Follow Fr Alex on X @alexdjfrost Order his book here https://www.brownsbfs.co.uk/Product/F... Check out Mark's website here https://markmorrissmusic.co.uk/ Mark Morriss is a singer songwriter who famously made his name fronting English indie outfit The Bluetones. Mark fronted the four piece over a successful and fruitful 15 year period, scoring 14 top ten singles and 3 top ten albums, whilst touring the UK, Europe and Japan, before temporarily disbanding in 2011. After releasing ‘Memory Muscle’ in 2008, Mark banded together The Mummys and hit the road. He spent the best part of that year touring Memory Muscle while The Bluetones took a short sabbatical, often with his bandmates in tow, either sharing touring duties or joining him in the studio for the odd overdub. After returning to The Bluetones to record their ‘A New Athens’ swan song, Mark re-focused his attention on his solo career. In 2013 he recorded ‘A Flash of Darkness’, raising the recording funds via a successful Pledge Music campaign. The album was then given a general release by Acid Jazz Records the following year, whilst Mark continued to tour both as a solo acoustic artist and with an ever changing line up behind him. The various members of The Magical Sex Band. In the summer of 2015 Mark recorded and released ‘The Taste of Mark Morriss’ for Acid Jazz. Intended as a companion to ‘A Flash of Darkness’, the album comprised a collection of cover versions of songs that had informed the writing of its predecessor. At the same time as producing and touring his own solo material, Mark has produced Theme and Chapter music for the audio versions of David Walliams’ successful series of children’s books, from ‘The Boy in the Dress’ right through to his latest, ‘The Midnight Gang’, all released on Harper Collins.

About Helen What makes a woman? How far do bodies set our gender? Immaculate Forms focuses on the history of the breasts, clitoris, hymen and womb. I've worked on the history of medicine and the body for many years, following a PhD thesis on ancient Greek concepts of menstruation. Since then, I've published on the reception of ancient medical ideas about the female body, menstruation and birth up to the nineteenth century. It still amazes me that ancient ideas about women survived for so long, despite changes elsewhere in how the body was understood. I've held research fellowships in Cambridge and Newcastle, worked for 8 years in Liverpool, and then for 14 years at the University of Reading. In 2011 I became Professor of Classical Studies at the Open University and I am now Professor Emerita there. I've been a visiting lecturer at Mount Allison University, University of Victoria BC, and University of Texas, as well as a Fellow at the Netherland Institute for Advanced Studies, and a Visiting Professor at the Peninsula Medical School, where I taught the history of dissection to medical students. 'Illuminating, thoughtful and scholarly' FINANCIAL TIMES 'Mind-blowing, fascinating stuff' BBC WOMAN'S HOUR 'Delightful, timely and critical' Cat Bohannon, author of Eve 'With unrivaled expertise and a wealth of classical and contemporary detail, the author weaves historical knowledge of medicine, anatomy, literature, art and religion into a narrative that surprises, informs, excites and frequently amuses' Adrian Thatcher, author of Vile Bodies Throughout history, religious scholars, medical men and - occasionally - women themselves, have moulded thought on what 'makes' a woman. She has been called the weaker sex, the fairer sex, the purer sex, among many other monikers. Often, she has been defined simply as 'Not A Man'. Today, we are more aware than ever of the complex relationship between our bodies and our identities. But contrary to what some may believe, what makes a woman is a question that has always been open-ended. Immaculate Forms examines all the ways in which medicine and religion have played a gate-keeping role over women's organs. It explores how the womb was seen as both the most miraculous organ in the body and as a sewer; uncovers breasts' legacies as maternal or sexual organs - or both; probes the mystery of the disappearing hymen, and asks, did the clitoris need to be discover

Eurosport Snooker commentator David Hendon has worked in the sport for many years, but during his spare time away from the box he has become an acclaimed playwright.

Follow Fr Alex on X @alexdjfrost order his book here https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/... John Sweeney John Sweeney is a writer and reporter, old school. He remained in the Ukrainian capital throughout the Battle of Kyiv and his latest book, Killer In The Kremlin, reveals Vladimir Putin to be the monster he is. Sweeney's philosophy is: ‘I poke crocodiles, if crocodiles they be, in the eye with a stick.’ He’s helped free seven people falsely accused of killing babies, starting with Sally Clark, reported on wars, revolutions and trouble around the world, gone undercover to Zimbabwe, Chechnya, twice, and North Korea. He upset Donald Trump by asking him about his links with the mob - Trump walked out on him - and upset Vladimir Putin by asking him about Russia's role in the shooting down of MH17. But he is probably best known for shouting at the Church of Scientology. After 17 years at the BBC for Panorama and Newsnight, he is now a free spirit, up for the right kind of trouble. He has written twelve books, including the best-selling novel set in the war in Burma, Elephant Moon and a co-authored investigation into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Murder On The Malta Express, which in December 2020 won a national book award in Malta.

