Romesh Ranganathan: I’ve yet to add my youngest son’s name to my tattoos. And now he’s learned to read

He’ll be upset when he discovers that I have both his brothers’ names, along with Richard Pryor and the Albanian flag – that last bagged me a free meal

I have, over the last few years, become obsessed with getting tattooed. It started shortly after the birth of our first son. My wife and I agreed we would both get the boy’s name inked (classy, I know). I went ahead and did it, and then she bottled it – a betrayal for which I am yet to cash in my martyr points (see earlier column for an explanation of how martyr points work). I got another done when my second son was born, but am yet to get a tattoo for our youngest. The clock is ticking, because he is now learning to read, and will be upset when he discovers that, not only have I got his brothers’ names, but also Richard Pryor, Nas, the Roots and the Transformers’ Autobot logo before getting round to him.

As part of a travel show I filmed for BBC Two last year, I visited Albania, where I met an ex-con who offered me a tattoo. I wasn’t completely up to speed on the social etiquette of this situation, but I decided that if you are in a bunker with an ex-con and he suggests inking you, it is probably safer to accept and deal with the repercussions later. I loved Albania, so it didn’t feel that big a deal to get its flag tattooed on my wrist. The producers of the show were slightly more worried, asking if my wife would be upset; but the truth is she is so unbothered by such things that I could get a swastika tattooed on my face and she would probably say, “It’s better than the Autobot one.”

Continue reading...

from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2ZX0WbW