The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that Damien Egan’s victory for Labour in the Kingswood By-Election underlines that beards win votes.
The campaigners say that it is surprising that clean shaven Starmerism allowed a hirsute candidate in a By-Election where the media focus is greater than at a General Election with every seat in play.
The BLF welcomes Damien Egan to the ranks of hirsute Parliamentarians and we hope he resists any attempts to make him lose the beard.
BLF Organiser Keith Flett, Our view is that Beard Power wins votes and Kingswood makes the point
Global big brewer Heineken has posted its 2023 results this week. Its products sell in 50 markets (countries) globally.
It hiked prices in 2023 to address inflationary impact on costs but this led to a 4.7% drop in beer volumes (presumably Heineken take financial advice from the UK Government) although much of this seems to have been caused by problematic trading conditions in Nigeria and Vietnam.
Heineken brought the North London based craft brewer Beavertown in 2022 and reports that it remains the largest craft beer brand by value in the market. Something for James Watt of Brewdog to ponder when scheduling his IPO
The Times (13th Feb) reports what it calls a culture war but actually a class war on golf
The leader of the left group in the French Parliament (France Unbowed in English) Mathilde Panot.
She called on left voters to register to vote for the Euro Elections in June claiming that the rich, racists and golfers make sure to vote.
Pascal Grizot of the French Golfers Association has argued back that golfers have a range of political views.
The Times reports that golf is often seen as a sport of the rich in France and to add to this there are contemporary issues about the watering of golf courses causing drought.
Moving beyond France, the fact that Trump is a noted golfer(at which he cheats) and owner of golf courses adds weight to Ms Panot’s view.
In the UK while golf in England may be primarily a game of the well off middle class, in Scotland it has a more working class profile (notwithstanding a Trump golf case).
Then of course there is the picture of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara playing golf
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, is to investigate a Valentine’s Day trolling incident.
On the morning of Valentine’s Day BLF Organiser Keith Flett awoke to find a mobile hairdressing van parked across the road from his North London address.
It was not immediately obvious what the van was actually doing, but the BLF says its possible that it was Valentine’s Day trolling by the hairdressing and shaving industry
BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, it wasn’t really the kind of Valentine I was expecting.
The rate of inflation is not going down as forecast and an economic recession has been announced.
No sector of the economy will be immune and not many individuals either- Rishi Sunak the wealthiest MP might be one.
In brewing a crisis is accelerating.
The Suffolk brewer Adnams, a regional to national brewer has announced its looking for investment to secure its future. What this means is not clear. Adnams is a listed company so it is legally required to say something. It is not required to disclose commercially confidential discussions.
Adnams, though not a brewer specifically associated with the Tory Party, in fact in some ways far from it, is still part of what historically is called the Beerage. If it has issues its likely that many other breweries will have them too.
At the other end of the scale Elland Brewery, which brews the CAMRA Award winning 1872 Porter (a favourite of mine) has gone into liquidation. Details are sparse but again it’s a concern that a brewery which has such a high profile beer on its portfolio can’t keep going
Issues mentioned include the cost of raw materials, fuel and labour costs.
Brewdog to note one example has reduced wages but this is crazy economics.
A cost of living crisis is hitting breweries and pubs because people can afford to go out less as their wages are falling short of rising costs, particularly at the moment Truss legacy mortgages. If they are paid less they go out even less and trade in pubs is hit more. A doom loop.
CAMRA has called for duty on draught beer in pubs to be given a higher rate of relief to ease financial pressures all round. There is also a long standing demand to address business rates for pubs.
Whether the Government will act we shall see. MPs can be lobbied and will listen if they get enough e-mails particularly in an Election year.
It would be surprising if a Conservative Government was not concerned that a major brewer like Adnams has issues. Then again as numbers might say, is this really in any meaningful sense a traditional Tory Government?
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has announced the result of its annual search for My Hairy Valentine to mark Valentine’s Day on 14th February
Maidstone FC manager George Elokobi has been voted the sexiest Valentine’s Day beard while comedian and broadcaster Alexei Sayle won the beards that are loved poll.
