On the matter of tattoo...

Ben Harper (the blues man) is a fairly frequent visitor to these shores. His last visit, a few weeks back, was recorded for tv news/doco. This is why -













Now Harper might not be the "bluesman" of my choice but I have one heck of a lot of respect for him.

His moko is being created by a young chap here in Auckland. It is a work in progress, as one might expect. The moko form is (as I understand it) a modern translation of the traditional forms.

My respect for Harper comes from his reply to just one question. The interviewer asked if he would get full facial moko. Harper's reply was "That would be a very big step. I would certainly not ask. It would need to be offered by the right people."

(Eye-catcher - why is he wearing a shirt featuring the Aussie flag?)