MANCHESTER: Since the terror attack, Manchester’s tattoo parlours have been swarmed by requests for tattoos of bees — a symbol of the city and its residents’ deep community spirit.

To beat the crowds, Naomi Johnson arrived early on Friday at a parlour called Tattitude, after its owners said they would donate proceeds to a fund set up to help people affected by Monday’s suicide bombing.

“I just felt I wanted to do something to signify how we are all feeling,” said the 32-year-old neurologist, her left leg lifted on a stool as tattoo artist Jordon wielded the ink needle.

“No city is as good as Manchester,” said Johnson, who wore a summer dress, pink lipstick and sunglasses perched on her forehead.

“The bee is a symbol of hard-working people but also of standing together.” Jordon, 28, etched the image onto her leg and then added on the words: “Stay strong our kid” — a phrase as Manchester as they come, in a city built on hard work during the Industrial Revolution.

“I did 15 yesterday. There are already six people queueing and the morning’s not over yet!” the tattoo artist said. Jordon said he was working on his days off.

The worker bee was adopted as a motif for the city during the Industrial Revolution, during which Manchester rapidly expanded from a small town into a major city and a world centre of factory-based industry.

It symbolises the hard work of Mancunians — as residents are called — and the city being a hive of activity in the 19th century.

The bee also features on the city’s crest, ship HMS Manchester, Boddingtons beer, on the mosaic flooring in the Town Hall and on lamp-posts around the city.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2017