Alexandra Lesley Phillips is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former politician. Phillips served as a Brexit Party member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the South East England constituency from 2019 to 2020. She was the second candidate on the party's list for the constituency after party leader Nigel Farage. In February 2023, Phillips joined Reform UK. Phillips was head of media at the UK Independence Party (UKIP), which she left in September 2016. She was a GB News presenter between June 2021 and September 2022. In July 2023 Phillips joined Talk.

Guy Edward Fletcher (born 24 May 1960) is an English musician, best known for his position as one of the two keyboard players in the rock band Dire Straits[1] from 1984 until the group's dissolution, and his subsequent work with Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler for his many solo releases. Fletcher was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Dire Straits in 2018.[2] Biography Guy Edward Fletcher was born into a musical family and is the namesake of his uncle, Guy Fletcher, who wrote several hit songs for other artists with composing partner Doug Flett.[3] His mother Barbara was a session singer; his father Ted Fletcher, an audio designer, created a line of audio equipment named after Joe Meek with whom he had worked.[4] Fletcher is also the cousin of children's television presenter Justin Fletcher.[3] Whilst learning a trade as an audio engineer at DJM Studios in London at the age of 15, Fletcher also had a succession of his own bands and learned to play keyboards, guitars, and a variety of stringed instruments. He joined and toured with Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel in 1979 and in 1981, and with Roxy Music for their Avalon world tour during 1982 and 1983. In 1983, Fletcher was recruited by Dire Straits' lead guitarist Mark Knopfler to work on the music for the films Cal and Comfort and Joy. He joined Dire Straits as a full time member in 1984, his first album with them being their most successful, 1985's Brothers in Arms, which put the band in a global spotlight, and remained with the band until their 1995 disbanding. In 1986, Fletcher co-produced Belouis Some's album Belouis Some with Gary Langan.[5] In 1996, Fletcher toured as part of Bryan Ferry's band on his Mamouna world tour. Fletcher performing in 2005 Following the disbanding of Dire Straits, Fletcher continued his association with band founder Mark Knopfler as a core member of his band after launching his solo career. In 2005, Fletcher completed a world tour promoting Knopfler's 2004 solo album, Shangri-La, and in 2006 rounded off the duets tour with Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. Fletcher co-produced and played keyboards on his Knopfler's album, Get Lucky, and was again part of his subsequent world tour in 2010.

Cole Moreton is a writer and broadcaster exploring who we are and what we believe in. His BBC Radio 4 series The Boy Who Gave His Heart Away won Audio Moment of the Year at the Arias and Best Writing at the World’s Best Radio Awards in New York. Recent series include The Power of Three and The Wedding Detectives. He can also sometimes be found offering Pause For Thought to Zoe Ball on the BBC Radio 2 breakfast show. Cole’s new podcast Can We Talk? is a series of crafted short stories about encounters with remarkable people and what we can learn about how to live. Cole was named as Interviewer of the Year at the Press Awards for his work with the Mail on Sunday and you can have a rummage through his A-Z of interviews with the famous, the infamous and the extraordinary here. Cole has covered many of the major news stories of our times as a writer for titles including The Telegraph, The Guardian and The Financial Times and was once executive editor of the late, lamented Independent on Sunday.

