Before there was Downton Abbey, there was Pride and Prejudice.  (((Sigh))) Be still my Austen loving Downtonian heart – Mr. Darcy.  Not just any Mr. Darcy: Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy in the A&E/BBC mini series.  Who could forget the now classic scene where Mr. Darcy dives in to the pond as Pemberly and emerges in all his glory in a wet white linen shirt.  (((Sigh)))  It makes me tingley just thinking about it.  🙂

And leave it to the Brits to immortalize that classic scene in the form of a 12 foot Mr. Darcy statue in the Serpentine lake in London’s Hyde Park as a promotion for the launch of a new TV channel, UKTV’s Drama, rebroadcast of 1995 BBC miniseries “Pride and Prejudice”.  And I have to say that I LOVE IT!!!  What could be better than taking a swim in your favorite park alongside a Mr. Darcy statue???  Apparently even the swans in the Serpentine love Mr. Darcy also.  Who knew???

The statue took three men two months to complete can be seen in London for a few more days before it tours the U.K.  First a stop in Scarborough for a dip in the sea and then a long visit to Lyme Park, a.k.a. Pemberly until February 2014.

View a video regarding this:  http://gu.com/p/3h6ak