Friday 2 November 2012

Flashmac



Friday 2nd November

I remember going to a job interview once with a Kensington based firm of chartered surveyors & valuers and subsequently being offered the job with a conditional offer.
The conditional aspect, of which there was only one element, was specified by the managing director of the firm - a vast, ex-tank commander cavalry colonel - which was to shave my 'Van Dyk' beard.
Apparently because and according to the tanker, 'only Navy Men wore beards'.
In spite of hailing from a naval family myself, I accepted the condition and took the role on, clean-shaven for the first time in several years, taking my place among the other clean-shaven managerial ranks. And naturally, the moment I departed - which ended up being several years later - I grew it back.

The reasons that us chaps decide to grow facial hair are as varied as the various designs that you see on us in the street. My personal reason is not one of lassitude, of religion, or of fashion. No, mine is generally one of a benign vanity, worn in a vain attempt to recover a chiselled jawline long since departed.
It doesn't actually work to that effect, but I've now grown used to it; my wife also prefers me to wear it since frankly, without it, I frighten the children.

The reason for writing about this subject is not because I suspect you would be interested about my facial hair growth, but rather because of the annual fund-raiser that is 'Movember'.
Started in 2003, the aim of the campaign is to support the Prostate Cancer charities for Prostate Cancer by means of growing a 'Mo' (a moustache) specifically raising awareness in a similar way to the pink ribbons one sees for Breast Cancer & other cancer awareness campaigns. Naturally, being chaps, we have to take it one stage further than the ladies, so for the last few years 'Movember' has spread around the world with chaps being sponsored for more and more outlandish moustache designs.

Typically, I've generally sponsored friends to do it, but this year I thought I'd have a go myself. And since I've worn a 'mo' as part of my beard for years, I've decided to attempt to extend my existing 'mo' and grow some 'Harry Flashman' cavalry whiskers in support.

If you are interested in supporting for this charity, do please do visit my very own Mo page

And if you suddenly see Tom Selleck - or even 'Private Walker' - impersonators springing up all over the place, now you'll know the reason why.

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