Archive for the Beards Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Roy Keane shaves beard but will still compete for Beard of Autumn

Posted in Beards with tags , , on October 12, 2014 by telescoper

I felt the urge to reblog this to encourage folks to vote in the Beard of Autumn poll, despite not having been nominated myself, especially since the great Leonard Cohen is a candidate. Surely he deserves to win more than Roy Keane who has already shaved off his beard?

kmflett's avatarKmflett's Blog

Beard Liberation Front

Press Release 10th October Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

Roy Keane shaves beard but will still compete for Beard of Autumn

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that it regrets but respects the decision of Roy Keane to shave his beard ahead of Ireland’s European Championship game against Gibraltar on Saturday.

Keane has a history of suddenly shaving his beard but the campaigners say that the four seasonal awards run each year are designed to capture in particular those who have noteworthy but transient beards.

The BLF has for that reason decided to keep Keane on the longlist for Beard of Autumn, the winner of which is announced on October 24th after a public on-line poll

The Award is the final one of four seasonal Awards before the announcement of the coveted Beard of the Year Award at…

View original post 184 more words

Leave a comment »

Jimmy Anderson & Moeen split hairs in England cricket team Beard Index

Posted in Beards, Cricket with tags , , on July 30, 2014 by telescoper

Important poll on the Beard Index for England’s cricketers..

My own vote went to Jimmy Anderson, a remark on whose performance yesterday by me on Twitter also led to me featuring on the BBC Sports Website:

Anderson

Today is the 4th Day and England have just declared on 205-4, leaving India to score 445 to win in approximately 132 overs…

..and India close on 112-4. The ball is starting to turn and with another 331 to win off 90 overs (3.67 an over) the odds are firmly on England’s side.

UPDATE: And so it came to pass that England took India’s last 6 wickets for 66 runs in the first session of the final day to win by 266 runs.

kmflett's avatarKmflett's Blog

Beard Liberation Front
Press release 29th July contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

Jimmy Anderson & Moeen split hairs in England Cricket Team Beard Index

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has issued an update to its England cricket Beard Index which shows Moeen Ali and Jimmy Anderson tied with Ian Bell and Alastair Cook moving up the rankings

Hirsute England players have only recently been a significant factor in the team’s performance but the campaigners say that facial hair on the pitch can have several, sometimes combined, impacts:

1] Beards can add gravitas and presence. Moeen is known as ‘the beard that’s feared’
2] Beards can influence aerodynamics both with bat and ball as a movement of the facial hair can cause subtle changes to air currents

Beard Index [combining factors 1 & 2] out of 10

Moeen 9
Anderson 9
Bell 6
Cook 6
Broad…

View original post 40 more words

3 Comments »

IAU Symposium 308 – Conference Photo Caption Competition

Posted in Beards, Biographical, The Universe and Stuff with tags , , on July 16, 2014 by telescoper

Regular readers of this blog (Sid and Doris Bonkers) will recall that I recently attended IAU Symposium No. 308 in Tallinn, Estonia. To prove that I didn’t make it all up, here is the official conference photograph.

iau308 conference_photo 1 lres

You can see me three rows back on the right-hand-side of the picture; you can click on the image to make it largely should you wish. Behind me and to my left as I look at the camera you will see the esteemed cosmologist Carlos Frenk wearing an unusual facial expression.

I wonder if anyone might like to suggest an explanation for Prof. Frenk’s behaviour by way of a suitable caption for the photograph?

10 Comments »

Campaigners welcome first Tory Cabinet Minister with a beard since 1905

Posted in Beards, Politics on July 16, 2014 by telescoper

An important and under-reported aspect of yesterday’s Cabinet reshuffle…

kmflett's avatarKmflett's Blog

Beard Liberation Front
PRESS RELEASE 15th July
Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266
CAMPAIGNERS WELCOME FIRST TORY CABINET MINISTER WITH A BEARD SINCE 1905
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has welcomed David Cameron’s decision to appoint Preseli Pembrokeshire MP Stephen Crabb as Welsh Secretary in the new Cabinet.

Crabb becomes the first Tory Cabinet Minister with a beard since the 4th Earl of Onslow stepped down as President of the Board of Agriculture in March 1905*

The campaigners say that the Tory Party has had a reputation for pogonophobia, reinforced when John Selwyn Gummer was reputedly told by Mrs Thatcher to shave his beard off if he wanted a Cabinet seat. In more recent years there have been a few hirsute Tory MPs such as John Randall who has just signalled his intention to step down as MP for Uxbridge
.
BLF Organiser Keith Flett said…

View original post 53 more words

3 Comments »

Warm Weather advice on Beards, Shorts & Sandals issued

Posted in Beards with tags , , on July 3, 2014 by telescoper

Important seasonal advice from the BLF…

kmflett's avatarKmflett's Blog

Beard Liberation Front
PRESS RELEASE 3rd July
Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

WARM WEATHER ADVICE ON BEARDS, SHORTS & SANDALS ISSUED

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has issued updated advice on the wearing of Beards, Shorts and Sandals with warm weather in some areas of the UK forecast for the next few days

Guidelines
1] Shorts and sandals may be worn after 9am until 8pm at the discretion of the wearer.
2] Where sandals are worn the wearing of socks is discouraged but not forbidden
3] If socks are not worn toenails must be neat, trimmed, clean and fungus free
4] Shorts should ideally be around knee length to provide a balanced image with the beard
5] Shorts should be of conservative design and colour. Wearing of bright red, yellow or floral patterned shorts is forbidden and shorts should generally come below the knee
6]…

View original post 147 more words

3 Comments »

Beards, Shorts & Sandals Code for 2014 Season

Posted in Beards, Biographical on June 1, 2014 by telescoper

The Beard, Shorts and Sandals season is officially open and I’ve been observing the relevant guidelines rigorously today…

kmflett's avatarKmflett's Blog

Beard Liberation Front

Communique 1st June

‘BEARDS, SHORTS & SANDALS’ CODE FOR 2014 SEASON

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that as June starts it is issuing a reminder about the code for the 2014 Beards, Shorts and Sandals season which runs until the end of August.

