Editorial: Royal nose gets seal of approval

They've said for a long time now that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Which makes one wonder, coincidentally on the day after we reflected on where the nation is at these days, why women of the globe are looking in mirrors to check the conformation of their noses.

Many, according to a report in Britain, are apparently not happy with their own proboscis and with plastic surgery are remodelling along the lines of that of Catherine Elizabeth Mountbatten-Windsor (nee Middleton).

Or Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, as she has been known since she and a prince got their heads together in holy matrimony on April 29, 2011.

The reports say women wanting altered noses are taking up cosmetic surgery influenced by celebrity appearances in bigger numbers than ever, with the newest nose in the Royal Family top of the list of favourites.

That level of popularity will, however, probably wane before long, with a new prince or princess due in July.

Why the nose, I'm not sure, and it certainly befuddled a few blokes musing over some of the patterns of the female wont.

There was a suggestion, somewhere in the air, that the regal derriere might be a more desirable duplication around the household, though recognised that sitting on the real thing must be more comfortable than sitting on a plastic one.

This has to be said, because had there been such a survey of blokes and their views of the most favourable alterable and interchangeable female features, it's highly likely it would have ended up in the bin, not particularly PC.

But, the real issue is: Is it that important?

Our noses, eyes and ears, like all other portions common to the average homo sapien, were provided for good reasons, of which appearance is secondary.

The ear, in surprisingly different forms, is the most ugly, rarely conforming to any rule of beauty, which is perhaps why the ACC, for one, doesn't recognise it as any form of loss unless as a result of an accident you can no longer properly hear with it.

Having been divested of most of one ear, by an act which was somewhat less than surgical, I can't say it was ever a thought that it should be replaced by a more attractive appendage, and, in any case, unless people knew the story, they barely noticed.

Even thinking about it seemed such a waste of time.