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Paul the Barber's
Family History |
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Hello everyone,
I guess I should start this story from as far back in time as
possible and I have managed to research our history to the year
1378, where we found that our family name is derived from the
personal name of Evangelista, which it is said reflects devotion
to San Giovanni Evangelista, which translates to St. John the
Evangelist which in turn is derived from the Greek “evangelistes”,
which means “good news”.
One of the earliest references we could find to this name is a
record of one Giovanni Evangelista, a cleric, writer and teacher
mentioned in 1378. notable bearers of our surname include
another Giovanni, he was a goldsmith, mathematician and
draftsman cited in 1455. Seventeen century records from
Casamassima (Bari) mentions the birth of Angela Antonia
Evangelista, daughter of Vito Evangelista and Rosa Pisingo,
registerd on the 24th November 1630. We also read of a marriage
between Pietro Antonio Evangelista and Angela Mattea, also
registered in Casamassima on the 18th May 1693 and also their
son Bartolemeo Evangelista, documented in 1703. Michelangelo
Evangelista and Anna Di Paolo were wed in another small village
near Bari called Corato on the 20th December 1727. Apparently,
there are other bearers of our surname include Francesco Paolo
Evangelista, a sculptor born in 1837. Then came a Gaetano
Evangelista, a writer born in 1906, there was also Alfredo
Evangelista, a music composer mentioned in 1928, then came my
Grandfather Angelo Evangelista born in Rome 1891, who was to begin our barbering dynasty in Linthouse near the town of Govan , he also had a brother named Joseph
who
was to take a different path in hairdressing and become a very
successful Ladies Hairdresser in London, Paris and Italy where
he won many top competitions and awards from 1937 and was
patronised by Leading Society and attended to Ladies for the
Royal Coronation. Then came my own father
Adolpho Evangelista married to Yolanda De Angelis , both born 1923 in
Scotland they had three sons Ramonde, Me and Ricardo. There’s
are a few “voids” left within my research, but I haven’t
finished the work on all my family connections as yet, as you
can well understand it takes so much time and effort to do, but
one day I will or perhaps one of my sons will take up the work.
So here we have finally arrived at me, Paul Evangelista born in
1951 and married to Connie Jannetta born 1953 both born in
Edinburgh and married in Edinburgh we have two sons Paul &
Vincent. Now we leap a couple of decades to my first day in my
father’s barbershop in 1967 where unknown to me, I was to embark
on a fantastic and interesting journey through the winding paths
we sometimes take in life and it was also to be the beginning of
my “life education” and to gain a variety of knowledge from my
clients (not forgetting to give a good haircut in return!)
My father was a great Barber
  and a great friend to
many of his clients, someone to talk and joke with but
ultimately walking out with a great haircut, he did teach me
well in the art of barbering and that took 3yrs, and of course
there were the “good times and the bad times” but his reward
from all his patient efforts teaching me, was to go fishing in
his day off and fish for
Salmon
 and
he enjoyed this great
occasion with his good friends once a week to some of the finest
salmon rivers that are found here in Scotland. Unfortunately the
only aspect that failed to “rub off” on me was his ability to
tell jokes and funny stories which he was famed for in his
Barbershop his clients liked that quality in him and there was
many a time when the shop would be in full laughter at his jokes
and gossip talk incidentally, history tells us that ancient
Barbershops were centres for news, talking politics and
gossip…so I think there has been no change there for a thousand
years or so!
Those were very enjoyable learning years for me but
eventually the urge to move on and do my own thing
became overpowering and so I left to open up my own
Barbershop in 1972 and after 5 yrs on my own, my father
sold his barbershop in Govan and so once again we worked together for many years.
It was unfortunate that he did not live long enough to see his
two fine grandsons follow in the family footsteps, I think he
would be very proud to see them Barbering now, but such is
life…and such is death, we all move on the best way we can.
So my story continues through to my own Barbershop which I am
now in my 34th enjoyable year in the town of Johnstone and it’s
friendly people (wow! doesn’t time fly when your enjoying
yourself) and I give great applaud and thanks to my clientele
for helping me make Evangelistas Barbershop a success through
their continued loyalty and also to thank my new clients who
found me through “word of mouth” and our website/webcam. I have
said on numerous occasions that “ when you walk into my
Barbershop your never a stranger, just a friend that I haven’t
yet met”
I must tell you a story from the first few weeks in my own
barbershop, so here we have a young Paul the Barber who had a
lot of life learning to do and one day this guy came in to have
his hair cut, and so we were chatting about where I came from
and how the new barbershop was doing, just the normal kind of
chat, and so after he paid for his haircut he mentioned that
he worked in a nearby factory that produced Olive Oil and said
that if I gave him £1.75 he would get me a 5 litre can of the
stuff, so I thought it was a great opportunity and duly handed
over the money thinking it was a great deal, I had expected his
return but low and behold…I never did see him again!
Stupid me! Who has ever heard of a factory in Scotland that
produces Olive Oil, he must have thought here was a right mug
and very “green behind the ears”, so as the day wore on and he
had failed to turn up, I asked another customer if there was
such a local factory, his smiling reply was, not that I’m aware
of, why do you want to know? I was too embarrassed to tell him
the story of the guy whom I gave over money for the “local Olive
Oil”, so there lay my first valuable lesson in business! |
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+44(0)1505
325642
