World of Chig   

9.3.02

So long Oz - with a permanent reminder



It's Saturday, 12.10pm. Yesterday I finally did something I've been talking about doing for years - I got a tattoo. Nothing too ostentatious, and certainly nothing that will be subject to the whims of fashion. (Celtic bands? Soooooo 1990s dahling.) It's a very simple Taurus symbol, in a vaguely original design (not copied from a book) by the tattooist in collaboration with myself. I told the boys when I arrived here that I wanted one done, and we left it until my last full day to sort it out, but I'm really pleased with it. It's on my upper right arm by the way, hidden by ordinary t-shirts but obviously visible with sleeveless ones. I am particularly thrilled that the tattoo designed and drawn by a guy who is called Happy. Yes, that's his name - I saw his certificate on the wall and got his business card. What a glorious name.

(UPDATE 19/03/02: See a photo of the tattoo above, on 19/03/02)

M&N suggested yesterday that I try to stay a bit longer, and I leapt at the chance. I'm allowed to change my departure flight, but the downer is, there are no spaces available on any Qantas flights for ten days, which is too long. So as it stands, I'll be leaving the flat in four hours, getting my flight home in six. I feel really sad about that - I don't want to leave. It's been a blast. If you've been reading this, thank you, it's meant a lot to me. See you in Blighty, where I will bore you with literally hundreds of photos. Some of them AREN"T of men's backs, believe it or not!

We're going out now to the Bandstand Cafe. It's nearby, and it's the cafe that M&N's previous flat (their second one here) overlooked. Some of you will have seen their photos of it. It's a cute little cafe in the middle of a small park, in waht used to be....can you guess?...a bandstand! It's where we had brunch a week ago, before Mardi Gras, trying to guess where the English skinhead waiter was from, and as we thought, it's Manchester. C ya!

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