Granger 25
- This article is a Biography
- Chapter 25 - Ears and nostrils done
During the summer of 1950, the next opportunity came, and I told her that I wanted to do some more piercings on her ears, also, if she were to ask me nicely I would pierce her nostrils as well. I said I wanted one piercing between the upper pair and the one done in the side. Also a piercing in the little tab or gristle in front of the middle of each ear. She was not keen about this but I insisted that it would be a fascinating place to wear an ear stud, and I had seen this mentioned in an old copy of London Life, so it certainly could be done, although I could see it might present some difficulties. These could be done on one evening and her nostrils on the next.
She therefore prepared herself for the operation by once more dressing up in her highest heels and low cut velvet frock. First of all I decided to see how we could make her breast nipples really heal up. They had been no trouble but were not properly established, nor had I seen the holes. So carefully bathing them in spirits, I opened the ring, and drew it gently out. There before me was a nice clean hole, showing on each side of the rosy tip. I took a length of white embroidery cotton, and putting the small end of a steel crochet book through, after sterilising it well, and greasing it, I got it right through quite easily and pushed it in until she yelled that I was hurting her with the stretching. I looped a length of the cotton on the hook, soaked it. with silver nitrate, as I had done on my own ears long ago, then pulled it back, burning and cauterising through the hole. Then through the looped end I now put quite a large number of threads, soaked in alum, greased with ointment, and worked them through, finally tying the ends together, and leaving the loop of threads through the piercing. The other nipple was then done likewise and left. Every few days we would resoak the threads in alum or silver nitrate, and work then back and forth until the threads began to come through quite freely and dry. The holes were now well formed. So I made a plastic spear, which was about 8 BA threaded on one end and parallel for a distance to this size, after which it began to taper larger until the other end for a length before the small head was a good ½ inch. There was a long nut, which was made so that it would go on right to the larger part. The threads were cut away and withdrawn, then with ointment the smaller end of the tapered rod was inserted and without too much trouble pushed through until a small nut could be screwed on. The other nipple was as similarly treated. Every day or so we pushed the taper further until at last it was right up to the far end, when the long nut was put on and left so. After wearing this for some mouths her nipples really became healed, and I made a pair of tetons, with 1/8 inch silver rods, with a pearl screwed on each end, which really looked attractive, and she wore those for quite a long time before we took then out to see quite large holes through ready for further stretching.
This business of threading the cotton through was easily accomplished and turned her on for the rest of the work. The rest took many months. However back to work. This time I used the old type of piercer with the needle point and the silver tube, but I intended using the pink perspex studs from the very beginning. The apparatus was sterilised and the studs also, the hypodermic loaded in readiness. I sterilised her ears in both places and then gave her an injection in the side of each ear. The cork was held behind, while a strong steady pressure on the handle drove the needle point through her flesh until it was right in up to the handle. It was as trouble at all, for the pink plastic stud was pulled through and the nut screwed up tightly at the back. Nor was there any trouble with the second ear, and she now had a new pair of piercings in each ear.
Now came the difficult ones. The trouble was to get a cork behind the little tabs, as there was little room to work, but by cutting a cork down I was now able to wedge it into her earhole behind the tab. The hypodermic was applied and an injection given, then the spear point was driven home. I had had made a very short pointed needle to fit in the silver tube and it was well I had done so. It was a bit more painful, as it was gristle to pierce through and it was extremely awkward to get the cork away, as it was pinned with the needle in place, but by careful wriggling the cork, it at last came away with the short point, leaving the silver tube in situ. Even then the troubles were not over, for I had to get hold of the end of the silver tube inside her earhole and pull it through. This I did by means of a pair of long nosed pliers. The plastic stud had been put on the end so this was eventually drawn through. Holding the tiny nut with the pliers I turned the stud from outside so this was at last screwed tightly. Then she turned her head and prepared to face the last one on the other side and soon that too was done, giving her 8 piercings on each side.
We kissed passionately afterwards and she said, "Darling! Do you like your wife's prettily decorated ears?" I said, "Yes. Sweetheart. And what are you going to ask me Tomorrow?" To which she replied, "What do you want me to ask?" I replied, "I would like to hear baby Effie say, "Sweetheart, little Effie would like Bill to pierce her nostrils. So will you please pierce my nostrils, Bill Darling for me." She said, "I think, perhaps one nostril will do to begin with, to see how it looks and how it goes, but if you are a good boy, perhaps I will do so for you."
Her ears were quite normal by the morning, for the perspex seemed to work wonderfully well. The piercings on top of her ears I had made some months before were now ornamented with two more pairs of pearl studs, which caused even more stir and attention from those who spotted them, but she soon got used to them too.
