Kmflett's Blog

Beard Liberation Front

25th December

Contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett 07803 167266

Beard of the Year 2020: Electoral College to meet

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers has said following the conclusion of the final vote for the Beard of the Year 2020 on  Christmas Eve, the BLF Electoral College will meet on 27^th December.

The final list consisted of four names after two earlier voting rounds shaved the shortlist of eight names

Michael Sheen and Peter Coles won the first vote and went forward to the final on 23/24th December. Michael Rosen and Bill Bailey won the second vote

The Electoral College will verify the 1,329 votes cast and review the record of the four finalists in terms of positive beard impact across 2020. These two elements combined will determine the outcome.

Beard of the Year will be announced on 28th December.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, we made some changes to the way the Beard of the Year vote ran for 2020. We moved the vote to twitter where polls often have great engagement and instead of two polls which ran for many weeks we ran a series of shorter more focused polls. There was an excellent turn-out for the votes. All that remains now is for the Electoral College to review matters and determine the outcome.

Beard of the Year 2020 Final

Michael Rosen (author & broadcaster, winner Beard of Summer & Beard of Autumn)

Michael Sheen (actor, winner Beard of Wales)

Peter Coles (cosmologist, winner Beard of Ireland)

Bill Bailey (dancer & comedian)

Marx in London and Engels in Manchester were frequent correspondents.

Marx wrote to Engels on 25th December 1857 (in part)

I trust you won’t go out tippling too much during the holiday and these exciting times in Manchester and that you’ll pay due attention to your health. Warmest regards to Lupus.

The full text of the letter is below. Lupus refers to a co-thinker of Marx and Engels Wilhlem Wolff (1809-1864)

https://marxists.catbull.com/archive/marx/works/1857/letters/57_12_25.htm

Campaign For Real Santas

24th December

The Campaign for Real Santas, which campaigns for Santas to have genuine organic or knitted beards, has said that Christmas Eve is the peak time for Santas who do not have genuine beards and hence fail the real Santa test.

The Campaign has issued special Xmas Eve guidelines so that if Santa is spotted it is easy to tell if they are genuine or an imposter.

HOW TO SPOT A GENUINE SANTA

1 Tug the beard of the Santa. If it comes away, then the Santa is FAKE

2 Tug the beard of the Santa again. If the Santa swears then they are genuine. If they simply repeat a ‘ho ho ho’ mantra they are FAKE

3 The Campaign for Real Santas says that genuine Santas must have just the right mix of bonhomie and gruffness and a real organic beard, particularly when delivering presents on Xmas Eve

CFRS organiser Keith Flett said, we know that most Santas with absurd false beards are genuinely trying to help and only a fairly small minority are drunk. However it is important to maintain a key part of the Christmas story, namely that Santa has a real beard. We would urge people to check tonight if they do spot Santa.

A liberal Christmas: Christmas Eve at Scrooge & Marley’s, Cornhill

It is a Christmas like no other.

Official Government advice (or possibly law in some parts of the UK) is to avoid mixing and stay at home. Unless you are working of course, in which case carry on.

No doubt we will find out in due course how many Ministers manage to keep to their own guidelines.

There is a sense from this neo-liberal Government that the idea of the masses having time off, mixing and enjoying themselves is not a happy one. Who knows what might happen when people gather together- they talk about things..

Of course in 2020 there is actually a very good reason why people should not gather, to avoid increasing further COVID-19 infections. Numbers of scientists who specialise in this area have rightly underlined the point. Sometimes one does get the impression that a few of their number actually dislike people gathering together in principle at any time. See the Government perspective above.

Its worth reminding ourselves of the person who sought (and failed) to be the poster-boy of the original liberal Christmas in the 1840s,one Mr E. Scrooge. As will be seen below he begrudged his clerk having a paid day off on 25^th December from his office in Cornhill, City of London. That concession reluctantly made he expected him back at work early on 26^th December.

Fortunately one group of underpaid workers who will be following that in 2020 are those who work very hard in the NHS. They deserve our support, where Johnson certainly does not.

At length the hour of shutting up the counting-house arrived. With an ill-will Scrooge dismounted from his stool, and tacitly admitted the fact to the expectant clerk in the Tank, who instantly snuffed his candle out, and put on his hat.

