Inked!

Nothing relevant to healthcare this time.............

You may recall a post entitled "Just do it"? Well I did it, or rather a very pleasant young man called Jack did it for me.

45 minute drive to a town I used to know reasonably well in a previous part of my life. Parking was, as predicted, a nightmare and incredibly expensive once I had found a space which was no easy feat. It was always pretty affluent, but the recession seems to have passed this place by; I think that the term is "conspicuous consumption". If I was rich and could afford to have the principles, the sights I saw might make me think seriously about becoming a socialist!

Tucked away in a very old part of the town centre full of designer this, that and the other, was a tiny shopfront which housed the tattoo emporium. Entering was a bit like going into a reverse version of the Tardis: it was small on the outside, but tiny on the inside!

Waited for a real "hooray Henry" of about 18 to finish his enquiry and explained that I had an appointment with Jack. First thing he did was offer me a nut from a bag of them he was eating. Don't know about you, but I found it really quite reassuring about meeting someone who is about to puncture you with needles and the first thing they do is offer to share their lunch with you; must be a throwback to days long gone.

The downstairs room in the emporium was tiny, the staircase to the upstairs room was even smaller! You know when you see films about people squeezing through claustrophobic gaps in caves? You get the idea..............

Jack went to prepare the stencil based on my design and left me to listen to the really good mix of music playing whilst looking at his artwork framed on the walls of the room. His Japanese dragon (3 toes) and Koi were absolutely amazing.

Chat about why I was having the work done, life, the universe and everything, new kit taken from sterile bags and away we went......

You may have heard that having a tattoo hurts. I think that this must depend on your pain threshold and (I expect) where the tattoo is being applied. Either I have a high threshold or arms are not a sensitive area; it was not at all painful.

Two hours of diligent work on Jack's part and a few interruptions ensued. The interruptions were great fun, particularly when one of his clients / friends dropped in to give him a present from Seattle. This chap took at look at what Jack was doing on my arm and made approving noises. Jack then asked him how the work on his back was, so he showed us: a superb dragon covered most of it!

All in all, a really fun experience and a glimpse into another sub-culture with some really friendly people who were not at all phased by the old bloke coming in for his first ever tattoo. It was more like being welcomed into a new "family".

Job done, time to settle up. You may recall that I described the town this is happening in as being incredibly affluent, but did not tell you its name. There is a reason for that........a precaution just in case the tax man ever reads this.

Jack asked if I had been given a quote (I hadn't), then suggested a figure which he was clearly happy to negotiate about. Call me old fashioned, but if someone gives excellent service, devotes their skills to you for 2 hours and quotes a lower figure than you expected, I think that it would have been appallingly rude to negotiate. Bit of a catch: cash only! In one of the richest towns in the country, what a relief to find a business that deals in cash. However, I did not have enough on me and told him I would need to go to the bank machine. "I will trust you" was the instant response..................

If you live in the south of the country and intend to get a tattoo, you could not go anywhere better! If anyone wants the name of the business and its address, happy to give them if you drop me a note.

Was at a bit of a loss for an appropriate song, but the title of this one seems to fit and it is sung by one of the all time greats:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TG7AqzyQQU