Chic pups and tattooed critters.

I have a tattoo of a seagull on my left ankle. I remember when I was consulting with the artist all those years ago, before I made the trek to their beautiful botanical studio in Leeds, I asked if she could tweak the design they'd sent me so the little guy 'looked happier'. I also wanted him to be a young freckled gull, one who nervously scuttles along the beach and hides behind chimney pots, not an old boy with tired grey wings who squats on your windowsill and honks for food. Some years later I wondered if I should have gone for a more simple design, the wide v-shaped line that those who knew would know it represented one of these loud birds flying toward the horizon or swooping overhead while we sat in our back gardens with cups of lukewarm tea. I could even have leaned into the local imagery, the brand of loyalty, and got a seeaa-gull!! the one they cheer for in stadiums. It would match the one we bought Dad for his birthday (was it his 50th, or 51st?) that he proudly whips his sleeve back to reveal in the members' lounge. I think they're the same, but different. The styles suit the personalities and lives lived. 

People love hearing about my tattoos. Maybe the next story I tell on social media will be about the seagull. It's fairly simple; I grew up by the sea, I love the sea, I love the strange culture and the wildlife - if you can call it that. I'm aware that the 'wildlife' of my seaside town these days mostly consists of daschunds, whippets and other chic pups you can fit in nooks and crannies and handbags. Families of foxes who shriek at you from the bottom of the garden, dig out your solar-powered lights and play so childishly, so sweetly. Badgers, secretive and sly, shuffling under bushes and plotting something wicked. Oh, this is when I realise I have a fox tattoo, also. And a cow, and a couple of cats. Maybe I can do a 'critter tattoo special'; a series of photos or video clips mashed together with my best telephone voice drawling over them about how much I love animals but also how AWESOME they look on my body. I'm excited to someday do a tattoo reel that simply says 'I got this one because it looked cool'. The punchline! It'll be great, just you wait. 

Photo by Bingqian Li.

Thank you for reading.

G. x