Cambridgeshire man copies Dutch ‘peeing bear’ for prostate cancer

Health

Ian Ashmeade Ian Ashmeade, 67, has a grey beard and moustache, he is wearing gold framed glasses and is wearing a white polar bear costume, with its head being part of cycle helmet he is in a small room filled with unusual art work and framed pictures and books on shelves.Ian Ashmeade

Ian Ashmeade said his partner made him a polar bear costume and he came up with the mechanics to simulate it urinating

A man has taken part in an unusual cycle ride in the Netherlands to promote prostate cancer awareness.

Ian Ashmeade, 67, is part of the Haddenham Easyriders cycling club in Cambridgeshire and in 2023 they saw an art installation of a six-metre high (20ft) polar bear peeing into a canal in Amersfoort, designed to highlight climate change.

That bear has since been removed, so when the club visited the same canal this year, Mr Ashmeade dressed as a polar bear and re-enacted its bodily function with the help of a mechanical device.

Mr Ashmeade said one of his friends had been undergoing tests for prostate cancer and he wanted to promote awareness of the symptoms by handing out leaflets.

Mark Faulkner A man in a polar bear costume standing behind railings next to ta canal. He is squirting liquid into the canal - using a mechanical device to simulate urination.Mark Faulkner

Ian Ashmeade recreated the original bear artwork, complete with simulated urination, at Amersfoort, a city south-east of Amsterdam

Mr Ashmeade said that six members of his club completed a four-day, 200-mile tour of the Netherlands revisiting haunts from previous trips.

“We all found much amusement with the massive polar bear spending a penny, so I was disappointed when I found out the installation had been moved,” he said.

He hatched a plan to recreate what they saw previously by dressing as a polar bear and weeing in to the water by means of a “Heath Robinson-style” homemade battery-powered water pump.

Ian Ashmeade A sculpture of a 6m (nearly 20ft) tall white polar bear urinating into a canal with a stylish tall red brick building to the right.Ian Ashmeade

Mr Ashmeade said his club saw the bear in Amersfoort but it had since been moved to another area after locals complained about the noise of the water keeping them awake

John Devine/BBC A water tank reservoir from a car holds about 1.5 litres of liquid, there is a large battery with various tubes and wires emerging from it and the bottle. It is all on a garden bench.John Devine/BBC

Mr Ashmeade said he had to adjust his self-designed “wee kit” but found the addition of some orange food dye made the liquid produced “seem much more realistic”

Mr Ashmeade said the trip had gone well and his polar bear costume also unexpectedly featured in a couple’s wedding photos.

He added there was a serious point to be made from his polar bear shenanigans as a good friend of his was currently undergoing tests for prostate cancer.

“I have been in touch with Prostate Cancer UK who sent me leaflets to give out on my travels,” he said.

“The handouts highlight weak urine flow as a possible symptom of the disease so I hope to help as many men as I can.”


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