On the seventh of this month I shall be going away to St Deiniol's Library in North Wales for a study week.  I know I shall be assured of a stimulating time, for the course I shall be attending is led by John Shelby Spong, one the most controversial figures in the church of recent times.  He was for many years Bishop of Newark, in the Episcopal Church of the United States (the Church of England's transatlantic cousin), and in a series of books, articles, lectures and sermons he has propounded a radical and controversial version of the Christian faith.

I don't know exactly how long it's been since I was last on the dodgems.  It must have been over ten years ago.  Hull Fair - the largest travelling fair in Europe, no less - used to take place every year at the end of our street in Hull, and we used to take our boys.  I have a vague memory of taking a turn on the dodgems with them one year at least.