So dawned that eventful day, when I was to pierce her right nostril. Getting her in the right mood, I put my arms around her tiny waist and said, "What has little Wifie to say to me?" Just like a woman, she prevaricated by saying, "What does Bill, Darling, want me to say?" I said, "You know what you want to ask me to do so let me hear you say it." She then whispered to me "Bill Darling! Effie would like to know if you would like to pierce her nostril, and will you please pierce it for her now?"
I kissed her and said, "My precious, I will pierce your pretty little nostril right away and I will not hurt you a little bit." So I got ready the silver tube piercer and the little pink stud. The hypodermic was loaded and everything prepared. Then she snuggled her head in my arm, whilst I sterilised her nostril, inside and out. I then inserted a small cork up inside her nostril and with a quick jab, I drove the hypodermic needle home, to give her about ½oz of novocaine, leaving it in for a minute, to act while I resterilised her nostril with spirit.
She snuggled in closer as I picked up the piercer and selected the place into which I would drive it home. There in the centre of the right nostril, where the flesh curves in naturally, was obviously a suitable place, about ½ inch from the edge. Holding her firmly, for she was rather nervous because she could see the thing coming right to her, in front of her eyes, which she could not do when I was piercing her ears, I then gave the handle a firm steady pressure. The point pricked in, she flinched a bit, but holding her firmly I increased the pressure, saw it penetrate and so on in until I felt it come out into the cork inside. Another good push and it was well home, right through.
She gave a little cry and said, "Bill Darling! Have you done it for me?" "Yes, Sweetheart, your nostril is now pierced and all I have to do now is to pull the stud into place. If you look in the mirror you will see that the silver tube is now transfixing your nostril, ready for the final episode." I had the same trouble getting the cork and spear point out of the confined space as I had with the tabs of her ears, but finally the silver tube was pushed through with the pink stud on the end. She held her head back until I could screw the little nut in place, then she was able to survey the damage.
It really was not noticeable, although I am certain that some people did notice it, but having no idea what it was passed few comments. She also said that it had not hurt at all although she could see going through. The fact remains, that from that moment her nostril was pierced and will remain so for the rest of her life. One of the neighbours did pass a comment about what was that she could see on her nose, this was one day while it was sore, and at a later date she said, "I believe you have had your nostril pierced now. I expect one day you will get the other one done too."
However, in about three weeks, as the hole then seemed quite normal, for it had healed quickly, I unscrewed the little stud and slipped it out, to see a nice, neat, round little hole, which would be quite obvious if left uncovered, but otherwise, no more disfiguring than those to be seen frequently in the nostrils of the several Indian women who lived in the town, and whose nostrils, or at least one nostril was obviously pierced, although I rarely saw them wearing any jewels therein, more's the pity. I did however, see one with a beautiful gold ornament fixed through the tops of each ear.
A new stud was pushed back, but not before we tried the effect of a jewelled stud and also a pendant ornament, and she had to admit that it was altogether charming, and in no way disfiguring. In fact we both said that we could not see why women did not fall for this type of jewellery, for it adds sparkle to a beautiful face in every way. Indian women certainly know what they were doing when they adopted this fashion. The new stud was made rather larger than the first one, in fact to match the swollen size of the one removed.
Her ears, where newly pierced, were also bathed and the perspex stud taken out, to be replaced by pearl studs. This edged all round her cars with little pearl studs, and one in the front tab too, which made them very noticeable, especially as I now insisted that she should dress her hair high upon her head, so that her ears were fully exposed to view. She was rather reluctant, at first, to go out with 7 pearl studs and a pearl hoop pendant in each ear as she said it was too much, but it was surprising how soon she got used to it, and so did the people who saw her and knew her, so that after a week or so they took little notice of the lavish adornment. Occasionally you would see some stranger catch sight of her ears for the first time, see their eyes open wide as they saw all those on each ear, then perhaps later you would find them walking round her to look at the back to see if they were all pierced separately, or not. I found it highly amusing. I also learned that if the wearer of any unconventional ornament or dress acts as though she is doing nothing out of the ordinary, so she is apparently unconscious of doing anything abnormal, then it will be accepted without query by most.
In two months the ears and nostrils were healed, except for one snag. That was the little stud on the right ear tab, which due to difficulty, had been done too near the edge so that it had torn through or perhaps just grown out, for there was no bleeding or pain, it just dropped away. It had been put in too close to the edge, being just through the skin and not through the gristle, as it had been difficult getting the cork in far enough, and the pressure of the gristle when sleeping had forced the stud out through the thin edge. I was therefore determined to do it again, and got it well in this time, and at the same time I suggested this would be the last chance for some time for her to ask me to do her other nostril.
