This is the story behind my nineteenth piercing, my vertical bridge. I got up early because I was involved in the running of a Socialist Party stall in the middle of Lincoln High Street. The day before, I'd driven my dad across the East Midlands to the prisons he teaches in, and then started my horrendous new job selling double glazing (and, arguably, my soul) over the telephone. Dad gave me some money in return for driving him and I decided to invest in a new body mod after I'd finished campaigning. I'd been searching for new ideas on BME about where next to pierce and I thought I had a vague plan. My vertical bridge and my cheeks were what I had planned for next, although I wasn't at all sure.
At A Glance Author Nick Contact swears_at_geese@hotmail.com When It just happened Artist Tina Studio Blue Banana Location Lincoln, UK So after a successful morning's campaigning, by the end of which I'd sold seven newspapers to various shoppers, I called my friend Ruth to see if she fancied accompanying me. We went down to the studio and I asked Tina what she recommended getting done. She told me the standard list of places to be pierced, and after being tempted by a number of them, including my Madison, I decided upon a vertical bridge. I enquired about the cost and was told it would be £23.98, which I considered a pretty good deal. I've often considered investing in body piercing equipment in order to save some much-needed money, but the idea of piercing myself is pretty reckless without training in it, and I've never found the time to look for a training course.
My partner and I decided to go to the local "alternative" pub for a quick drink before I got myself done. This was the first time I'd actually got a piercing having consumed alcohol the same day. It happens that I'm completely straight-edged (apart from tobacco) before a piercing, which is quite odd because I tend to smoke cannabis fairly regularly and drink fairly regularly too (although not in the day). We arrived at the studio at 16.45, with fifteen minutes to spare before they stopped piercing.
One of the assistants, the only male employed there, said that I was mad to get a vertical bridge piercing. Which I thought slightly odd given the amount of metal in his face, but I remained undeterred and quite excited. I'd not had anything pierced for a couple of months, since my vertical right nipple, and to me there's nothing like the feeling of being involved in a ritual which accompanies getting a part of my body pierced. As I waited, my friend (whose body remains totally unmodified) seemed impressed by the range of tattoos on the walls of the waiting room. I pointed out a cartoon devil, in my opinion pretty appalling as tattoos go, that my sister had got done before she moved to America.
Disconcerting noises coming from the sterilising machine interrupted our conversation. I felt fairly certain that I wouldn't have to wait much longer. Sure enough, Tina came through and invited me into the piercing room. I invited my body-mod virgin to observe. There was a little problem with the specific positioning of the dots she drew on my forehead, because I wear glasses, so I asked her to mark it a little higher so as to avoid the problems I encountered with my inner eyebrows. These never really healed properly because they were in constant contact with my glasses, despite my regular cleaning.
The cold hard smooth sensation as my forehead was clamped brought so many memories back. I began to breathe more deeply in order to make sure the pain was kept to a minimum. Breathing in and out slowly and deeply, I felt the needle enter my body. It was an intense feeling, as though there had been a massive build-up of energy within me. As it went out the other side, the energy was released. I felt exhilarated, and opened my eyes to see Tina fixing the ball back on the bar. And then...I didn't know what to do. I wanted a fanfare. Some sort of sense of occasion was needed. It's like voting. I imagined the exercise of my democratic right would be a remarkable and noble thing. And I ended up spoiling my ballot paper anyway because of the lack of a left-wing alternative. But enough about politics.
I thanked Tina for her work and went to leave the studio. As I was leaving, all the assistants wanted to see how it looked. I hope they were impressed, especially this one girl to whom I must concede I had taken a fancy. But I cannot be blamed for such superficial desires. She had a medusa piercing, and I have to admit to holding a minor (?) obsession for that body mod in particular. I sat outside afterwards, smoked a cigarette, and then returned to the pub and we made a very successful attempt at getting drunk.