Here’s our favourite famous facial fuzz
A Halfway woman was left horrified after a blunder by energy giant npower was set to leave her with no cash on her credit card.
Mum of two Alison Vernon was stunned when she returned home from her honeymoon at the end of September to find a letter informing her of an increase in her monthly bill from £155 a month to £517 in her two bedroom flat in Halfway.
When Alison got in touch with npower they stated that the error had been made due to the wrong meter being used to calculate the reading.
Alison, who works at Tesco in Parkhead, thought that would be the end of the matter, but when she was picking up some shopping in her work at the start of November she found she couldn’t use her credit card, because the £517 was being taken out of her account as a direct debit payment.
She said:“I knew I’d been paid by my work the week before.
“I was standing to pay for the shopping when I was told that the credit card limit was over.
“It was awful, especially when you’re in your own work.
“I couldn’t believe it, especially because they’d already said that it was the wrong meter reading that had been used for the charges.”
The bill was processed on a weekend, meaning that the transaction wouldn’t be completed till the following Monday.
Alison spoke to her bank on the Monday, who were able to reject the transaction taking place.
And she was left furious with npower over the way they handled her complaint - after they only put £50 back into her account as a “goodwill gesture”and left her to sort out the mess herself.
Alison added:“They said they would place £50 immediately back into the account and that I would need to speak to the bank about it.
“I had to go into the bank and sort it out with them, and make sure the money wasn‘t taken out , but the customer service from them was disgusting.”
An npower spokesperson said:“We’re sorry to hear about Alison’s complaint.
“We’re making sure her account is correctly updated and that any refunds due to her are sent as quickly as possible.”
We’re now 12 days into Movember, and at least two members of the Reformer staff are proud of their efforts so far.
Editor Kenny Smith is well on his way to emulating his hero, Willie Miller.
Senior reporter Douglas Dickie, on the other hand, hoped for a heavy metal look, but it’s more Village People than Motorhead at the moment.
Either way, both are surely worth a donation at www. mob ro . co / rutherglenreformer for their efforts.
All four Reformer staff are taking part on Movember in memory of their former colleague, Brian Logue, who died from prostate cancer last year. Brian’s son, Chris, is also taking part.
We’ll have pictures of Will and Jonathan’s efforts next week. While Movember has a serious message about raising awareness of men’s health issues, there is a fun side to it as well.
With the Reformer staff now looking utterly ludicrous with their moustaches, we thought we’d pick out their five favourite famous faces with facial furniture.
Everyone will have their own top ‘taches, but, in no particular order, here are five of the best picked by the Reformer staff: Freddie Mercury The image of the strutting Queen frontman at Live Aid is perhaps most people’s most vivid memory of Freddie, and with it the moustache that was to become his trademark throughout the 80’s.
Freddie, widely regarded as one of the greatest rock singers of all time, was clean shaven throughout Queen’s rise through the 70’s, but on the cover of 1980 single, Play the Game, was seen sporting his famous mouser for the first time.
The early 80’s were a troubled time for Queen, who had fallen out of favour with fans and critics alike, but the triumphant Live Aid appearance thrust them back into the limelight and major stadium gigs across the world helped cement their place as one of the world’s biggest acts.
It was through these shows that the image of Freddie - arm up, yellow jacket over a white vest and of course, his famous moustache - became part of popular culture. Tom Selleck A jobbing actor throughout the 60s and 70s, Tom Selleck received his big break in 1980 when he scored the role of Thomas Magnum in cop show Magnum PI (famously having to pass up on the opportunity to play Indiana Jones).
Was it the moustache that won the part? Let’s be honest here, it probably was. Suave Tom and his ‘tache would go on to star in a string of 80’s hit films, most notable Three Men and a Baby.
He was introduced to another generation in the late 90s when he took on the role of Dr Richard Burke in Friends. He proved a hugely popular character, even prompting the show’s Chandler Bing to try, and fail, to copy his trademark facial hair.
Rarely seen without his mouser, Tom did say he’d gladly cut it off for a role during a 2013 interview, proclaiming: “I wasn’t born with it.”
That seems strangely hard to believe. The Beatles In 1966, The Beatles were already the biggest band in the world, but the pressure of endless touring and recording was starting to take its toll.
When they walked off stage at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park in August that year, noone could have dreamt it would be three years before they played live again (and even that proved a one off).
Their albums Rubber Soul and Revolver had hinted at a new direction, but while they weren’t quite the fresh-face moptops of the early 60’s, what followed still proved to be quite a transformation.
Taking the role of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the album of the same name changed popular music with the iconic cover showing the Fab Four sporting a selection of nifty moustaches, all apparently grown coincidentally without the knowledge of the others.
Paul grew his to cover the scars of a moped accident (the same one he apparently ‘died’ in), and soon chopped his off, with John following in the summer. George and Ringo kept theirs longer though, and continued to sport a ‘tache at regular intervals through their remaining years. Clark Gable With his smouldering looks and magnetic charm, Clark Gable was the quintessential film star throughout Hollywood’s golden age.
And right at the centre of his image was his pencil moustache - beautifully manicured, never scruffy and annoyingly perfect.
Gable appeared as the leading man in over 60 motion pictures and was one of the most bankable stars in the world. He also saw active service during the Second World War with the US airforce, and was much coveted by the Nazi’s, with Hitler offering a massive reward to the person who could capture Gable and bring him to Berlin unscathed.
His look has oft been imitated, but never bettered. No-one at the Reformer office would even consider a Gable moustache, we just couldn’t pull it off. Ned Flanders Everyone’s favourite nextdoor neighbour and the man with more names for his moustache than anyone else - nose neighbour, cookie duster and Dr Fuzzstein have all been used to describe Ned’s mouser.
A regular character since the first season of The Simpsons, Ned has been a constant Ying to Homer’s Yang, meaning his is perhaps one of the most famous moustaches in the world.
We’ve seen him without it, with one early episode seeing him pick up work in a TV commercial thanks to his clean-shaven look, much to Homer’s annoyance.
But he’s also fought for the right to wear his moustache. When told by his new employers at Humbleton Figurine Factory told him there was a ban on facial hair, he bravely kept his on and was labelled a troublemaker.
So, as an inspiration to Mobro’s the world over, Ned Flanders: we salute you..... diddly.