Am yow alright?

In the Church of England, it is customary during a General Synod debate for the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to be called to speak whenever they stand, jumping the queue ahead of bishops, clergy and laity (they usually let the debate proceed for a while before availing themselves of this opportunity).

Last night the bishop of Birmingham, David Urquhart, was chairing a debate – I think for the first time – and hadn’t spotted that the Archbishop of York John Sentamu was standing to speak.

Dr Sentamu, himself a former Bishop of Birmingham, responded to the oversight by testing David Urquhart’s ability to speak Brum. He wasn’t impressed!

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