| The bizarre showmanship of David Blaine drew thousands of spectators to what must rank as one of the strangest media events ever staged in the UK.
At 2127 BST on Friday, in the shadow of Tower Bridge on the banks of the Thames in London, Blaine climbed into a small glass box to begin more than six weeks of voluntary starvation.
The bizarre showmanship of David Blaine drew thousands of spectators to what must rank as one of the strangest media events ever staged in the UK.
At 2127 BST on Friday, in the shadow of Tower Bridge on the banks of the Thames in London, Blaine climbed into a small glass box to begin more than six weeks of voluntary starvation.
It was witnessed by a large and fired up crowd of curious sightseers, bemused tourists, dedicated fans, the world's press and a live international TV audience.
This historic corner of the city, just across the river from the Tower of London, has been privy to some momentous events across the centuries.
But in terms of its singular strangeness, this must have taken some beating.
Blaine, exuding his usual Zen-like calm, emerged at 2100 BST from a final medical check and walked languidly along a gangplank towards the box, smiling and greeting some of his fanatical followers.
Unshaven and purposely overweight in a sweatshirt, sweat pants and trainers, the 30-year-old New Yorker seemed - well, somehow detached ("relaxed" never seems adequate to capture Blaine's aura.)
In much the same vein he ambled vaguely through a dislocated interview with TV host Nicky Campbell, and despite Campbell's best efforts, he was not giving much away.
"I'm just pushing myself to do the most I can," he offered, in his mellow East Coast drawl.
A succession of doctors, psychologists, war veterans and Blaine's own friends were brought on to say how mad they thought he was, while Campbell sought the reassurance of a pundit: "Is this a trick?"
"Absolutely not," came the reply.
Another armchair fasting expert weighed in with some more pithy analysis. "The first few days will be easy - after that, who can say?" he predicted confidently.
By 2130 Blaine was in the box, smiling, waving, writing in his journal and swigging from his water bottle as the flashbulbs popped.
The seasoned security men (previous clients, Robbie and Kylie) paced anxiously and seemed pleased that no one had ventured to test out the shatterproof glass.
After the hour-long, razzle dazzle build-up on Sky TV it all seemed rather anti-climactic.
"Is that as far up as the box goes?" asked one disappointed onlooker. "I thought it would be swinging over the Thames."
Among Blaine's thousands of admirers was the psychic Uri Geller who said he thought the idea was "staggering".
"Remember, he has the courage to do this - this is very dangerous," he told BBC News Online.
"I just pray he is going to be all right. No-one can tell what's going to happen."
With trademark passion, Geller added: "Whoever is trying to debunk him, they are simply jealous that he is up there and they are down there.
"He is a fearless man. He is not afraid to die. He is like a mesmer, a Houdini, a Rasputin, a Shaman all rolled into one."
Shaman he may be, but Blaine got the thumbs down from one placard-waver.
"A fool chooses to starve himself and we all watch", the banner read. "One billion people have no choice and we ignore them".
Source: BBC | |