In 2024 there are two categories:
1 Beards that are sexy, allowing for the reality that this is in the eye of the beholder
2 Beards that are loved because they add a reassuring presence to public life and should be celebrated.
There was a vote covering each category with the winners of both contests sharing the title in 2024
In 2023 the winners were Idris Elba and Michael Rosen.
BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, we know that not all beards are sexy, think Jonathan Gullis, but at Valentine’s each year we celebrate those that are. It underlines that in an appropriate context beards can be romantic
Venture capitalists Breal have announced the closure of the London operations of Brew By Numbers. Brewing will now take place at Black Sheep Brewery in Masham, North Yorkshire. The same will also apply to Brick Brewery which Breal also own.
According to media reports @drinksmaven some brewing may also take place at Purity another brewery owned by Breal
Breal own four breweries- Black Sheep, Brick, Brew By Numbers and now Purity.
They are a venture capital group, and appear to have related operations elsewhere in the world. They have no obvious experience in brewing and bars. Previous deals have included steel and textiles.
A reading of Marx’s Capital can explain this. Capitalism renews itself by a cycle of boom and bust. The bust phase allows the re-composition of capital to promote future growth.
Breal then are getting in at the bottom of the market, (in craft beer in this case) but see growth and return on their capital to come.
As beer writer James Beeson has noted on social media Neil Gostelow has advised Breal on the brewery acquisitions (Times 26th August 2023). Gostelow previously worked for KPMG and in that period dealt with the administration of several beer and pub groups including, as Beeson notes, Hopstuff. He joined Breal as an investment advisor in 2022. He does not have a beard.
His view as reported by the Times is that strong craft beer brands have a good future. No doubt he has noted that the economy in respect of brewing and beer is probably at or near the bottom of the market. Getting in now promises later profit. Breal as a private equity group have the capital to think beyond the short term whether or not they have read Capital Volume One
The latest move by Breal will see redundancies in London operations, bad news as recession looms. It also underlines how the private equity group understand craft beer. That is as brands, rather than as something with a local and community focus.
No doubt the beer produced at Masham will be drinkable enough. Will it be identifiable as that previously brewed by Brew By Numbers and Brick? It seems unlikely and Breal are not so far claiming that it will be
Update
James Beeson for the Grocer has spoken to Mark Williams who is the public face of Breal’s brewing operations. Perhaps the key take away is that Breal are still looking to buy other breweries and clearly have a list of potentials. Its not surprising given the state of the economy and hospitality specifically
Jessica Mason has underlined in a comment piece that when it comes to Breal its not brewing or beer that matters its brands and business. Its not really a surprise again but it underlines that a campaign to save what has been gained from craft beer over the last 15 years or so is very much needed, along with the wider issues facing all breweries and pubs, Big Beer aside
The article below appeared in the Guardian in December 2023.
It was in response to the news that the Army was considering relaxing some entry requirements to address a recruitment crisis, in particular the long running ban on beards for most ranks.
The current Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has now made what is quite a typical Government response. While beards have not been directly mentioned he has attacked what he terms ‘wokery’ in the military and underlined that ‘standards’ should not be relaxed. By that he means, at least in part, beards
News that the British Army is considering a change to its very long running ban on soldiers wearing beards for most ranks is to be welcomed. The Navy and more recently the RAF do allow beards, although no doubt with the proviso that they are neat and orderly. We are not talking ZZ Top here.
As the organiser of the Beard Liberation which since 1995 has advocated for the right of people to be able to dress and appear as they want I welcome this.
The change is reportedly due to the fact that the Army is having trouble recruiting people, and thinks allowing beards might help with the numbers of male soldiers. As its advertising used to emphasise, as well as the ‘poor bloody infantry’, professional soldiers themselves, the Army also has large numbers of people with specific skills in its ranks Take for example Signals, which equates to telecoms and tech. This is a highly hirsute occupation in civilian life, and it can be seen that an employer with a beard ban might not appeal.
