News / Cleo Lake
Lord mayor to get Bristol-themed tattoo to mark her year in office
It has been a year to remember for Bristol lord mayor Cleo Lake.
To mark her 12 months in office permanently, the Cotham ward councillor and Green Party EU election candidate, is getting a tattoo of a mythical symbol of the city.
Lake will be getting tattooed on Thursday evening as part of a special event at the M Shed marking Museums At Night.
is needed now More than ever
Her tattoo will be a unicorn from the city’s coat of arms with a ribbon underneath saying ‘Bristol’.
One story goes that the architect who put the unicorns on top of City Hall made sure their posterior pointed in the direction of a rival’s house
“I heard a whisper back in February about the tattoo exhibition and the late live ink session and sort of put myself forward for it,” Lake told Bristol24/7.
“It seemed like an amazing way to round off what has been an incredible year as lord mayor.”
Lake said that she is “in love with” the two golden dappled unicorns on the roof of City Hall and on the lord mayor’s chain of office, which have often been a big hit with children while she has been on school visits.
Her Scottish heritage has also played a part in her decision to get the tattoo: “According to Scottish heraldry the unicorn can bring a certain magic if the circumstances are correct, if people act in a way that is virtuous.”
Cleo Lake on the day she was sworn in as lord mayor in May 2018 – photo by Jon Craig
She added: “I have been inspired by the energy of the city’s schoolchildren and so many other people putting in a lot of effort for Bristol.
“I think we will see a lot of magic in Bristol one day soon because it is a very very special place. I was born here and it has been an honour that money could never buy to be the First Citizen.”
This tattoo will go on the back of Lake’s shoulder and later in the year she is also planning a larger more complex design for her thigh.
It will not be Lake’s first tattoo either. On her lower back is a large Ghanaian symbol, known as an Adinkra, of epa – the symbol of law and justice, slavery and captivity; with a small swallow in the colours of the Jamaican flag on the base of her neck carrying an Ankh key of life in its beak.
Cleo and mini Cleo, wearing the lord mayor’s official robes and chain of office
Read more: 12 Bristol unicorns you might not know about
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