If hairdressers and barbers were just about trimming hair and shaving chins, then they wouldn’t have weeks-long waiting lists. And why does getting a haircut have to take the best part of an afternoon?

In M magazine, out tomorrow with The Times, Veronica Stivala meets up with a barber and a hairdresser to learn how counselling is an inherent part of their profession and how they are the keepers of secrets and big players in the grapevine game.

By day, the Portes des Bombes area and the Gżira marina are quiet spots, perfect for some me-time. But as the evening falls, Paul Caruana Turner finds they are used as gay cruising spots.

Resolutions may not be everyone’s glass of champers but, admittedly, everyone brews up their own set at the end of each year. Mark Debono interviews the optimists and the pessimists who explain why they are facing 2011 with a smile, or a frown, on their face.

Davinia Hamilton performs a check-up on father Josie Muscat and son Jean Claude, who run Saint James Hospital, and finds it’s not just the medical profession that makes them tick.

M also takes a look at architect Richard England’s photo album, interviews Red Electrick, huffs, puffs and cycles hard with the Weasels Pack and cooks up a wonderful Christmas lunch.

M magazine is published by Allied Newspapers Limited and is designed by MediaMaker Limited. Its editor is Stanley Borg.