Stubble 2

And, on the subject of yesterday's invasion, the record number of hits on a single day on this blog is held by Nige with his thoughtful and erudite post on stubble. It was another Andrew Sullivan link. Stubble has been on my mind lately - not the best place for it - because I was recently in an office where every - and I do mean every - man had stubble. Furthermore, all the stubble seemed to be exactly the same length. This clone-effect began to give me a strange, Stepford Husbands feeling. But it also made me realise that I had no idea how men maintain stubble. (Is it just right the right length once every three days, meaning that those office workers had, somehow, synced themselves? If happening naturally, this would make stubble the male equivalent of women's periods. Or perhaps they had all agreed to shave on the same day - more likely but more disturbing.) Turning on the TV that very evening - here the coincidence draws us towards The Twilight Zone - the first thing I saw was an ad for this. So now I know. I am, like Nige, anti-stubble, though I suppose it is not quite so offensive on the young. On anybody over 30 it gives the clear impression of a night spent in the cells.