“You’ll want all day to-morrow, I suppose?” said Scrooge.

“If quite convenient, sir.”

“It’s not convenient,” said Scrooge, “and it’s not fair. If I was to stop half-a-crown for it, you’d think yourself ill-used, I’ll be bound?”

The clerk smiled faintly.

“And yet,” said Scrooge, “you don’t think me ill-used, when I pay a day’s wages for no work.”

The clerk observed that it was only once a year.

“A poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every twenty-fifth of December!” said Scrooge, buttoning his great-coat to the chin. “But I suppose you must have the whole day. Be here all the earlier next morning.”

Extract from Charles Dickens, Christmas Carol (published December 1843)

Beard Liberation Front

Press Release 23rd December. Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266

A guide to the beard friendly mince pie 2020

December is the season for mince pie eating, but it can provide particular challenges for the hirsute.

The Beard Liberation Front has identified two key issues:

Icing sugar in the beard: this can have the effect of turning it prematurely white and can be difficult to remove. It may also lead to white beard syndrome and people shouting ‘Oi Santa’ at you.

Pastry flakes and crumbs in the beard: If this occurs it is guaranteed that any Pogonophobe within 100 metres will shout ‘oi mate you’ve got the remains of your breakfast/lunch etc in your beard’.

There are several ways of avoiding the issues above:

1] Wear a special mince pie beard snood

2] Focus on eating only beard friendly mince pies. In particular pies where the ratio of filling to pastry lies with the former are likely to be more beard friendly.

3] If time and culinary skills allow you can of course make your own beard friendly mince pies

The Beard Liberation Front continues to research the beard friendly mince pie. The latest 2020 results are below:

Waitrose: Plum & Ginger. No icing sugar or flaky pastry. Beard Friendly

M&S ‘Best Ever’. Pastry did crumble, but fairly Beard Friendly

Lidl Gingerbread. More filling than pastry & no icing sugar. Beard Friendly Mince Pie

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, there are some reasonably beard friendly mince pies out there but the hirsute need to choose carefully. For the unwary eater icing sugar and pastry flakes in the beard can be a serious concern

The Cardiff brewery Brains has announced that it will lease its pub estate to Marstons:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-55421848

It is good news in the sense that the move will save both jobs and pubs and CAMRA has welcomed it on that basis.

Of course the lockdowns of 2020 have had a significant impact on all brewers and pubs and the Government has been far too slow in recognising the support needed for a significant section of the economy.

In the case of Brains the Welsh Government has seemed torn between recognising the important community role pubs play and listening to well placed temperance campaigners who urge the closure of pubs to reduce COVID infections with no significant evidence that this would happen.

There is though a wider back story here.

Brains had put 30 or so of its pubs up for sale before the March lockdown and has moved its brewery from central Cardiff to a site nearer Cardiff Bay.

As someone who lives partly in central Cardiff I can think of several Brains pubs within 10 minutes walk of the house that have been closed and changed to housing in the last year or two.

Brains can brew great beers and it has a loyal following who rightly identify beers like SA with all things Welsh (perhaps particularly rugby!). Unfortunately in 2020 the beers dont have such a good reputation amongst those who can now drink interesting brews from Tiny Rebel in Newport (almost big enough to be a new Regional brewer now) and Cardiff micro-breweries like Crafty Devil.

Perhaps Brains best and stand out beer, Dark, is produced only in small amounts and doesnt seem to find much of a market amongst drinkers. It deserves to be much more widely known and appreciated and one can only ponder whether if Brains was based in London it might well be..

The move is at one level a reconfiguration of the Beerage since both Marstons and Brains are traditional supporters of the Tory Party (the support doesnt seem to have been returned recently) and it means that the brewery should stay open.

Let’s hope so

Update

I was perhaps too optimistic here and ‘rumours’ on Brains getting out of brewing have been current certainly in the Cardiff scene for a good while longer than the last year.

The BBC is now reporting that Brains are consulting on the closure of their new brewery (only opened in 2019) with significant job losses and getting the beer contracted brewed. The BBC is speculating on a deal with Marstons after they leased the pubs. The word ‘inevitable’ is used (& over used in a number of contexts currently). I think not. In reality it appears the pubs and beer were not perhaps the key things driving those who own Brains. Given how British capitalism is currently configured perhaps not a surprise

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-55552335

Beard Liberation Front

23rd December

Contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett 07803 167266

Beard of the Year Final vote open

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers has said the final vote for the Beard of the Year 2020 is open.

