LONDON (AP) – A protester rolled a nut to Prime Minister Tony Blair’s doorstep with his nose on Friday, completing a 7-mile journey across London aimed at highlighting the issue of student debt. Mark McGowan, 37, crawled on his hands and knees for 11 days as he pushed the nut from Goldsmiths College in southeast London to Downing Street using his nose. “I wanted to do something that was particularly difficult, so I think I’ve proved the point there,” said McGowan, who wore a bandage on the tip of his nose. He had spent eight hours a day since Sept. 1 pushing the nut through the capital. McGowan is a veteran of unusual protests. He once rolled himself across London for 4 1/2 miles singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” to highlight the work of office cleaners. On another occasion he walked for 11 miles around south and central London with a turkey strapped to his head in a bid to persuade people to eat less and cut obesity rates.
The “pushing a monkey-nut through London with his nose”* guy has featured on recent trails for BBC talk and news radio service, Radio FiveLive. There’s a soundbite from the chap saying “I’m aligning my nose vertically with the nut and taking a swing at it, like a golf club”. Wonderful.
Oh, here’s the BBC site’s coverage. Includes pic.
*Sounds far too much like “pushing a pencil up Regent Street” for my liking…
As if that’s going to get anyone’s attention around here.
Whatever else he is, he’s worth a thousand David friggin’ Blaine’s, that’s fer certain - achievements like this are not to be sniffed at!
Shouldn’t the 12,000 spent on college at least have taught him to choose a larger, more spherical nut?
This reminds me of some religious guys who kissed the pavement every three steps from LA to SF (About 500 miles) in the 80s here.
Not the point about student debt, though.
That looks like a peanut. Is “monkey nut” what they call “peanuts” in the UK?
If that is a peanut, then I can answer lieu’s question as to why he didn’t choose one more spherical. Peanut rolling is an old hazing tradition, chosen because it’s difficult.
They’re only called monkey nuts while still in the shell since they look like little monkey scrotums.
Well THAT put me off my peanuts for a while.