A few days ago, I met one of my heroes. He plays in a band you probably haven’t heard of, and he’s the reason I grew a beard. I was lucky enough to meet him and get a photo with him, in which we sort of look like twins…except he’d shaved his beard off.  I didn’t ask why, but I can only hope it isn’t a reaction against people like me growing beards and wearing plaid shirts…

Which Stu do you prefer?

If you’ve noticed a significant upturn in people with plaid shirts and facial hair this month, it’s probably either because you’re in a vintage shop or because this month marks the sixth anniversary of Movember, an initiative that encourages men to grow facial hair all month before carving it into an elaborate ‘tache in the hope of raising some money for prostate cancer charities. (JesmondLocal will be reporting from the End of Movember party at Jesmond’s Mr Lynch on 28th November.)

This month I have noticed a lot of boys walking tall like men, and I can only assume it’s because they have hair on the face. Zac Efron did it, Johnny Depp did it, Brad Pitt did it, now we’re doing it. Facial hair makes you cooler, there’s no denying it. Remember Richard from Friends? Coolest guy alive…well, in the ‘90s anyway.

Of course, women don’t always share this view – I was lucky enough to find a girl who didn’t mind getting Rudolph nose from kissing me when I had stubble (but then I was pretty unlucky in that she went to Canada, and now it’s just me and my beard…), but I’ve seen enough Gillette adverts to know that a lot of women will send you back upstairs to shave if you come downstairs covered in beardy goodness. It’s a good job Call of Duty: Black Ops just came out, so we won’t need women until we get sick of the multiplayer…

When I met the bassist of the same band I mentioned at the start, he was sporting a moustache that was part handlebar, part Dali throwback. I asked him if he’d grown it for Movember. ‘Nope,’ he replied, grinning.  ‘This is just me being me.’  Amen.

Do you agree with Stu? Post your praise or scorn for facial hair below.