The final list consists of four names after two earlier voting rounds shaved the shortlist of eight names

Michael Sheen and Peter Coles won the first vote and went forward to the final on 23/24^th December. Michael Rosen and Bill Bailey won the second vote

Beard of the Year will be announced on 28th December.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, we made some changes to the way the Beard of the Year vote runs for 2020. We’ve moved the vote to twitter where polls often have great engagement and instead of two polls which ran for many weeks we’re running a series of shorter more focused polls. May the best beard win.

Vote here:

Beard of the Year 2020 Final

Michael Rosen (author & broadcaster, winner Beard of Summer & Beard of Autumn)

Michael Sheen (actor, winner Beard of Wales)

Peter Coles (cosmologist, winner Beard of Ireland)

Bill Bailey (dancer & comedian)

Beard Liberation Front

22^nd December

Beard Liberation Front confirms Jeremy Paxman was not eligible for Beard of the Year 2020

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has confirmed that Jeremy Paxman was not eligible for Beard of the Year 2020.

The confirmation comes after a daily paper referenced Paxman’s earlier unsuccessful attempt to win the title in 2013.

The final vote for Beard of the Year 2020 will take place on-line on 23^rd and 24^th December

The campaigners say that while Paxman is sometimes pictured wearing a beard in recent times he has invariably appeared clean shaven when hosting TV programmes.

Paxman is currently the quiz master in a special Christmas series of University Challenge.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, while we don’t expect those that make the Beard of the Year shortlist to wear a beard absolutely all the time, the annual award is about a positive public image of beards. Jeremy Paxman doesn’t seem keen on promoting his beard in public these days, which is entirely his choice. It does mean though that he is not eligible for Beard of the Year 2020

Jeremy was once nominated for Beard of the Year

Jeremy debuted a new bearded look back in 2013 – and it went down a treat with facial hair fans.

Abandoning his razor, he went 147 days without shaving causing a media storm, who either loved or hated the new look.

The Beard Liberation Front went as far as nominating him for beard of the year, but was eventually beaten by Gareth Malone and John Hurt in the poll.

Beard of the Year 2013

John Hurt becomes first Dr Who to win a Beard of the Year Award

Joe Strummer 21.8.52- 22.12-02: London Calling

Joe Strummer died 18 years ago today.

A year ago there was a free, exhibition at the Museum of London (at the Barbican) which marked the 20^th anniversary of the release of the Clash’s double album London Calling.

In May 1979 Thatcher had been elected for the first time (majority 40) and the year ended with what was the Clash’s riposte. Anti-racist, anti-authoritarian, pro-rebel. The music and the words went together as did the cover art for the LP.

One thing that struck me visiting the exhibition a year ago this week was that London Calling is one of the ultimate London records. Of course the Clash, Westway to the World, were West Londoners. London Calling though was recorded at studios in Pimlico (off the Vauxhall Bridge Rd) and Highbury New Park in Islington.

The culture of those areas then as now was anti-Tory anti-racist and up for a fightback. The Clash got all that in a record and listening to songs like London Calling or Clampdown again now the relevance sings out. London 1979 but perhaps even more London 2020.

A pity Joe Strummer is no longer around to write a response to Boris Johnson’s 2020 but we do have London Calling.

Beard Liberation Front

Media Release

21^st December

Contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett 07803 167266

Campaigners say hirsute should consider beard trims to avoid abuse in peak Santa season

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that beard wearers should consider trimming their beards as we enter peak Santa season.

The advice applies particularly to those with bushy or organic beards that are in whole or part grey or white.

The campaigners say that Santa Pogonophobia is widespread in the days before December 25^th when people shout out in the street to anyone with even a vaguely Santa like beard.

Trimming the beard should look particularly to cut back follicles on each side of the face if these are grey or white.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, we get a lot of complaints at this time of year from beard wearers going peacefully about their business who are shouted at and abused by those who dislike beards. Temporary trimming is advised and the beard can easily be grown back after Christmas Eve.