An Armagh fundraiser who once stood completely still in a Piccadilly shop window for 13 hours has turned his extraordinary record-breaking adventures into a new charity book.
Willie Nugent’s From the Top of Gas Lane to the Top of the World marks the 40th anniversary of the challenge, which earned him a Guinness World Record at the time. The book draws on his experience of growing up in Armagh as a boy with what he describes as a “big imagination”.
From Armagh challenges to a London shop window
Mr Nugent said he had already appeared in newspapers for attempting unusual records in Armagh when Guinness World Records contacted him about travelling to London. The organisation was bringing people from Scotland and Wales to the capital and asked whether he would take part.
He was invited to develop an idea for the challenge and settled on standing motionless because it would be different. During the attempt, he was allowed to choose the soundtrack, meaning shoppers and onlookers could listen to the Beatles and Johnny Cash as they watched him in the Piccadilly window.
The book follows a boy based on a younger Willie, who becomes inspired to break a world record after his teacher shows the class a book of records. The character then imagines a series of tests, including crawling around The Mall in Armagh and walking backwards around it – challenges Mr Nugent himself attempted.
One of those attempts saw him crawl for 14 miles. He did not beat the then record of 20.5 miles because a doctor stopped him on medical grounds, but the experience began a lifetime of unusual record attempts.
A lifetime of fundraising
Among Mr Nugent’s other feats were pushing a pea with his nose for two-and-a-half miles, eating 62 ice lollipops in an hour and walking backwards for 81.5 miles in 24 hours.
Although the book is built around a child’s dream-like adventures, its central message is serious: people should not abandon their ambitions. The young boy wakes at the end and realises the adventures were a dream, while still considering whether he might attempt them one day.
Mr Nugent said raising money for charities had motivated his challenges from the beginning. Over the years, he has raised funds for Friends of the Cancer Centre, Action Cancer, Alzheimer’s and Multiple Sclerosis.
Money from the new book will support Little Heroes at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. The independent charity highlights the courage and resilience of children treated at the hospital and raises funds for the diagnosis and treatment of childhood illness.
Mr Nugent was inspired to support Little Heroes after visiting children at the Royal and hopes they will enjoy reading the book.
Where to buy the book in Armagh
The new title is available from Curran’s Spar shop, Raffles, Macaris, Trimprints and Dessie’s in Armagh.
Writing is already familiar territory for Mr Nugent. For the past seven years he has produced Christmas books for children based on the adventures of his dog, Maisie. Those books have raised about £3,000 each year for different charities.
He said people in Armagh regularly ask when another book is coming, while Maisie is also well known when they are out and about in the city.