Uri Geller to unveil spoon statue in Sonning

Uri Geller says his spoon statue will be his parting gift to Sonning

TV illusionist Uri Geller has said he will leave a giant spoon statue as a parting gift to the Berkshire village where he has lived for 35 years.

Geller, 68, who became famous for bending spoons, made the announcement as he said he planned to leave the UK to return to his Israeli homeland.

He said the steel statue would take the shape of a bent spoon and be placed on a large tree stump in Sonning.

"It will be photographed a million times, he said.

'Mind powers'

"Japanese tourists will come to see it."

Geller, a self-proclaimed psychic, rose to fame in Britain during the 1970s when he appeared to bend spoons during TV appearances.

Some observers have been sceptical about his acts, suggesting they are little more than illusion and magic tricks.

However, Geller says he believes all humans possess certain mind powers, and his feats are the result of practice since childhood.

The spoon statue, made by British artist blacksmith Paul Wells, will be formally unveiled on 5 October, opposite the home of actor George Clooney and his wife Amal, who recently moved to Sonning.

Pat Doyle, a former chairman of the Sonning Parish Council, told BBC Radio Berkshire that he was pleased with the statue idea.

"It's difficult to imagine Sonning would have a giant spoon, " he said. "Whoever would have thought it? It's fantastic. It's a great idea."