Virtual Methodist

I am a trivia nut. Ask me anything important like my brothers' birthdays or the name of a person I have just been speaking to, or (and this is one that drives my wife nuts) the weight, and gender of a friend's newborn baby, and I cannot remember it for a second... Ask me something totally inconsequential... like the date of the battle of Bannockburn, or the given name of Cary Grant and I can tell you in an instant (1314 and Archibald Leach respectively). Why that is I don't know, but it does mean that more than one casual acquaintence has claimed me as a "friend" that they would like to phone if they ever get on to the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" quiz programme... and few people can be bothered playing "Trivial Pursuits" with me... But there is definitely something about the way that I remember things... I don't do it consciously, but I make connections across different areas of knowledge, so I'll make mental links between seemingl...

During the recent consultation on the theology and practice of reconciliation that I was periodically writing about before things fell apart pre-Easter, Derek Poole from the Centre for Contemporary Christianity in Ireland , made one of his usual "where did that come from" asides. For those who do not know Derek, he has a unique ability to speak apparently off the cuff (though I believe he practices for hours at home, pontificating to the bathroom mirror) at length, on almost any subject... and generally sounds like he knows what he is talking about! But quite often, one image or sentence will stand starkly out from the rest, having a greater resonance than that around it, and, since he never writes anything down, unless you have been taking verbatim notes, it will be nigh on impossible to trace the reasoning that tied this brilliant, but tangential comment to the rest of his stream of consciousness. For those who do know him (and indeed Derek himself), am I being unfair? Anyw...