73-year-old Robert Luff is a granddad who got inked for the first time last year. He now has a full sleeve spreading from his left arm to his chest. It all started when his wife bought him a voucher for a tattoo shop in Christmas 2017 – although it took him a few months to pluck up the courage to visit.
Retired Robert, who built and repaired ships at Bristol Harbor for 15 years, says the ink is partly a way of honoring his deceased former workmates. All of the tattoos are connected to the sea – a grand ship is the centerpiece on his upper arm surrounded by a treasure chest, cannon, mermaid and other maritime art.
Robert said: ‘I had always wanted tattoos but I needed time to ponder what I was going to get. A lot of people think I’m stupid for doing it. ‘You can see on their faces, they’re thinking, “That silly old twit. Why is he doing that?” ‘Maybe they think I’m too old. At least my wife is quite happy with it.
‘She knew what she was letting herself in for when she bought the voucher, so she can’t complain.’ Robert always felt drawn to the sea. His father had worked on Bristol’s docks and Robert followed at the age of 15. By the time he was 21, he was managing the shipyard. He describes it as “hard work, but it was a great laugh”.
Robert’s tattoos are not only a tribute to the workmates he has lost, but also to his cousin Mike Weller, who died in 2017. The pair used to go diving together and had some ‘great memories’, and Robert wanted something to remind him of his loved one. ‘Within a week or two of me getting that tattoo, the sextant turned up at my door.
I thought something uncanny was going on.’ Asked if he plans to get more body art, he replied: ‘I don’t know about getting a lot more. ‘I want to get some that go down the left side of my torso, or my right arm.’ ‘I never expected to get so many tattoos, so I don’t really know how many more I will get.’