Beaten With an Ugly Stick?

Join the club:

The ugly are seeking refuge from a hostile world in a German club specially founded to cater for their needs and allay their anxieties.

Hamburg's Ugly Club requires of its members only that they identify the one thing about themselves that they are most unhappy about. Stomachs are at the top of the list, followed by noses and hips.

Harald Gasper, a creative director in an advertising agency with a jowly face and a big nose, established the club with his wife Regina, a tall journalist with big feet.

.... Among the club's role models are Angela Merkel, the new German chancellor, whose own lack of regard for her looks has attracted much criticism, the Duchess of Cornwall and the singer, Janis Joplin.