A Black Isle man is no longer living up to his name after getting his beard cut off.
Phil Baarda’s surname means “the bearded one” in Dutch but he has sacrificed 25 years of growth – all to help good causes.
Mr Baarda, 48, of Avoch, sat in the hotseat at his workplace at Scottish Natural Heritage in Inverness, in front of family and colleagues for the five minutes of beard shearing.
The woodland advisor dyed pink and green stripes into his beard on Monday, with the person who donated most to charity getting to choose the colours.
Work colleague Lesley Fraser did the honours with a set of clippers inside the offices at Great Glen House on Leachkin Road.
Mr Baarda has long been poked fun of about his eccentric beard, regularly being compared to Santa, Captain Birdseye and more recently, Roy Wood, lead singer of 1970s band Wizard.
He was nervous in the moments leading up to the clipping but said he felt a sense of relief afterwards.
He added: “This is a bit of an ‘anti-Movember’ stunt I suppose. But it seemed a good time to do it before it gets too cold. It’s good to get it done before Christmas because people would just tell me to keep it if it was any closer to Christmas.”
“It’s phenomenal that we have raised this much for charity so far.”
The three charities are Highland Hospice, Crohn’s and Colitis UK and Water Aid, and so far more than £1,300 has been raised for these good causes.
Mr Baarda’s parents, John and Ann Baarda, were there with his youngest daughter, eight-year-old Leah, to give him some moral support.
Mr Baarda senior also reacted well to his son’s new looks. He said: “It’s great. He looks 20 now instead of 48. There was once upon a time when he kept it trimmed. It takes some real courage to go for it like that, though. It will take a bit of getting used to.”
