Bits 'n Bobs 'n Beards

I've been listening for weather news from London most of the day and looking online. More storms in the north west of England in addition to the north of Ireland and south of Scotland. It seems that Silsden is not under further threat - and I still have not heard anything to the contrary from family there so I can breath out.

Before writing this post I thought about what I had recently posted and realised I had not completed a number of things before we slide out of this year and into another. I noticed I had not reported again on Goofie the Goose. Sad news! He didn't make it through Christmas. I wonder if he found the answer to his question. "Is there life after Christmas." His goose was certainly cooked!!! See photo.

The other was that I told you Marcel came to visit on Christmas. I forgot to follow up except that we went to the cinema last Monday. It was a nice surprise to welcome him on the 25th. We quickly caught up on news about his family who he recently visited in Budapest and at the Balaton. He returned to Berlin for Christmas to prepare for an important examination early in January. I really applaud his learning/studying discipline.

He has also found a new room. The move is in a couple of weeks and again convenient for travelling to his university. More about this in the new year. As soon as we met there was talk about his full beard. Yes, it is his first full beard. He has had a chin beard, shaped beard, clipped student beard but this was his first full beard! Here is a pic. Not bad.

By chance I listed to BBC Radio 4 a short time ago. I heard Laurie Taylor's programme called Thinking Aloud. The topic was Fashion and Beauty. This included a report about Male Beards historically and the current trend. Yes, most males over 18 in Berlin have beards of many shapes, sizes and colours.

 I thought back to Marcel's growth as I listened. In the historical section of the programme I thought about myself. I first started to shave when I was almost 15. Yes, rather late and one of the last boys in my class to grasp a razor for the first time. By that time I was getting comments about my struggling teenage beard, and wasn't it time I.............. Yes, I agreed, it was time.

I duly bought a Gillette wet razor with metal blades, soap, brush, with money earned from my paper-round. The first shave was a bloodbath! I not only removed the hair but half of my skin and skimmed the top off all of my puberty spots! I emerged covered in bits of paper stuck to my face to suck up all the blood.  No-one in the family said anything. They just giggled!

I never grew a beard until I was 28. Much later than Marcel, but then I was not a student. Here is the only pic I can find of me with a beard. I was on holiday on/in Corfu. How about those Marks and Spencer's underpants!! Actually, not a bad beard there John! I had one during my first tour of India in 1976. I wonder where those photos are?

Later I grew thick black eyebrows and heavy black moustache. I realised they didn't really suit me except when I was in the Netherlands. And that is a long story we won't go into :-)

Tomorrow is the end of one year in which we celebrate the start of another. I have some Oldies for Kaffee und Kuchen but I suspect they will hang around for even more in the glass and later for supper. Let's see. I shall shave before they arrive, but his time with an electric razor and less blood!!