Mark Oakley is a British Church of England priest. He is Dean of Southwark and formerly Dean of St John's College, Cambridge. Early life Oakley was born on 28 September 1968 in Shrewsbury and was educated at Shrewsbury School, where he was awarded a Rank Foundation Leadership Award, and King's College London, before going to St Stephen's House, Oxford, where he studied for ordination in the Church of England. He was duly made deacon at Petertide 1993 (27 June) at St Paul's Cathedral and ordained priest the next Petertide (2 July 1994) at St John's Wood Church — both times by David Hope, Bishop of London. Ministry Oakley served as assistant curate of St John's Wood Church from 1993 to 1996. He was then asked by Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, to serve as his chaplain, which he did from 1996 to 2000. He was made a Deputy Priest in Ordinary to Elizabeth II in 1996. In 2000, he became Rector of St Paul's, Covent Garden (also known as the Actors' Church). In 2005, the Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe, Geoffrey Rowell, appointed Oakley as Archdeacon of Germany and Northern Europe and chaplain of St Alban's Church in Copenhagen. The archdeaconry comprises eight countries (Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Latvia, Estonia and Germany) in which there are many Church of England chaplaincies serving the international Anglican community. In 2008 he was appointed priest-in-charge of Grosvenor Chapel, Mayfair, London, by the Bishop of London. He was also appointed an examining chaplain and bishops' advisor. In June 2010 he was appointed to St Paul's Cathedral, London, as a residentiary canon, initially as Canon Treasurer. In 2013, he became Canon Chancellor; in that role he was responsible for educational work and engagement with the arts.

Bayes was ordained in the Church of England, made a deacon at Petertide 1979 (1 July)[6] and as a priest the Petertide following (29 June 1980), both times by Ronnie Bowlby, Bishop of Newcastle, at Newcastle Cathedral.[7][8] He was an assistant curate at St Paul's Church, Whitley Bay for three years (1979–1982). He then became a university chaplain in west London from 1982 to 1987.[3] Bayes moved to High Wycombe for seven years where he initially as Team Vicar (1987–1990) and then Team Rector (1990–1994) before becoming Team Rector of Totton for nine years (1995–2004). While he was at Totton, Bayes was also the Area Dean of Lyndhurst from 2000. Upon leaving Totton, he joined the Archbishops' Council staff team as National Mission and Evangelism Adviser until his ordination to the episcopacy. He was also an honorary canon at Worcester Cathedral from 2007 until his consecration.[3] Episcopal ministry On 7 July 2010[3] it was announced that Bayes would succeed Christopher Foster as Bishop of Hertford upon Foster's translation to Portsmouth.[5] Bayes was duly consecrated a Church of England bishop on 21 September 2010 at St Paul's Cathedral[9] and installed at St Albans Cathedral on 25 September 2010.[10] On 7 May 2014 it was announced that Bayes was to become the next (8th) Bishop of Liverpool; his canonical election was confirmed on 23 July 2014.[2] Bayes was installed at Liverpool Cathedral on 15 November 2014. Bayes is the Visitor of St Peter's College, Oxford;[11] he was chosen from among the Church's diocesan bishops, and may serve until he ceases to be one.[12]

A link to campaign to release Layan Nasser https://www.change.org/p/release-laya... Dean Richard Sewell is British and previously served as a priest in the Diocese of Southwark in the UK. His last post before moving to Jerusalem was as Team Rector of Barnes Team Ministry which comprises three churches in South West London. Richard was ordained priest on the Feast of St Francis, 2003. He trained for ministry at SEITE now St Augustine’s College. He also studied Theology at the University of Birmingham for his B.A. He did further studies at Heythrop College for an M.A. in Biblical Studies. His first encounter with the Holy Land was working as a volunteer for the Church of Scotland Hospice in Tiberias (now The Scots Hotel) in the 1980s. For three years he ran an Inter-Faith Project in East London. Prior to ordination Richard worked for the Anglican Mission Agency, USPG, as a mission educator with additional responsibilities for USPG’s relationship with the Churches in Pakistan and Bangladesh. JulieAnn, his wife, was a Primary School Counsellor, but in Jerusalem she is helping with work at the Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre. This is a Diocesan institution which rehabilitates children with disabilities. Richard and JulieAnn’s adult children, Nathaniel and Eliana, continue to pursue their careers in the UK. Dean Richard, in addition to his role as Dean of the College, is a Residentiary Canon of St George’s Cathedral, Jerusalem and is Honorary Canon of Southwark Cathedral in his home diocese in the Church of England. The Diocese of Southwark is Dean Richard’s sponsoring agency in his role as Dean.

