The Attunga watering hole is one of 19 pubs and clubs throughout the region participating in the UGLY fundraising promotion for blood cancer, where publican Warren Miller had four fundraisers scheduled, winding up with the November 13 Blue Night.

And whether he’d downed a couple of sherbets or not, popular – and rather hairy – patron Steve Norris was being heckled around the bar about his need to be waxed. His reply: “yes, I’ll do it if you raise a couple of hundred”.

All those present immediately took Steve up on the offer, even admitting they’d “cough up the money ourselves” just to witness the operation.

So if $200 is raised, Steve will be the focus of a public waxing on the night.

“I initially thought ‘Geez, what have I done?’, but then reckoned ‘what the heck, it’s for a good cause’,” Steve said.

And when quizzed on whether they’d offered him anything to bite on during the waxing process – “Yes. Warren Miller’s (publican) arm,” he joked.

Prior to the Blue Night (where patrons don anything blue), the pub staged a poker afternoon which ran into the evening’s Halloween celebrations.

Meanwhile, up Inverell way, Tash Furnell is focused on the Australia Hotel being the first to win back to back UGLY bartender crowns after taking it out last year with a massive $14,000.

“We’ve already raised $10,000, but I’d like to raise $20,000 this year,” said Tash, who juggles fulltime work at the Commonwealth Bank with being one of the hotel’s late-night managers.

“We’ve sold hot dogs the whole way through (the fundraiser runs October 1 to November 16) and we make UGLY cocktails.

“The UGLY Games yesterday raised $6000, and for three weeks we’ve been playing non-stop Justin Bieber and raised $2000,” she said.

Rounding off the Inverell effort will be the seafood night/local band jam on Friday night.