Florence Nightingale's Stubble

I grew one, briefly, during my enforced convalescence from an injury - a beard.

It was one of those things, a combination of not physically being able to stand in front of the mirror and shave and an attempt to boost my self esteem, mightily deflated from my loss or mobility.

I was, after all, just following the prevailing trend of beard growing which has reached all walks of life from media and sporting figures to the ordinary man in the street. They are everywhere to be seen and goodness, there are some right bushy and splendidly full growths that must have taken some time and effort to perfect and the usual jibes about just being lazy are as far from reality as you can get.

So what explains this trend?

Well, it is actually a deep rooted male response to the actual and perceived threats to manhood in general.

It is not a new phenomena and indeed the origins of the beard as a statement of virility, authority and heroism can be traced back to the Victorian era, in particular the early 1850's when pressures of a similar social, cultural, economic and political were being exerted on the male population as they are today.

It did not start as a fashion although did develop into this as the trend picked up.

The instigators of beard wearing were British soldiers returning from the harsh conditions of the Crimean War. The senior ranks had given concessions to the troops to grow facial hair as a counter to deprivations on the front line in that far off, inhospitable place and upon their return to the UK the sight of disembarking soldiers sparked the imagination of the nation and popular culture.

Queen Victoria herself attended Portside to welcome her armed forces back from the Crimea and in her personal writings was almost lustful and giddy over what she described as the fine, tall and handsome men sporting huge beards who marched past for her to review.

Prior to the return of the bearded heroes the attitude towards facial growth could not have been more different.

A brief flirtation with sideburns and whiskers in the 18th century had soon fizzled out and those persisting in displaying them often found themselves being insulted and abused  by random members of the public and accused of being  a "filthy Frenchie".

Clean shaven male faces were soon back as the norm being regarded with as much reverence as the desire for pale skin in English ladies who had to shun the sun and healthy open spaces to maintain a pallid and listless demeanour which polite society demanded of them.

Soon popular and classic literary heroes were seen to have beards and were championed by the great writers of the era including Charles Dickens.

Our beardy heroes today are more likely to come from movies and rock bands than the pages of novels.

Of all the fashion trends the decision to grow a beard is an easy and cheap one.

You just have to stop shaving, endure the early growth stage when everything looks a bit pubic and scruffy, persuade loved ones that it suits you ,survive the jibes and banter at work for a few weeks and then carefully groom and tend to the beard until, suddenly, it is a revelation and you do not know why you did not grow one before.

I found my beard quite liberating after 40 years of a daily clean shave.

Imagine, I have dedicated around 5 minutes a day, every day (some weekends excepted) to shaving during those forty years. Had I been bearded for all that time I will have had 1216 days equivalent free time to do other things apart from shaving.

So what is the future of the beard  towards the end of the second decade of the twentieth century?

In a Guardian Newspaper Article it was muted that 2016 had been the point of "peak" beard but in my own experience the practice is as strong as ever.

It may convey a strong character in the presence of others or elicit admiring glances from the population who favour such things but at the same time it is a disguise, a cloak of concealment from the rigours of life and a desperate attempt to latch onto manhood and manly things.

I did enjoy my stint in a beard although there were some streaks of ginger amongst the grey hair as a throwback to my Scottish ancestry which just looked weird, like I had dribbled a Werther's Original.

It was a good feeling, equally, to return to a fresh, smooth face which. after all, places me within a minority amongst my gender.