Showing off her tattoo, it’s Felicity, 71
THEY were once reserved for sailors, young rockers and those looking to rebel against their parents.
As Felicity Kendal shows, however, tattoos are now popular with the older generation too.
The actress, 71, has two feathers wrapped around a crescent moon above her right ankle. It was visible as The Good Life star shopped in London wearing snakeskin sandals.
While the eternally youthful actress believes that Botox looks ‘silly’ on older women, she has said tattoos make her feel like ‘a rock chick’.
She had her first tattoo at the age of 63, a small star on her left foot, before becoming hooked and having the bigger piece done a year later.
The star represents her younger son Jake, 31, a barrister. The moon and feathers symbolise elder son, Charley, 45, and his two children. ‘It’s wonderful,’ she said. ‘Gave me such a buzz. I think I could get addicted. It’s something you do that’s just about you. Nobody else.
‘Thank God I waited to see where the saggy bits were before having them done. The family, of course, were absolutely horrified.’
Feather tattoos are said to symbolize attributes of birds, including courage, freedom and travel, while a crescent moon tattoo is thought to represent celestial powers, as well as fertility and femininity.
Dame Judi Dench, 83, had the Latin phrase ‘carpe diem’ – ‘seize the day’ – tattooed on her wrist for her 81st birthday, while David Dimbleby, 79, was 75 when he had a black scorpion inked on his shoulder.