This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/magazine-11718543
The article has changed 27 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Who grows a moustache nowadays? Err, me | Who grows a moustache nowadays? Err, me |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| Who sprouts hair only on their upper lip these days? Well, plenty of men this month, all growing moustaches to raise money for prostate cancer charities. Among them is Patrick Heery who will be charting the highs and socially awkward lows in these pages. | Who sprouts hair only on their upper lip these days? Well, plenty of men this month, all growing moustaches to raise money for prostate cancer charities. Among them is Patrick Heery who will be charting the highs and socially awkward lows in these pages. |
WEDNESDAY 10 NOVEMBER | WEDNESDAY 10 NOVEMBER |
| Yesterday was a great day in my moustache-growing journey. A colleague looked at me and then asked whether I was growing my moustache for Movember. I could have kissed him. Yes, yes, yes I was and he was the first person to realise it. That felt good. He then admitted his first thought had been that my wife had kicked me out. Wow - anyone growing a moustache just for pleasure must have to put up with a lot of questioning as to why. | Yesterday was a great day in my moustache-growing journey. A colleague looked at me and then asked whether I was growing my moustache for Movember. I could have kissed him. Yes, yes, yes I was and he was the first person to realise it. That felt good. He then admitted his first thought had been that my wife had kicked me out. Wow - anyone growing a moustache just for pleasure must have to put up with a lot of questioning as to why. |
| The other thing I've noticed is the number of men who have a look at my nine-day growth and say: "Is that it?" or "In a couple of weeks' time there might be something to see." (Jonathan Fried, your comment from yesterday - see below - is just one of many of this ilk.) Now, I've never claimed to be some sort of Dave Lee Travis and I'm not sure I'll have the bushiest tache to show off at the end of the month. But should that cause me to question my masculinity? I've fathered two children and lost the hair on my head so I don't think I need anymore reaffirmation of my testosterone. | The other thing I've noticed is the number of men who have a look at my nine-day growth and say: "Is that it?" or "In a couple of weeks' time there might be something to see." (Jonathan Fried, your comment from yesterday - see below - is just one of many of this ilk.) Now, I've never claimed to be some sort of Dave Lee Travis and I'm not sure I'll have the bushiest tache to show off at the end of the month. But should that cause me to question my masculinity? I've fathered two children and lost the hair on my head so I don't think I need anymore reaffirmation of my testosterone. |
| As I've said, I am finding this moustache growing very difficult, but it prompted me to look up a bit of info on the most common cancer in men in the UK. Some 36,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year and more than 10,000 die from the condition. | As I've said, I am finding this moustache growing very difficult, but it prompted me to look up a bit of info on the most common cancer in men in the UK. Some 36,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year and more than 10,000 die from the condition. |
| Right then, let me concentrate on growing this moustache. | Right then, let me concentrate on growing this moustache. |
| Below is a selection of your comments | |
| Keep at it! a number of us from work are doing it too. It's amazing how self-conscious it makes you feel. | |
| Charles Smith, Crawley, W Sussex | |
| Well at least at the end of the month you won't need to shave... you can just get a cat to lick it off. | |
| James, South Wales | |
| I am taking part in MO-vember for the first time and have just started a new job. I am the only man in the office and 10 days in some of the women are still beating me for growth on the top lip. My wife and I can not wait for the 1st December and if it was not for my friends who I meet with once a week also taking part and sharing mo-stories it would be gone! | |
| David Scott, Glasgow | |
| It's 35 years since I last had a moustache but a conversation with some friends about Movember convinced me to try. My father died from prostate cancer, and I found out this weekend that my father-in-law is having a biopsy this week. The big drawback is that my colleagues at work are vying to find different names for me e.g. Pablo, Pedro, Speedy etc. As long as they stump up the cash at the end of the month, they can call me anything! | |
| Chris Alexander, Chester | |
TUESDAY 9 NOVEMBER | TUESDAY 9 NOVEMBER |
| I hate facial hair. I've never understood why anyone would grow a beard or moustache - I have never met a man who doesn't look better once clean shaven. When someone shaves off a beard they always look years younger, more human, just better. | I hate facial hair. I've never understood why anyone would grow a beard or moustache - I have never met a man who doesn't look better once clean shaven. When someone shaves off a beard they always look years younger, more human, just better. |
| I don't think I am beardist - well maybe a bit - but I've just never seen the point. I've certainly never tried to grow a beard or moustache myself. I'm not one of those men who has to shave every day and I've often thought I would struggle to grow anything resembling a decent beard. But why would I want to? I've been as bald as a coot for 15 years so if I could grow more hair I would want it on my head not my face. | I don't think I am beardist - well maybe a bit - but I've just never seen the point. I've certainly never tried to grow a beard or moustache myself. I'm not one of those men who has to shave every day and I've often thought I would struggle to grow anything resembling a decent beard. But why would I want to? I've been as bald as a coot for 15 years so if I could grow more hair I would want it on my head not my face. |