Follow Fr Alex on X @alexdjfrost About Mark Russ JollyQuaker.com began in 2013 as a space to process and share my thoughts on Quaker theology. The name is inspired by ‘A Testament of Devotion’ by the Quaker mystic Thomas Kelly, one of the first books on Quaker spirituality I read. Kelly writes ‘I’d rather be jolly Saint Francis singing his canticle to the sun, than a dour sobersides Quaker.’ I don’t want to have to make a choice, so I’m a jolly Quaker. A Quaker-shaped Christian I grew up in a non-religious family, but intense experiences of spiritual joy in my late teens set me on a path of religious discovery. Joy was my doorway to the religious life. C. S. Lewis, another writer who has shaped my theology, said that ‘joy is the serious business of heaven.’ In the Quakers I found a community I could step through the doorway with, and became a member of the Religious Society of Friends when I was 20. The Quaker/St. Francis combination also speaks to my seeing Quakerism as part of the larger Christian tradition. I think of myself as a ‘Quaker-shaped Christian’ and a member of the universal Church. The Jesus story is how I make sense of my life and the world, and Quakerism is the lens through which I interpret the Jesus story. My theology has an ecumenical focus. I want to communicate a life-giving form of Christianity to my fellow Quakers, and offer the best of Quaker thought and spirituality to the wider Christian church. Queer If joy was my doorway to God, then the key that unlocked the door was my coming out as gay. When I was able to accept my sexuality, and love my whole self, I was able to love God. My queer experience of the self, the world and God is another foundation of my theology. I find the Spirit of Freedom (2 Cor. 3:17) in queer spaces, on the dancefloor of the gay nightclub, and in the love of my LGBT+ community. My faith is also queer in that I fully embrace the crossing of boundaries and muddying of waters. I’m too queer for the Christians, and too Christian for the Quakers, so I experiment with creating a joyful blend all of my own, exploring other streams of faith such as Franciscan and nature-based spiritualities. Appropriately, ‘jolly’ was a code word for gay in the early 20th century, so I’m a jolly Quaker in more ways than one.

Cris Rogers is a Church of England minister, church planter, artist, maker, and Star Wars fan. Along with his wife Beki, Cris leads All Hallows Bow, a highly missional church in East London. He has a deep passion for discipleship and apprenticeship in the way of Jesus. Additionally, Cris hosts a weekly discipleship podcast called “Making Disciples with Cris Rogers,” and serves as the Chair of Spring Harvest. Through his ministry, research, and various platforms, Cris aims to shed light on the unique challenges and opportunities within working-class communities, while advocating for the development and empowerment of working-class church leaders who can effectively serve and lead these communities. Learn more of his work here https://urbanmission.uk/about/

Nigel is a versatile journalist and broacaster with 30 years experience across TV, radio and online. He both produces and presents for BBC World Service news and is one of the UK's top football commentators regularly describing the Premier League on talkSPORT and Premier League Productions, presenting UEFA Champions League coverage across the globe and top women's football across the world on Atalanta Football. Nigel has covered six FIFA World Cups and three Women's World Cups. He was also part of the BBC commentary team for the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. Nigel is an experienced and engaging voiceover artist and event presenter and has a role to play behind the scenes as a media trainer and crisis management mentor and can offer bespoke infrastructure advice to keep your company on track.

This God Cast is dedicated to working class vocations in The Church of England. Joining Fr Alex on The God Cast are Lee Finnegan (ordinand) Rev Mich Delves Rev Chris Krawiec Rev Suze Osmond.

Gordon Birtwistle (born 6 September 1943) is a British Liberal Democrat politician and former MP. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Burnley, England, from May 2010 to May 2015. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2010 to 2012.From 2013, he was Government Apprenticeship Ambassador to Business

Martin Saunders leads the Satellites festival alongside his role as Deputy Chief Executive of Youthscape He joined YS in 2013 because he is passionate about seeing young people connect with faith. For the last few years he has focussed on resourcing youth leaders through innovative resources and events, but now his work has broadened into developing a brand new summer event for teenagers which launched in August 2022. Before moving to Youthscape he was Editor of Youthwork magazine, and he carried on writing: you can find several of his books on the Youthscape store.

Nic Tall is the National Co-ordinator of Together for the Church of England. He is a supporter of a more inclusive and welcoming church. Nic is a member of the Church of England General Synod and he resides in South West England.

