Sunderland pub staff and regulars get matching tattoos for Alzheimer's Society

They did it! Seven women, five of whom had never been tattooed before, have been inked to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society.
The women show off their tattoos of forget-me-nots, the emblem of the Alzheimer's Society.The women show off their tattoos of forget-me-nots, the emblem of the Alzheimer's Society.
The women show off their tattoos of forget-me-nots, the emblem of the Alzheimer's Society.

Staff and regulars at The Avenue on Zetland Street in Roker held a series of a events to support the charity. They included a disco, karaoke and a raffle.

But central to the fundraising was the tattooing of the forget-me-not, the flower used as the emblem of the Alzheimer’s Society.

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One of the seven, bar worker Sharon Campbell, did not look forward to going under the needle. But her sacrifice raised around £350 of the total amount, which so far stands at about £3,400.

From left Sue Mason, Joan Bute, Sharon Campbell, Danielle Campbell, Julie Boad and Gillian Dixon. Missing is Marie Bute. All seven were tattooed to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society.From left Sue Mason, Joan Bute, Sharon Campbell, Danielle Campbell, Julie Boad and Gillian Dixon. Missing is Marie Bute. All seven were tattooed to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society.
From left Sue Mason, Joan Bute, Sharon Campbell, Danielle Campbell, Julie Boad and Gillian Dixon. Missing is Marie Bute. All seven were tattooed to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society.

The other six were Marie Bute, Joan Bute, Sue Mason, Danielle Campbell, Julie Boad and Gillian Dixon. They were later joined by three men; Jeff Arnott, Steve Stores and his son Ben Stores. The tattoos were put a wrist of each person.

Most of the 10 newly inked have been affected in some way by Alzheimer’s. Sharon lost her dad, Chris Allsopp, to Alzheimer’s in 2006.

She said: “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt a bit. But it wasn’t too bad. I don’t regret it. I love it. I actually got more done than I said I would. I also got the infinity sign in memory of my dad.

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“The money is still coming in, in dribs and drabs. When we started out we were only aiming for £1,000. We had a coffee morning and bingo. Later we had a pub crawl; we went round the other pubs in Roker carrying charity buckets.

“Then we had a disco, karaoke and a raffle. Four of the lads performed a balloon dance and it was hilarious.

“The night was over so quickly. It was a brilliant evening.

Sharon had a special word for Dale Henry of the Roker Tattoo Studio on North Bridge Street.

She added: “He did them all 10 of them for free, then gave a £50 donation and turned up on the night.”

Dale said: “It resonated with me because Alzheimer’s affected my father. I found it quite cathartic. I felt as if I was giving something back.”