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Running the London Marathon for Sarcoma UK

Part 1 of Things&Ink editor Alice Snape’s Marathon Diary…

Around three weeks ago, I got the news that I had been waiting for…  I had been accepted to run the London Marathon 2015 for the cancer charity Sarcoma UK …

My heart filled with a mix of excitement, fear and happiness. Excitement, as running the marathon has always been one of those things I want to achieve, and fear, as I have never run close to that distance in my life. I have slowly been building my fitness levels over the past five months, and really enjoying the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle. But a marathon is a whole new level entirely and I am ready for the challenge (I hope). It feels like the right time to do it and for a charity that is very close to my heart.

Alice Snape running for Sarcoma UK

Let me tell you a little bit about why I applied to run the London Marathon for Sarcoma UK.  My boyfriend’s sister, Katherine, died from Sarcoma over three years ago, in fact she died just a few short months before James and I met. James and his mum, Glenys, support the work of Sarcoma UK to help other families who are affected by Sarcoma. I never knew Katherine, although over the years that James and I have been together, I have slowly learnt more about her – what sort of person she was and her likes and dislikes. In some way, I guess I want to fundraise for Sarcoma to pay tribute to Katherine, who I never met,  but so wish I could have. This is also the reason, why I chose to give all the profits from ‘Miniature Ink’ (the collaborative exhibition with Atomica gallery to celebrate Things&Ink’s two year birthday) to the charity.

But on a very selfish level, I also want to run the marathon, I want to see if I can physically achieve it. To see if I can run the entire distance and do it in a time that I can feel proud of… I am currently on week 3 of the official London Marathon training plan, and I am enjoying being competitive with myself. Beating my own times, and gradually building up the time and distance I can run. (I recently downloaded the RunKeeper app and completely obsessed with miles per minute and figuring out what my “race pace” might be).

So I am running this marathon for Katherine, for James and his mum, for those who are affected by Sarcoma, to support the work of this wonderful charity and, mostly, for myself, because I want to say I have ran a marathon, and also because I want to say that I ran it for Sarcoma UK. So please give as little or as much as you can, so that I can think of all those pennies when I am doing training runs in the cold and dark over winter… Here’s a link to my justgiving page.

I will be keeping you all updated on how my training is going over the coming months in ‘My Marathon Diary’ on this blog, so please offer words of support and encouragement…

Find out more about Sarcoma UK, on their website, www.sarcoma.org.uk, and in previous blog posts.

 

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Issue 9 cover reveal, with tattoo artists “stripped back”

Our favourite time in the Things&Ink calendar… the cover reveal!

And issue 9 is an iconic and very special issue of Things&Ink. We have created three beautiful covers, and you can choose which you’d like to add to your collection. Perhaps, more significantly, and for the first time ever, we have featured both sexes. With our recent change in brand identity (from Embracing Female Tattoo Culture to Independent, Tattoo, Lifestyle), we felt it was important to truly represent this, not just inside the pages of the magazine, but on the most important page, the one that first draws you in – the front cover.

The covers feature four different artists – one woman, one man and one couple – just as they are. Not staged or art directed, all natural – stripped back. Flo Nuttall, Brian Wilson, and Yann Brenyak and Delphine Noiztoy, were all a pleasure to photograph, and each of their personalities shines through in their covers. You can read their personal interviews, view their work and the rest of the photos from the shoots in the issue, which is available to purchase from our website, www.thingsandink.com/buy.

Let us know which is your favourite…

1/3 Flo Nuttall, photographed by Heather Shuker
Make-up Keely Reichardt 
Styling Olivia Snape
Covers designed by James Gilyead 

2/3 Brian Wilson, photographed by Céline Aieta
Beard styled by Ema Findley, using Bear Face Beard Oils

3/3 Yann Brenyak and Delphine Noiztoy, photographed by Mark Leaver.
Make-up Keely Reichardt
Styling Olivia Snape

 

Stripped back cover reveal

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First Tattoo at 90

On her 90th birthday Grandma Heather Brooks from Canterbury got her first tattoo!

Heather chose a Cancer Research pink ribbon to signify her victory after a five year battle with cancer. Her two grandchildren are tattooed and persuaded her to commemorate her birthday with her very first tattoo.

It just seemed to me to be a fitting tribute to Cancer Research, who do such good work. I owe my life to them. I am also lucky to have an amazing family around me.

Images and quote from Kentonline.co.uk

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Death Under Glass

Have you ever wondered what your tattoo looks like magnified? Have you found it hard to visualise where it sits in the layers of skin?

The Death Under Glass exhibition at The Mutter Musuem, Philadelphia, USA  is a collection of microscopic art has been created and curated by medical examiner Marianne Hamel, MD, PhD and forensic photographer Nikki Johnson. The photographs of magnified human tissue, have been taken post-mortem and are on show until the 16th December.

Red tattoo pigment 400x:

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Do Not Resuscitate Tattoo

Nel Bolton, from The Hauge in the Netherlands, has had the words ‘Do Not Resuscitate me! I’m 91’ tattooed on her chest. She hopes that if she falls ill the doctors and her family will follow her wishes and respect her right to die.

In the Netherlands there is much debate concerning whether these types of tattoos are legally binding and also whether paramedics and other medical staff should follow the declaration.

Ms Bolton is not the first to have a tattoo of this sort, but her’s is the biggest. In 2011 Joy Tomkins had the statement tattooed on her chest in a bid to stop Doctors from reviving her.

 

 

Images from Daily Mail and Abroath