And not a minute tattoo soon

Have you been needled by the tattoo shops being closed?

It was a treasured tradition long before the Millennials hijacked tattoos for themselves to get inked on holidays.

And you’ve got the permanent marker on your shoulder, forearm or ankle of your national flag or ‘Mum and Dad’.

To remind you of when you and your pal had them daubed in Majorca on your 18-30 holiday.

I’m all ears

For me and my much-storied Aberdeen Uni friend Toothy Aberdeen – a light in the north and www.visitabdn.com it was ear piercings.

As always I couldn’t hide it from my Dear Old Dad.

I took out the sleeper and it bled when I put it back in which meant I had to ask Dad, a GP for surgical spirit.

Cultural trip

‘You homosexual you’ve had you’re ear pierced,’ he shot back. Different times and in truth he treated every patient in his surgery with care.

Enough nostalgia already here is a scroll through tattoo culture.

Tattoo originated, not as I’d always thought from the Maoris of New Zealand but the Tahitians.

Their word is ‘tattau’ meaning to strike or tap.

Tahiti treatie

Tahiti resonates with us through the story of Fletcher Christian and the Mutiny on the Bounty and Paul Gauguin.

Tattoos signify social distinctions on Tahiti but they differ through the archipelago. And gender.

For men and women

On Marquesas the women get the better of the deal with tattoos applied to their faces, arms, legs and fingers.

While men had their genitals drilled.

Maybe go to the Society Islands where your privates remain private. Visit https://tahititourisme.uk/en-gb/.

Tahiti is the exotic and cultural trip you’ve always dreamt of and during lockdown they’ve been tempting us.

With food, dance and language tutorials, while you can also adopt a coral.

Asian adventures

Now I’m virtually there, it’s just a matter of doing like Fletcher Christian and staging a mutiny here from the Scary One and getting myself out there.

Because I do love a scattering of Asian islands… https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/08/12/atoll-tale-the-maldives and http://www.kuramathi.ie/.

MEET YOU AT THE PARLOUR