Nelly the elephant packs her trunk for Parliament

Melanie Kramers

28 April 2011

My friends are always amused by the latest stunt my job at Friends of the Earth lands me in. Last year's highlight was cavorting in a cow costume on a packed commuter train. Yesterday it was taking an enormous inflatable elephant to Westminster.

The giant white elephant wasn't just an unusual spring accessory - it symbolised costly and unecessary nuclear power. We wanted to send the Government a powerful message as we delivered a petition signed by tens of thousands of supporters calling for a safer, nuclear-free energy future.

You can check out pictures of Nelly arriving at Parliament on Flickr.

It was a busy day in Westminster, with royal wedding fans already camped out and the world's media jostling for position. Next to our spot, a reporter desperate for a new angle was filming the odds on which body part the first kiss will grace (hand, cheek or mouth, before you get carried away).

Security was tighter than usual, with a helicopter hovering overhead and police and council officials double-checking our paperwork.

Nelly drew a great reaction from passers-by. Kids wanted to hug a tree-trunk like leg, tourists snapped photos and a double-decker busload of 'No to AV' campaigners cheered loudly.

More poignantly, a Japanese woman moved to tears thanked us for highlighting the risks of nuclear, which has caused such a crisis in her country.

Baroness Miller, a Liberal Democrat peer who's long campaigned against nuclear, stopped to give us an impromptu interview.

She said the vast expense of nuclear was one of its key problems. We agree. That's why we're calling on politicians to close the nuclear subsidy loophole and save the public from bailing out the industry.

In the meantime, I can only wonder what animal the next stunt I work on will involve.

Melanie Kramers, Communications & Media Team