Traditional colour tattoo of a swallow above a cherry pie with banners reading FRESH and TIL DEATH, on the outer thigh.

Swallow and cherry pie on a thigh

Traditional · Thigh · Colour · Photo

A traditional-style tattoo shows a swallow in flight above a lattice-topped pie filled with red cherries, with a small cluster of flowers beside the bird. Two scrolled banners read FRESH and TIL DEATH, and the design is outlined in bold black linework. Bright reds, yellows, greens and blues are set against the skin, with soft shading on the pie crust and bird.

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A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Ottilie,

Keep reading

The customs man at Dover lifted the cloth off the tray, looked at the lattice for a long moment, and asked whether the pie was fresh. I told him it had been fresh at four this morning, which is the truth, and he waved us through with a face that suggested he would be thinking about it all afternoon. Your nephew wanted a slice on the kerb. I said no. We have a promise to keep to the Calais people, and the cherries would be warm and sad by the time we reached the services.

Mum's recipe still has the splash of vinegar in the filling. I do not care what the books say about it. Tucked under the windscreen wiper is the postcard you sent with the swallow stamp, the one that arrived the week Dad's boat went round the headland for the last time. I meant to tell you the swallows are back on the harbour wall. Three pairs, nesting under the lamp where the old fish crate used to sit, and they dive at the gulls like they own the place.

We have the van booked onto the six o'clock crossing, so if the queue behaves we will be on the far side of the water before the tide turns. Keep the kettle warm. I have a bag of Kentish cherries in the cool box that would make even the customs man weep, and I have promised them to you before anyone else gets a look in.

Save me the corner of the crust you always fought over.

Love, Hen

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