Lansdowne Cricket Club stalwart Doug Johnston will be a different man on Saturday night.
So different, in fact, he is wondering whether wife Ann and daughters Chloe, 16 and Tessa, 14, will even be able to recognise him.
And he's not too sure what effect looking in a mirror will have on
himself
either.
Removed from the Johnston facial features will be the moustache which has been there for around 22 or 23 years, all for the good of Lansdowne's junior cricket group, who will benefit from monies raised from the "big event".
"The daughters have never seen me without a moustache, they are a bit worried it could change the whole man," Johnston, 39, quipped yesterday. "And I must admit I'm starting to quiver myself, it'll be like losing an old friend."
Johnston has played cricket for Lansdowne for some 15 years the past six or seven as a regular member of their premier side and it was during a conversation over a few beers at the clubrooms in December when the thought of his moustache being shaved off as a fundraising venture was first raised.
"Sam (Curtis) reckoned we could get at least $150 and it sort of grew from there,"Johnston recalled. "Everyone kept reminding me what a great idea it was, and in the end I gave in."
But not before Johnston conferred with wife Ann. "We make all the big decisions together, and this was a big one," he said. "I think she liked the idea of having a new bloke around!"
Johnston was, however, quick to make one stipulation about the removal process, it would be done by his regular hairdresser, Cheryl Jones, rather than any of the Lansdowne players.
"Hell, I wouldn't risk any of the guys even coming near me," he said. "Imagine what they could do with a razor in their hands."
Johnston will be part of the Lansdowne senior team which takes on Wairarapa College in a Bidwell Cup match on Saturday and plans are for the moustache removal to commence at about 7.30pm at the Lansdowne clubrooms.
