TAKE a butchers at this folks! It’s not so much spot the difference as spot the similarity between these three meat and cleaver men who all work for the Abergavenny Branch of Neil Powell Butchers.

Have any amongst you had your eureka moment yet? These gentlemen of the chopping board may all be wearing a fetching hat and apron ensemble but there’s something else that unifies these masters of all things meat. That’s right, facial hair!

Historic documents indicate that in the more refined days of yore, beards were not cultivated as they are now, but were considered something which happened to a man when his guard was down. In polite society facial hair also carried a slight suggestion of questionable hygiene habits to those of the clean-shaven and perfumed cheek.

Which is why Neil Powell Master Butchers have always enforced a strict having regime amongst their staff to keep them fresh-faced, presentable, and looking like the sort of lads who you’d want handling your meat for any occasion.

So why the beards?

Movember that’s why. The butchers at Neil Powell all decided to grow some facial hair to raise money for the men’s health charity, the Movember Foundation.

It was hard work putting up with a prickly face for a month, but as shop manager Rob Trigg told the Chronicle, well worth it.

“The beards were really irritating for all of us, because we’ve never had this much facial hair on our face before, but it’s for a really good cause and we’d like to thank all our customers and everyone else who supported us in raising the money for the Movember Foundation.”

So now that the facial hair has been carefully cultivated, are any of the master butchers tempted to head down the hipster highway and keep growing the beards hillbilly style?

Fat chance! As Mr Trigg explained, “As soon as November ended we couldn’t wait to have a shave and wash it off.”

Well done gentlemen, and here’s to a fresh-faced Christmas.