Background Andy was raised in Andover after the family settled there with the Army. He was brought up in a normal, single-parent family, on benefits on a council estate. He has a young son. A youth worker, chef, gardener and Local councillor he went on to train as a Baptist Minister in 2013. He studied theology at Regents Park College, Oxford alongside reviving a dwindling 362-year-old Baptist church in Hampshire. Experience Andy was elected to the newly formed Andover Town Council in 2010, aged 20. He served the council in many capacities, including being Vice-Chair (deputy mayor) of the Council between 2013-14 and being the Chair of the Staffing Sub-Committee during the same period. He was also one of the main Councillors, along with Chair of Council Cllr Geoff McBride, to push for and form the Andover Youth Council. Andy was co-opted back onto Andover Town Council in January 2016 and then re-elected in 2019. Andy was the only serving councillor to be re-elected to the Council in that election. He served on the council until his resignation in October 2019 (https://www.andoveradvertiser.co.uk/news/17929625.councillor-andy-fitchet-resign-andover-town-council/). He has stood for election at all levels of government from Andover Town (2010 & 2019), Test Valley Borough (2011, 2015, 2019 and by-election 2021 and 2023 - losing by just 25 votes!), Hampshire County (2017 & 2021) and Parliament (2017). Andy achieved the highest ever Labour vote in North West Hampshire. He was Chair of the North West Hampshire Labour Party between 2015-2023. Andy is an authorised Minister in the Methodist church and since September 2019 he has been the Methodist Minister in Andover, bringing together the two Methodist churches in Andover into one church and overseeing a major redevelopment of the town centre church building. Andy became the Minister of Hungerford Methodist church in September 2023 also. Andy has worked for a number of charities, most recently for the Good Neighbours Network, helping to tackle social isolation and loneliness through acts of kindness across Hampshire. For Good Neighbours Network, he trained voluntary groups on GDPR, Safeguarding & DBS checks, Insurance, Constitutional matters, volunteer management and volunteer recruitment. Before that, he worked for the leading Disability charity, Enham Trust as a Corporate, Community and Events Fundraiser. Andy is often invited to preach across many denominations and invited to speak at conferences & events. He speaks on topics including social justice, political engagement, Christian engagement in public life and LGBTQ inclusion. He is a Co-Director of Affirm, Baptists Together for LGBTQ+ Inclusion and a Governor of a local primary school

Alex Frost is the vicar of St Matthew's Church in Burnley, host of the God Cast and author of 'Our Daily Bread, Argos To The Altar A Priest Story' order here https://www.brownsbfs.co.uk/Product/Frost-Father-Alex/Our-daily-bread---from-Argos-to-the-altar/9780008556556 Follow Fr Alex on X @alexdjfrost Phoebe Smith is an adventurer and multi-award-winning travel writer (most recently Sustainable Travel Article of the Year: Travel Media Awards 2023), photographer, presenter and broadcaster (specialising in adventure, sustainable travel, walking, family adventure and wildlife conservation). She has presented segments on TV including BBC Countryfile, BBC Breakfast, C5 Saturday Live, ITV’s Britain’s Best Walks and BBC Breakfast. She is Sleep Storyteller-in-Residence at Calm where her stories have been listened to over 30 million times and been narrated by Stephen Fry, Joanna Lumley, Cillian Murphy, Jerome Flynn, Bindi Irwin and Danai Gurira to name a few. She is also the author of 10 books with her next one – Wayfarer: Love, Loss and Life on Britain’s Ancient Paths – out in March 2024 with Harper Collins. She is also the co-founder of the #WeTwo Foundation, a charity that empowers underprivileged young people through carbon negative expeditions.

Alex Frost is the vicar of St Matthew's Church in Burnley, host of the God Cast and author of 'Our Daily Bread, Argos To The Altar A Priest Story' order here https://www.brownsbfs.co.uk/Product/F... Follow Fr Alex on X @alexdjfrost Patrick Watt is the Chief Executive Officer for Christian Aid. Prior to this, he was Policy and Campaigns Director, responsible for leading Christian Aid’s influencing, mobilisation, and research and evidence in the UK and internationally, on issues of economic, environmental and social justice. The Policy, Public Affairs and Campaigns department works with Christian Aid supporters and partners, to create public pressure for political change, shape policy, and create platforms where people in poverty are listened to and can claim their rights. Patrick has widespread experience of working in development and humanitarian organisations, including Oxfam, ActionAid and Save the Children, on education, global health, aid policy, and debt and trade. He has engaged extensively with the UN, EU, and African Union, as well as with UK government and parliament. He is committed to Christian Aid’s strategy of using prophetic voice to confront injustice, and of working with churches to achieve lasting change. He has degrees in Theology, from the University of Cambridge, and in Development Studies from the London School of Economics. He is married, and has three children.