Jonny Wilkinson: Pays to listen to wife's advice when it comes to hairstyle

Jonny Wilkinson's combover hairdo was heavily influenced by Peaky Blinders; a British period crime drama television series created by Steven Knight. Photo / Supplied

A DIFFERENT LIGHT

Sometimes you need to listen to people around you. Sometimes you need to take stock and make a change. And sometimes you need to realise that things do not look as great as you thought.

I've been sporting a combover hairdo for the past couple of years. When I was younger I adamantly declared that if I started to go bald I would shave my head instantly and that would be that.

However I was heavily influenced by Peaky Blinders; a British period crime drama television series created by Steven Knight.

The 1920s crime gang all sported variations of the combover. It's a short crop with shaved sides and back. But the top is still significantly longer. Photo / Supplied

Set in Birmingham, England, the series follows the exploits of the Shelby crime family in the direct aftermath of the World War I.

The 1920s crime gang all sported variations of the combover, which looked to me just as good now as 100 years ago.

It's a short crop with shaved sides and back. But the top is still significantly longer.

Perfect I thought, stylish, gangsterish - with the bonus of covering my bald spot. I set about growing my hair out on top to the point where I could slick it back with an ample amount of product.

It took a fair amount of maintenance with frequent appointments to my hairdresser Marty, and a rather involved morning procedure plastering my hair with a product that set like bitumen, but I was happy with the look, at least from where I was looking: dead ahead in the mirror.

Over the past couple of months my wife Sally has been urging me to change my hairstyle, telling me it's too long and lank and looks like extreme from the back.

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I had been stubbornly ignoring her advice until this week. I had a sudden flash of realisation that this haircut wasn't that flash.

I think my friend Robbie underpinned it when he said, "your combover is getting a bit thin".

I went to the hairdressers and got my hair closely cropped all over and shaved on the sides. It was actually very liberating not having to worry about my long hair being locked into place not having to worry about long strands of hair hanging down.

It's a fresh "get up and go'' kind of a feeling. I have always been very particular about my appearance, bordering on being vain, some people have brutally claimed.

However, when you have a very visible physical disability like cerebral palsy, you want to accentuate the positive. Easier when you're young but as you get older it does get harder.

Sometimes there's "no fool, like an old fool" but I am grateful for my wife's harsh but appropriate advice.

• Jonny Wilkinson is the CEO of Tiaho Trust - Disability A Matter of Perception, a Whangarei-based disability advocacy organisation.