Fame by association

For years I have been hoping that one of my friends would write a book or appear on some serious programme on tv.

Eighteen months ago the dawn began to break when my good friend Dave Betts wrote a book on church planting. You can download it for free here.

And things have got even better. I turned on In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg on Radio 4 on my way home from a breakfast meeting and lo and behold one of the studio guests was an old school friend. His name is Ian McBride. He is the Senior Lecturer in Early & Modern Irish History at King's College London.

In the spirit of the Apostle Paul, I feel I need to ask your forgiveness for boasting. However, I am sure you will understand me feeling a little proud of friends who do well.

You can listen to the In Our Time programme on BBC iPlayer.

My wife has just reminded me that she once appeared on the cover of Woman Alive. I'm even more famous by association than I had realised!