Of course the British Army historically has not been entirely bereft of beards. The Crimean War in the 1850s comes to mind, where soldiers grew bushy beards to keep the cold and frost out. Various other nineteenth century British imperial adventures saw the involvement of hirsute soldiers. Even today a range of ‘special forces’ – for example those that were deployed in Afghanistan – are allowed to have beards.
Hopefully the change to allow all soldiers to wear beards will mean that it will no longer be just a ‘special case’ but something that is routinely accepted. Should the move go ahead we can expect controversy and most likely a full blown Culture War. Somewhere out there are people who have devoted a lifetime to studying and opining on how soldiers in the British Army should dress and appear. We can be sure they will be on talk shows on GB News telling us, while looking somewhat red faced.
Its not so long ago for example that there was a debate in the right-wing media about whether Prince Harry could or should turn up at various Royal occasions wearing his beard. Many column inches were taken up discussing whether it was in line with protocol or not. In the event Harry turned up with beard intact and the world moved on. Clearly the Royal Family is in a position to make its own rules.
Even so there will be objections. Whether a Tory Minister or even Rishi Sunak decides to launch a Culture War on the subject we’ll see. They seem to be highly random events. It is certain however that columnists will denounce the Army as Woke. Age old prejudices will certainly be on display. Beards are seen as dirty, and unkempt and, referencing The Twits, containing left over bits of lunch. They are also a sign that the beard wearer is hiding something and quite probably that they have dubious morals. None of this of course from the perspective of Culture Warriors is what the British Army should be about. While Army beards will no doubt be neat and tidy they will still have variations in style, suggesting that soldiers may be thinking for themselves about their appearance and image rather than conforming to an imperial stereotype where they all look the same.
Yet beyond the archaeic dislike and even hatred of beards the world has changed. As a trade union officer in the City of London I still have a desk – which I visit in the era of flexible working less often than I did. However while 25 years ago I would have been surrounded by clean shaven men in suits, now beards are everywhere. Not just the rank and file but senior managers too.
In 2023 there is an understanding at least amongst those emplyers that are living in the twnty-first century that its not how someone’s appears that matters. Rather it is their skills and how effectively they perform them that is key. I’d like to think the beard helps here but that is probably fanciful to be honest.
Of course, there may also be a downside. The British Army gets deployed in all manner of military and imperial activities which may at least to some appear to be highly controversial. British soldiers with beards being pictured in the media where a hotly disputed encounter has taken place could risk bringing the hirsute into disrepute. It is a consideration, but one that can be countered by the reality that the order for the Army to engage will have come ultimately from some almost inevitably clean shaven politician.
Let’s hope then that the Army proceeds with a very long overdue policy change on appearance and beards, and that it is ready for the opposition from beard haters and clean shaven arm chair Generals that it will almost certainly face.
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has urged caution on the issue of Superbowl beards.
The 2024 final in Las Vegas will once again see numbers of hirsute players on both side. However due to the issue of helmet wearing (which the BLF has no issue with) the actual influence of beards on the game is deflected and difficult to judge.
It is better to understand the Superbowl as a sporting spectacle and in particular as a major commercial focus with a sports game tacked on.
Given the importance of beards in the Superbowl it is no surprise that it is the excuse for advertising beard products.
One advert doing the rounds offers:
Beard Balm & Beard Butter
Night Elixir and Day Liquid Tonic Beard Oil
Beard Wash and Beard Conditioner
The BLF says that none of these products are either required or helpful for a robust beard
BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, we can celebrate Superbowl beard power and avoid buying beard products
The words are those of William Kethe ‘A Sermon Made at Blandford Forum’ 1571.
Sunday 15th February is the start of Shrovetide three days of drinking, eating and indeed fun and misrule.
It exists across Europe, often called Carnival, Engels called it Mardi Gras (but swerved it) but in Britain the Church of England has managed to reduce all the festivities to pancakes and Shrove Tuesday
