Members of the Handlebar Club meet to show off their finely crafted moustaches
Dozens of hirsute men have descended on Bath for the annual general meeting of a club that celebrates moustaches.
The Handlebar Club, founded in 1947, includes about 100 members from Britain, as well as dozens of international moustache aficionados.
About 40 men have gathered for the weekend away at the Lansdown Grove hotel.
Secretary Steve Parsons said: 'The
qualification for membership is "a hirsute appendage of the upper lip,
with graspable extremities" and in addition, we specify that beards are
not allowed.'
Barry
Copson, a 44-year-old carpenter from Leicester, said: 'When I joined in
a pub in London, the secretary reached over, took both ends and gave it
a good, hard tug.
'They have known gentlemen who try to join with moustache extensions, like those hair weaves that ladies have, so they have to check.
'I'm
a reasonably young man and I'm a carpenter, so during the week I don't
wax it out and I'm just a guy with a floppy moustache.
'But if I'm going out, I may well wax it up and always notice people do a double take.
'I expect a reaction because with a ridiculous moustache you do stand out.'
Members pay £20 a year to join and wear the maroon club tie, emblazoned with white moustaches, to every meeting.
The club, which also raises money for charity, was founded in the dressing room of actor Jimmy Edwards at the Windmill Theatre in London's Soho.
The Handlebar Club, founded in 1947, includes about 100 members from Britain, as well as dozens of international moustache aficionados.
About 40 men have gathered for the weekend away at the Lansdown Grove hotel.
The club was founded in 1947 and all you need to join is a real moustache - no beards allowed
The club has members from around the world, including Dan Sedererowsky, who flew in from Sweden for the weekend
A Handlebar Club member, left, and club secretary Steve Parsons, right, shows off their waxed moustache tips
'They have known gentlemen who try to join with moustache extensions, like those hair weaves that ladies have, so they have to check.
Carpenter Barry Copson, from Leicester, says he saves the moustache wax for weekends, not working days
Michael Bates from Plymouth poses for a photograph at the Lansdown Grove Hotel in Bath where the club is gathered for its AGM
Club member Gary McCann showed off his neatly-kept moustache
'But if I'm going out, I may well wax it up and always notice people do a double take.
'I expect a reaction because with a ridiculous moustache you do stand out.'
To qualify for membership, the moustache must have 'graspable extremities', as Conrad Amis shows
Members also wear the maroon club tie,
emblazoned with white printed moustaches, to every club meeting, as seen
on Allan Robinson
The club was founded 63 years ago at the Windmill Theatre in London's Soho
The club, which also raises money for charity, was founded in the dressing room of actor Jimmy Edwards at the Windmill Theatre in London's Soho.
Beards are banned in the Handlebar Club - it's strictly moustaches only, as shown by Tom Cutler from Brighton
About 40 members of the Handlebar Club met in Bath this weekend for the annual general meeting
Membership is £20 a year as long as the moustache passes the grabbing test
The chaps of the Handlebar Club are gathering in Bath this weekend for their annual general meeting
