Blue blood

The closest the upper classes used to get to a tattoo was watching the pipers at Edinburgh Castle. But now young aristocrats are going in for the more painful variety, traditionally favoured by sailors. One proud young lord has even had the family crest stencilled into his backside. Is this some new tactic by the well-bred to reclaim some of the ground lost to celebrity royalty like David Beckham, whose body is famously festooned with markings? If so, celebrities should respond by getting their own tattoos surgically removed. That would give them an ideal opportunity to expunge the names of all those ex-partners, not to mention the embarrassing spelling mistakes.