| But then along comes Movember - for the uninitiated, it's a worldwide fund-raising campaign for prostate cancer charities, in which men grow moustaches in return for sponsorship. Even then, it's the sort of thing I could usually resist with ease but, when my son's teachers all said they were taking part, he really wanted me to do the same and, in a moment of weakness, I wilted. | But then along comes Movember - for the uninitiated, it's a worldwide fund-raising campaign for prostate cancer charities, in which men grow moustaches in return for sponsorship. Even then, it's the sort of thing I could usually resist with ease but, when my son's teachers all said they were taking part, he really wanted me to do the same and, in a moment of weakness, I wilted. |
| We are now eight days in and it has got to the stage where it is clear something is going on. I no longer just look unshaven, there is a definite shape to things on my top lip. It leads to my first dilemma. I want to shout out to everyone I meet: "I know it looks awful, I'm not the sort of person who would grow one of these for fun - it's for charity." | We are now eight days in and it has got to the stage where it is clear something is going on. I no longer just look unshaven, there is a definite shape to things on my top lip. It leads to my first dilemma. I want to shout out to everyone I meet: "I know it looks awful, I'm not the sort of person who would grow one of these for fun - it's for charity." |
| The worst thing is that at the moment, people aren't saying anything. They must see something is going on but they don't say: "Oh, are you growing a moustache?" Then at least I could say why. But at the moment everyone is being very polite and no-one is saying anything. And it drives me mad. | The worst thing is that at the moment, people aren't saying anything. They must see something is going on but they don't say: "Oh, are you growing a moustache?" Then at least I could say why. But at the moment everyone is being very polite and no-one is saying anything. And it drives me mad. |
| Thing is, when I started out I thought there would be moustaches all over the place, a brotherhood of fundraisers, all in it together, seeing who is making the most progress or looks silliest. Supportive glances across a meeting room, a common understanding. But no. I look round the BBC newsroom and mine is the only top lip with bristles on it. | Thing is, when I started out I thought there would be moustaches all over the place, a brotherhood of fundraisers, all in it together, seeing who is making the most progress or looks silliest. Supportive glances across a meeting room, a common understanding. But no. I look round the BBC newsroom and mine is the only top lip with bristles on it. |
| I have to say, I want to shave it off. I want to shave it off so much. The razor is calling to me but there are more than three weeks to go. But I already can't stand it. It's just not me - I've been told I look like a school caretaker, a football hooligan and a porn star. | I have to say, I want to shave it off. I want to shave it off so much. The razor is calling to me but there are more than three weeks to go. But I already can't stand it. It's just not me - I've been told I look like a school caretaker, a football hooligan and a porn star. |
| My wife hates it and I hate it. I am going to have to raise a lot of money to make this worthwhile. I initially thought £200 would be good but I would happily shave it off and stump up that sum myself. So maybe I've got to aim higher. | My wife hates it and I hate it. I am going to have to raise a lot of money to make this worthwhile. I initially thought £200 would be good but I would happily shave it off and stump up that sum myself. So maybe I've got to aim higher. |
| The only thing keeping me going - apart from the fact that it is for a cancer charity and we all have had lives touched by cancer and know what a ruthless killer it can be - is that my kids love it. They really, really love it. | The only thing keeping me going - apart from the fact that it is for a cancer charity and we all have had lives touched by cancer and know what a ruthless killer it can be - is that my kids love it. They really, really love it. |
| So for now I'll keep going, trying to raise some cash, but I can't promise it'll make it to the end of November. | So for now I'll keep going, trying to raise some cash, but I can't promise it'll make it to the end of November. |
| Below is a selection of your comments | Below is a selection of your comments |
| I have been doing Movember for two years now and it does get easier as the month progresses. As someone who has been through a male-related cancer scare myself, I feel that it is really important to get the word out - especially for men-related health issue. Just remember that there are lots of styles to choose from and that you are not alone! | I have been doing Movember for two years now and it does get easier as the month progresses. As someone who has been through a male-related cancer scare myself, I feel that it is really important to get the word out - especially for men-related health issue. Just remember that there are lots of styles to choose from and that you are not alone! |
| Ayad, Gatineau, Canada | Ayad, Gatineau, Canada |
| What to do if you already have a moustache? I've had my wild moustache for nearly 40 years and have only shaved it off two or three times and re-growth it quickly each time - my face just looks bland and incomplete. Keep going - it's for good cause. | What to do if you already have a moustache? I've had my wild moustache for nearly 40 years and have only shaved it off two or three times and re-growth it quickly each time - my face just looks bland and incomplete. Keep going - it's for good cause. |
| Smilesping, Godalming | Smilesping, Godalming |
| I am a proud moustache-wearer, have been ever since I could produce something like one. I have often wondered at the British prejudice towards moustaches. Either one is regarded as a freak, or (in the case of the homophobes) one is automatically classed as a homosexual man, which, so sorry, is not something determined by a moustache. | I am a proud moustache-wearer, have been ever since I could produce something like one. I have often wondered at the British prejudice towards moustaches. Either one is regarded as a freak, or (in the case of the homophobes) one is automatically classed as a homosexual man, which, so sorry, is not something determined by a moustache. |
| D. Fear, Heidelberg, Germany | D. Fear, Heidelberg, Germany |
| I've seen better moustaches on 13-year-olds. | I've seen better moustaches on 13-year-olds. |
| Jonathan Fried, Granada, Spain | Jonathan Fried, Granada, Spain |