Tattoos: Art? Or a pain in the arse?

I am a great fan of the English language, and language in general, and enjoy finding out how words and phrases are linked, how they evolved and their counterparts in other languages. Equally interesting, I find the use of English by foreigners a source of much smug chuckling, over spellings and grammar. That is not to say that native English speakers don’t make mistakes, like the ‘food now been served’ notice outside a pub close to where I work.

When we lived in Warsaw, I would find the sports footwear shop Athlete’s Foot highly amusing every time I went past it. Childish humour, but very satisfying. So it was with great delight that I spotted this sign outside a Katowice tattooists. I stared in disbelief, mouth open, at the first sight of the sign and was even more aghast at finding out they have not one, but two shops in the town centre. Surely someone understands enough to explain to them. When Agnieszka translated for a friend, the friend’s face registered a kind of shocked laughter.

I can only shudder at where they would offer to pierce...