Therefore, when the opportunity came, I resterilised the tools, and the little tab on her ear, but this time I drove the piercer well into the flesh, and when I had it through I put the pearl stud in -right away so that it would match the one on the other side and we had very little trouble with that one. Then I asked her if she wanted me to do anything more, and after some hesitation she murmured that the would like her Darling Bill to pierce her other nostril for her.
So I bathed her nostril with spirits inside and out, then gave her an injection of novocaine. After a few minutes I picked up the piercer, and this time with her head firmly cradled in my arms I selected the spot on the side, to match that on the right already done, then pushed steadily on the needle, feeling it prick home through the flesh, out on the other side, then driven in right up to the handle. She squealed a bit, but it was done, so she allowed me to put the pink stud into place through her nostril fix on the nut and the job was done. She raised her lips to mine and said, "Kiss your little savage wife." I said, "Yes, Sweetheart, you really enjoyed it I believe, for all women are primitive savages under the skin, but your nostrils are both well and truly pierced, and I fully expect one day to hear you say to me nicely that you want me to pierce your lips and maybe even your cheeks. Then I shall be really kissing a little savage with pierced lips and cheeks.
It was just after Christmas in 1950, as she was getting ready for a trip to London, that a thing happened, which had been threatening for some time. She put her hand to her right car lobe and the big stud which she wore in the enlarged hole came away in it. It had just parted, without any bleeding, so there were now two tiny rat tails hanging down. This made her one earring short on the right side. There were two or three things to be done. First I could leave her with this lopsided affect, which I did not want to do. Or I could tear open the other side to match, and then perhaps ornament the broken tails on each side, or I could perhaps try to repair the hole. Perhaps if the other side were to part I would ornament the tails, but until that occurred I would try to repair. This might be done with wire or thread. I first tried with two links of gold wire, which worked fairly well, but was clumsy looking, but eventually I found one link had pulled out, for the flesh of the tails was thin so then I tried sewing it, with thread, but I had to make another hole to finish the job. I had made one fine hole each side on each tail for the gold wire, but one had torn out. This lasted fairly well for some time but eventually one thread came undone, or pulled out and I had to try again. This time I made two little staples of thin silver wire, with a loop on one end, through which the other end could be threaded after it had gone through from side to side.
This meant two new holes, as the previous two had been lost or torn out. For this fine wire I made a special fine piercer, a ticklish job as I made it by drilling a very fine hole down the middle of a 21 gauge silver wire rod about ┬╛ inch long, drilling in from each end to meet in the middle, then a very fine steel needle point for it. So now holes could now be made no bigger than necessary to take the fine wire. The finished piercer was no thicker a darning needle. I made two new piercings in the tails and put in the silver wire staples across the loop of the tails, bringing them together, so I could get the stud in place again. This worked quite well for a time, but all attempts in the end came to nothing, so she still had an empty space. Later I thought about trying plastic surgery, but that is another story.
I also made a new and very thick piercer with a thicker point and a silver tube, over 2 mm thick, more than twice the size of the normal trocar needle, and to use with it I turned up some silver studs of different lengths with tiny silver heads.
She was somewhat frightened of this brutal looking tool, as it would certainly make a large hole, but I said, why not make a large hole where we want it, to begin with, then there will not be the need to ever stretch it so much. I told her that I wanted to make two big holes in each ear, one near the edge and one near middle of the lobes, near the top of the fleshy part there, above the other piercings there, over the stretched hole, and then perhaps, when they were healed, we could force a thick silver wire through and screw an arrow head and tail to it, so it looked as if the lobe was transfixed with a thick silver arrow, in and out, so that it would then lie across the top of the lobe and call attention to them. Also I wanted I a piercing done right through the centre shell, so she could wear rings through there, as it then the fashion to wear a type of clip on gilded rings, clipped into this place. But I said, "If you ever wear rings like that, they will be real rings that go right through from back to front, and the holes will be stretched there, where it will be tough gristle, so we can stretch them without any fear of them tearing out, so the holes will have to be made to take your old ½ inch thick gilded rings."
However that will come later on in the history for I did accomplish these things, but never got the arrow finished made and put in although I did get the piercings done. My own nostril piercing with the silver stud had never really been established, but I could when I wished insert wires through it. Later I inserted pink plastic studs, in both sides, and really established the holes. I tried to got Ethel to pierce my ears, as I wanted pink plastic studs put in the tops of my ears. I gave her the tools and she began the job, but before she had driven it right through the tough gristle she said she could not go on, so I had to finish the job myself, while she put the studs in.
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