dec 2017 17:13:34 +0000 https://430779ae203f.xneelosites.com/?p=24736#comment-97739 In reply to Brenda R.

Haha, that’s awesome.

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