The Bishop and glamour have a relationship roughly akin to that enjoyed by a divorced couple. We can go for weeks and months without ever setting eyes on each other but, just occasionally, a meeting, or rather a confrontation, is forced upon us by social necessity. Something to be endured rather than enjoyed.

Last night was one of those occasions, as we were the slightly nervous recipients of an invitation to a book launch in Edinburgh.  Our friend Gillian has written a novel, and it has been published by a real publisher. Cor! So, having hoovered the dust from the shoulders of my city jacket (which mercifully still just about fits) and having levered myself into a not-too-rumpled pair of smart trousers (which, alas, had shrunk rather since their last outing) we headed off in the episcopal courtesy car for an evening of metropolitan sfistication.

And it was all very pleasant in fact. The Bishop did feel a little out of place amongst the legal and literary set, but having consumed rather more of the free wine than is perhaps strictly necessary for a man of the cloth, managed to relax enough to enjoy himself. As far as I can recall, I managed not to disgrace myself either.

The book? It's a legal thriller set in Edinburgh featuring a detective called Alice Rice.  It's had a very good review from Alexander McCall Smith, and there seems to be a bit of a buzz developing around it. I reckon it's going to be a great success.

You can get it from Amazon here.