Down the Bog

I can remember being aged about 18 or 19 when I realised that I was going to lose my hair. It wasn’t really a surprise as my Dad lost his hair although his Dad kept a fine head of hair until his death so I was hopeful that it might not happen but not really surprised when it did.

I hated losing my hair and 26 years later I still do. On and off during those years I’ve encountered the occasional person who thought that they could have a joke at my expense because of my hair loss and I laughed it off through gritted teeth.

I’ve often thought about why it’s considered so unacceptable for men to wear wigs. I don’t know why it is because male pattern baldness is so common but I’ve never been tempted to because of the stigma attached to it. If everyone else did it then it would be odd not to but instead it’s an opportunity for people to point and snigger.

I can remember a guy I knew years ago who just suddenly started wearing a hairpiece. He was very bald and went from that to having quite a long hairstyle. He was very brave and wore it for quite a few months until one day it disappeared and he was without hair again. Somebody must have got to him.

So I keep what hair I do have very short and have never attempted the comb-over by allowing it to get long and somehow drag it across the top of my head. Nicola kindly gets the clippers out every other week or so and does the once over and leaves me with a hairstyle built for speed!

Last friday after my latest trim I opted to shave off my goatee beard that I’ve had for around four or five years. I wanted to remember what my chin looked like and although it kind of shocked both myself and Nicola I wasn’t ready for the reaction of my 11 month old daughter Abby. She really didn’t seem to recognise me and just looked traumatised without taking her eyes off me. She’s not great with strangers and at I think at least she thought she should recognise me but it was going to take some convincing.

Well, over the weekend she’s got used to me and all is good again but I’ve decided to grow it back. My Mum won’t be pleased because she never liked it but she’s in England and doesn’t yet know that I’ve shaved it off.