Adherence to the guidelines is important if the beard wearer is to safely wear shorts and sandals in public during the summer months

2014 Code

1] Shorts and sandals may be worn after midday until 8pm at the discretion of the wearer.

2] Where sandals are worn the wearing of socks is discouraged but not forbidden

3] If socks are not worn toenails must be neat, trimmed, clean and fungus free

4] Shorts should ideally be around knee length to provide a balanced image with the beard

5] Shorts should be of conservative design and colour…

View original post 112 more words

Leave a comment »

What Nigel Farage did not say on beards

Posted in Beards, Politics with tags , , , on May 26, 2014 by telescoper

In the aftermath of yesterday’s European election results, the great political question of the day is where precisely does UKIP stand on facial hair?

kmflett's avatarKmflett's Blog

What Nigel Farage did not say on beards

UKIP leader Nigel Farage who is perpetually clean shaven is very probably a pogonophobe although as the equally perpetually hirsute Michael Rosen has pointed out to me, UKIP has some supporters with beards.

Accuracy on matters UKIP is not easy to achieve. The party itself is an unreliable guide and the BBC guided by the follicly challenged Nick Robinson isn’t much better.

However at the end of the week which saw a supposed quote from Farage about Muslims and beards to the effect that either the beard went or the wearer did and that beards should be no more than two inches in length achieve wide currency, a small attempt at accuracy can surely do no harm.

There is no absolute proof that Farage did not make these remarks. He has not denied them despite opportunities to do so

It is however…

View original post 198 more words

1 Comment »

A Victory for Diversity

Posted in Beards, LGBTQ+ with tags , , , , , on May 11, 2014 by telescoper

I didn’t watch the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest last night, but my Twitter feed was full of comments by people who did. That’s how I found out who won!

Conchita

Conchita Wurst, Winner of the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest

I don’t know what the song was like, but that doesn’t matter at all; the Eurovision Song Contest isn’t about the songs at all. What is important is that Conchita Wurst‘s victory sends out a clear message that there is a world out there that is happy to embrace diversity. Interviewed after the voting, Conchita said “I’m just a singer in a fabulous dress, with great hair and a beard”. That sums it all up, really.

I agree wholeheartedly with the official statement of the Beard Liberation Front:

The Beard Liberation Front the informal network of beard wearers has welcomed the win for Austria’s Conchita Wurst in the Eurovision Song Contest as a victory for a diverse Europe over transphobia and pogonophobia.

The BLF has long campaigned for the right of people to be able to dress and appear as they want.

There will no doubt be those who mock Conchita Wurst (original name Thomas Neuwirth), even within the gay community. But it’s important to remember that the Stonewall Riots of 1969 that galvanised the gay rights movement in the United States into action, paving the way for example to Equal Marriage, began as a  fightback against heavy-handed policing that was predominantly led by drag queens. It takes courage to stand up for the right to be different, and in that respect Conchita is an example to inspire us all.

UPDATE: Here’s the official video made in advance of the contest

P.S. I’m pretty sure that this means that Beard of the Year 2014 is now a foregone conclusion….

 

23 Comments »

Poll: Have we reached ‘peak beard’?

Posted in Beards with tags , on May 5, 2014 by telescoper

Here’s a very important blog post about one of the great questions of the day. Please participate in the poll, as it could be crucial in shaping the fate of the nation.

charlieallenby's avatarBearded London

peak beard poll

We brought you news that we had apparently reached ‘peak beard’ – where the number of gentleman supporting beards has reached its capacity, and the facial haired fellow will soon go the way of the Dodo, retreating to the doldrums alongside the yoyo’s and Johnny Borrells of this world.

Not only did we bring you this news, but we also disproved the study with our very own Bearded London certified version, carried out on the streets of Shoreditch last week.

Now that the dust has settled, we want to put this matter to bed once and for all. Have we reached peak beard or is this all just a load of mumbo-jumbo?

Poll: Have we reached ‘peak beard’?

You can also tweet us your thoughts @beardedlondon using either #yes or #no. Speak up, vote and let your voices be heard. No one wants to be Johnny Borrell.

View original post

Leave a comment »

Bearded Bishop Brentwood welcomed but too late for Beard of Spring poll

Posted in Beards, Biographical, Football, Politics on April 15, 2014 by telescoper

I’m still way behind John Brayford (who he?), but there’s definitely signs of a bounce! The Deadline is 19th April. Vote for me!

 

kmflett's avatarKmflett's Blog

Beard Liberation Front
PRESS RELEASE 14th April
Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266
Bearded Bishop Brentwood welcomed but too late for Spring Beard poll

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers that campaigns against beardism, has welcomed the news that the Pope on Monday appointed Fr Alan Williams FM as the Bishop of Brentwood but say that his appointment is too late for inclusion on the Beard of Spring 2014 poll which concludes on Friday.

The campaigners say that they are certain that the distinguished Bishop will feature in future

The big issue in the days left for voting is whether current leader Sheffield United footballer John Brayford did enough in his team’s defeat to Hull in Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final to take the title or whether challengers such as cosmologist Peter Coles and Editor of the I Paper Olly Duff can catch him

The Beard of Spring…

View original post 136 more words

Leave a comment »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »