Final Beard Update

Matt

Leo asked me to do this blog after he found that he could not write the final round up as he was struggling to put his 'monstrous' effort into words. Today was the day that most of the boys were dreading, the day when everyone gets shaved. Ben Lerner has tried his best to get out of it, but the bookings were fixed. 

So here are the current standings before the final award ceremony tomorrow:

Firstly staff- this category would definitely be the easiest to judge as there is really one true leader- Mr Jordan. Mr Jordan has more hair on his beard than he has on his head, though his insistence on having ginger hairs in his growth is yet to be proven to us he definitely claims the prize of Best Beard. Speaking of ginger hairs, one can't not mention Reuben's superb effort. Some speculated that he was an underdog for taking Best Beard but he has been disqualified on the technicality that he was never clean shaven at the start of the tour or even after his 'shave' in Kolkata. Tom's goatee never grew in size after Delhi, perhaps stunted like his height. Mark's beard has changed colour at least 7 times since Varanasi but the length and coverage must be commended, he has succeeded in creating an face that doesn't require ID for alcohol.

Now for the students. It is undisputed that Nikau is the all round winner of Best Beard from the Students and his black beard will be missed by all. Fifth forms have continued to impress as the trip has progressed with Ben taking the biannual Best Fifth Form Award. Ben's side burns and neck beard could be used as a dish scrubber it is that wiry, which impressed the judges massively. Zac Morrow and Sam Lindberg put in a huge last minute effort to avoid the shame of the 'foetus' category with Zac growing some decent side burns and Sam forcing out a few thin hairs on his chin. Miller and Leo on the other hand I am sorry to say have been placed in the 'foetus' category and tomorrow's shaves will just be facials for you two. Cam was rewarded for his moustache by winning the best "Dirty Mo" Award, an honour he has been aiming for since was six years old.

In the sixth form a strong all round effort was produced. Josh and Michael have been neck and neck the whole race but in the end Michael's beard produced better overall coverage and took the top prize with Josh settling for second. I scraped a precious third place with my goatee and was also awarded the Filthiest Goatee Trophy, an award I will treasure for life and add to my CV. The rest of the sixth form also put in good efforts with none lacking growth, even the infamously hairless Raymond sprouted a few black hairs on his chin, more hair then on his legs a close observer might note.

The seventh form took my warning from the last update to clean up their act and they made a decent effort to do so. With Nikau still carrying the cohort, Rowan and Josh created some worthy Mo's out of nowhere and Will tried to make his beard less patchy by adding more patches of hair but completely failed on that front. Aaron sneakily shaved his eye-catching moustache twice and has been fined accordingly at tonight's Fine Ceremony and Beard Awards.

With this in mind all twenty six of us piled into the barbers this morning and 3 hours later emerged looking many years younger, a few grams lighter and with skin as soft as Lachie's freshly shaved and moisturised legs. I'll let the other boys detail their experiences and I am sure you will see the outcomes when we return in a few days time.