man you've been a naughty boy, you let your face grow long...

I don't tend to shave over the weekend. As far as I'm concerned, shaving is a chore that is done under some duress ever weekday morning in the shower. It certainly isn't something that I derive any great pleasure from, although as I have very little desire to grow a beard, I ultimately don't have much choice. Given the choice, I would always opt to have a couple of day's worth of stubble. I think it looks better, and it also means I do a whole lot less shaving. I choose to shave every day of the working week, but I'm blowed if I'm going to shave in my leisure time. As a result, by Sunday evening, I tend to look somewhat hairier than usual.

I was putting a contact lens in on Sunday morning, and thus rather closer to the bathroom mirror than usual, when I noticed something on my chin. At first I thought it was a bit of fluff or a feather from my pillow. Closer inspection, however, revealed that I was looking at a little crop of grey stubble.

Once I was sure what it was, I was a touch surprised to find out that I was thrilled. I had grey hair in my stubble! If I was to grow a beard, it would have a grey flash and everything! I've no idea why, but that thought sounded kind of cool.

Mind you, in the interests of full disclosure, I feel it's only appropriate to confess at this time that if I was to grow a beard, then it would not be an entirely salt-and-pepper style affair, a Sean Connery or a George Clooney. No. Rather, the grey flashes on my chin would be competing for attention with the rather more prominent and eye-catching ginger flashes in my beard. Frankly that's not a look that I aspire to.



So I won't be growing a beard any time soon.

No sir. No beard today.