Monday 16 June 2014

Yes I have tattoos, no I am not a thug.

I have a total of 4 tattoos, which really is nothing. Yes, I also have a few piercings but nothing too dramatic; but yet on a daily basis I am judged and on occasion shouted at and verbally abused because I choose to have a few tattoos.
My tattoos are nothing harmful at all, they are to remember people I have lost in my life, they remind me of good and bad times. The one posted below was my first tattoo, it was in memory of my Granny who passed away December 25th 2004. It symbolises a very hard and hurtful time I went through in my life, but I managed to come out of it strong, it makes me who I am today.
 A tattoo I had always wanted was the writing in my last Christmas card in which my Granny had given me. I had known from a young age that at some point I would have this done, and this year in March 2014, I finally got it done. Forever her writing on my arm, a reminder that she will always be with me wherever I am and whenever. (I apologies for bad quality picture)

My last tattoo is one that not until recently I knew what it really meant for me. After having it done over a year ago because I simply liked the design, it presents itself with a lot more meaning now. A symbol of being free and although I have felt down, and rooted like nothing would get better, I feel this tattoo has some how freed me and that even things which if think and dead or old or weeds can turn into something amazing and beautiful. 

So, all I ask is that before you judge someone with tattoos and piercings, please remember they are a person with feelings and their tattoos could be an expression of how they feel, or a coping mechanism or simply because they loved the idea. 

Thanks 

Love yah 
IsThataRedHerring 



Monday 2 June 2014

The Kindness of Strangers

Who knew how kind people on the internet could me?

My mum was frantically searching the house for some old photographs of my Grandad, it's his 70th birthday in June and my mum wanted to do something special for him. After a few days of searching my mum finally found the photographs she was looking for, however they were in bad condition. I'm not good with Photshop or anything technical so I turned to the internet.

I am an avid browser and occasional poster on Imgur,and I thought on the off chance I would see if anyone could help me and my mum with our photo problem. I wasn't all that optimistic but gave it a shot; and within an hour I had people already helping me.

This was the picture my mum wanted, as you can see there was a crease in the picture and a mark where something was stuck to it. It was a amazing how quickly people reacted to my post and began helping straight away. Several people corrected the picture....
And this was the best results....
I was blown away with how amazing it looked, but they didn't stop there.One Imgur user went out of his way to colourise the picture for me, and my mum actually cried because she was so grateful to the person to do this. She was amazed that someone who doesn't even know our family, is willing to do such a nice thing. 
And this is the photo now. I am so shocked at how good it is, he did this in less than an hour. And even fixed and colourised a few other photographs. 

So, all I have to say is there are some wonderful people out there, not everyone on the internet are weirdos! Once again thank you to literallyfigurative for all your help with the photos, you have made my mum and myself very happy. And have restored my faith in humanity.

If you have any stories like mine, an act of kindness from a stranger, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks for reading (sorry it took me a while to post)

Love yah 

IsThataRedHerring