Coming from a large family, Alfred Vassallo had to find work to support his parents and siblings. When he was just nine years old, he signed up as an apprentice with a Valletta hairdresser and then, a few years later, with the British Forces.

Eventually, he set up his own salon in Vittoriosa, where, 71 years after first picking up a pair of scissors, he still plies his trade.

The August issue of Senior Times tells Mr Vassallo’s story and how, apart from keeping busy at his salon, he does charitable work. Every evening, after he pulls down the shutters of his salon, he visits homes for the elderly to have a chat with the residents and cut their hair.

This month’s Senior Times also charts the Atturi Theatre Group’s years performing at the Deporres Hall in Sliema, researches the history of aviation in Malta and interviews a collector who was bitten by the vintage car bug when, as a young boy, he would race his pedal car in his hometown of Żejtun.

Senior Times is published by Allied Newspapers Limited and distributed for free to all homes for the elderly.