Rule Britannia

On a day when Britons went to the polls in general elections, Mark McGowan, a performance artist and art history student, spent his time yesterday planting what he said would be 100,000 kisses on a photograph of Prime Minister Tony Blair near his office on Downing Street, Agence France-Presse reported. "I notice he has been getting a lot of abuse, and I just wanted to show him some affection today, and 100,000 kisses seemed like a lot," said Mr. McGowan, whose effort represented an appeal for Britons and Mr. Blair to kiss and make up. Mr. McGowan, who once walked for 11 miles through London with a 27-pound turkey strapped to his head to persuade the overweight to eat less, said he planned to achieve yesterday's goal in 8 hours by means of 50-kiss bursts interrupted by breaks to rest his jaws and moisturize his lips.