I Want That Hair
by Jane Thornton

In her early twenties, university-educated Bex took over her mother's hairdressing salon rather than begin a teaching career.

Now Bex is approaching 40 and her salon is under fierce competition from a newcomer across the road, precipitating a crisis with Heidi, her friend who works for her.

Her husband Max has planned a surprise 40th birthday party for her, though it's not much of a surprise and in fact rather unwelcome.

As the two women attend to their clients, I Want That Hair looks without flinching at what turning 40 can mean to someone who has never really been anywhere in their life, and is just beginning to realise that they probably never will.