Yuri Unveiled

I first mentioned this copy of a statue of Yuri Gagarin in April, closer to the 50th anniversary of his historic spaceflight when he orbited the Earth on 12 April 1961 (CLICK). Elena Gagarina, the daughter of Yuri Gagarin, unveiled his statue in London today. It's just off The Mall, near Admiralty Arch, so you can give it the once-over next time you visit the Mall Galleries or Buckingham Palace. The artist who created the original statue in 1984 remains anonymous, and I don't blame him. The world's first cosmonaut deserves a better statue than this. If you're wondering why it has been placed near Admiralty Arch, that was where Yuri on his visit to England met the then PM Harold MacMillan.