Ded Moroz

How things change. After all the beard abuse at the weekend, I am now getting encouraged to keep the beard by my work colleagues! Make up your mind.
Red Nose Day is officially launched today for sometime in March and it seems that my beard is the main focus of fundraising attempts. The main idea is for me to keep growing it and then get it shaved off by someone on Red Nose Day. To be honest, I don't really like the thought of someone else shaving my beard. It would be fine if it was a proper barber but I suspect they will try to get someone from work to do it, possibly even raffling it off. Not a good idea, someone with no experience of shaving beards having a razor at my throat? No thank you, don't want to have red neck day.
Now, I don't want to be a party pooper but people should have thought about this before launching the Hate The Beard Campaign. With the benefit of hindsight I'm sure my colleagues would agree that praising the beard would be a better way of encouraging me to join in the fundraising activities.
Sounds like their bitterness will come back to haunt them........
Of course if I do shave the beard off I will just look mean. I can already hear the comments "But it was for charity..." It's just another form of peer pressure.
I guess it's something for me to ponder when I decide on the future of the beard.
Thanks to everyone else who posted messages of support, not really sure I like the idea of hanging outside schools pretending to be a Russian Santa. If I'm not careful where I do it then I could be getting arrested by Sarah! Not sure if I'll be able to explain that one away.....

On a different note, what is it about signing for the Old Firm that turns footballers into drivelling sycophantic idiots? Witness the latest miscreant, Kevin Thomson. Self confessed Hibs fan for his whole life signed for Rangers and immediately said it had been his dream to play for a big club like Rangers, the only team he wanted to play for. This is the same guy who repeatedly said it was his dream to play for Hibs, to captain Hibs, to play in Europe for Hibs and to try and win a trophy for Hibs.
Do they inject players with a special Hun gene when they sign or is it just a side effect of spending too much time in Glasgow? Of course it's more likely that footballers lose of ideas of principles and morals when the Gruesome Twosome come knocking at the door waving loads of cash.
I'm sure Thomson will be given a special welcome when he comes back to ER. You can't say it won't be well deserved.......