UK lawmakers told not to rub statues' toes


Save Story

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

LONDON (AP) - Parliamentary officials in Britain want lawmakers to keep their hands off Margaret Thatcher's toes.

Authorities are considering roping off statues of former prime ministers, including Thatcher and Winston Churchill, because they are suffering wear and tear from legislators rubbing their toes for luck.

Members of Parliament traditionally touch the statues in the House of Commons lobby before entering the chamber.

Deputy House of Commons curator Melanie Unwin told Parliament's Works of Art Committee that statues of Thatcher, Churchill, Clement Attlee and David Lloyd George "are seriously under threat due to the tradition of touching the toes of the statues for good luck."

The committee agreed that "Do not touch" signs should be put up, and is considering installing barriers around the statues.

Details of the June meeting emerged Friday.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Most recent Features stories

STAY IN THE KNOW

Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Notice.
Newsletter Signup

KSL Weather Forecast

KSL Weather Forecast
Play button