Tuesday, April 2nd .....

I was reading the other day about a Muslim preacher in UK commenting about why men in Islam wear a beard. This preacher says the practice was established by the Prophet who expected his followers to have facial hair.  The preacher believed that Mohammed deplored women who looked like men and men who looked like women. I think it was John Wayne who agreed, saying, 'I like my women to look like women.'

The preacher went further and suggested that men must have beards so that other men might not look at them and feel desire. Hmmm!  Something being repressed there, I suspect.

The article made me think of beards and how they can tell you so much about the people who hide behind them.  There are too many men who grow unruly, straggly beards with no sense of style.  Clearly these fellows are lazy and insensitive, with no pride in their appearance nor any concern for the feelings of their wives.

Then there are the increasingly-common thick goatees - usually dark hair, just a bit too long, with shaved cheeks and neck.  This is almost a uniform requirement for men who drive log trucks or work for the council - beard as social indicator.

There's a phenomenon here which I call the Tasmanian beard.  It's a long-term decision to have a Tasmanian beard as it takes many years to come to fruition.  Long and shovel-shaped, it is usually grey and well looked after.  I think it's often sported by old hippies who have had plenty of time to cultivate the biblical look.

Men who have luxuriant moustaches, curled at the ends in imitation of a WW2 Spitfire pilot are vain and just a touch insecure.  Like powerful cars, these moustaches can be a compensation.

On the other hand, men who have neat, trimmed beards are indicating that they are trustworthy, intelligent and sincere, especially if the beard is grey. It's no accident that primitive tribes call their most able elders, the Greybeards.

And, by the way, I won a prize the other night for the man in the theatre with the best moustache.