David Shervington

This is excellent 👏👏👏

In beautiful, beautiful Temple Church with St Martin's Voices rehearsing for tonight's special event to mark the coming of Malcolm Guite's new Arthurian epic "Merlin's Isle"

Small Prophets.
Exquisite. Watch it immediately.

If we're going to excel at anything, it may as well be hurtling downwards headfirst at 90mph.

We are pressing onwards with introducing the kids to Narnia, and thus this evening I read one of favourite opening lines of all: "There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it”.

If we're going to excel at anything, it may as well be hurtling downwards headfirst at 90mph.

Aberdeen finally sees sunshine for first time since 21 January The last reported sunshine had been on 21 January - the longest sunless period since records began in 1957.

State of UK mood update: "Sun came out for 30 minutes" is currently a lead story on the BBC News app.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

It hasn't (and I can't believe I'm saying this, and I appreciate there's still time, and some people might accuse me of 'tempting fate' but since that doesn't mesh with my worldview I don't mind too much, much as I'd love to think what I type on here has that kind of power) rained today so far.

Big Textbook Sale

BIG TEXTBOOK SALE NOW ON:
scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/features/big...

A poster for an event. It reads "'Merlin's Isle: A Journey in Words and Music' - with Malcolm Guite and the St Martin’s Voices 17 February, 7pm Temple Church, London EC4Y 7BB. With readings by Malcolm Guite from his forthcoming 4-volume epic Merlin’s Isle: An Arthuriad, and music sung by the St Martin’s Voices, directed by Andrew Earis. Tickets £15, Church Times subscribers £10, canterburypress.co.uk/events"

On this grey, damp day, you need something to look forward to.
Go on - add some enchantment to your February. Beautiful music, haunting words, ancient setting, what's not to love?

Tickets a bargain at £15 and even more of a bargain if you're a Church Times subscriber. canterburypress.co.uk/events

If Bilbo had Chat GPT

YouTube video by Sam Howson | Sacrosanct Dr Lucy Sixsmith Breaks Down the Soul Survivor Generation

It was great to chat with @samhowson.bsky.social about Soul Survivor, charismatic worship and my book, When the Music Fades youtu.be/_OdaFwfI3Xs?...

Cream background with purple boarder. Purple text which reads 'Introducing our January Titles'. Images of the covers of two books: Becoming Prayer and The Middle Eastern Jesus.

This month we are publishing two excellent titles:

Becoming Prayer by Simon Cocksedge and Nicholas Alan Worssam

The Middle Eastern Jesus by Nadim Nassar

Find out more: chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk

"And though red roses blossomed bright,
in secret gardens on the height,
for many a lady and her knight
the morning came too soon."

👀
(Coming very soon ... )

That’s fair. The old logo had its charm and a great run, and we know the new one won’t be everyone’s favourite. But it felt like it was time for something new and fresh.

This month we're officially retiring our venerable old 'potato print' logo, and a new @canterburypress.bsky.social logo is released into the world for the first time. Ready for the next 40 years...

YouTube video by Wildlife World Bird sounds - Skylark singing in the spring sky

Stop scrolling and listen to 4 minutes of skylark.

youtu.be/ssEZWMsQg_8?...

Shout out to the tiny wee Gandalf permanently sitting in the back of my brain saying "so do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide", at the mo.

Webinar: Faith, Hope, and Autism 🌐 12th February 2026, 4-5:30pm (GMT)

Join us to hear from John Allister about his upcoming book 'Faith, Hope, and Autism: Biblical Models of Neurodiversity'

Register here: forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/Respon...

Has this chap never heard of the Council of Nicea?

Injured my knee pretending to be a leafcutter ant, because I promised the boy I would do any impression of his choice if he brushed his teeth.

Committed parenting.

‘It’s younger people seeking some sort of spirituality’: UK Bible sales reach record high Surge in 2025 sales correlates with the growth in church attendances in England and Wales, research shows

Lovely quote here from our very own Aude, and great plug from our very Church House Bookshop

‘It’s younger people seeking some sort of spirituality’: UK Bible sales reach record high | Christianity | The Guardian share.google/J4rMYSZNJGfj...

Strong agree. Have tried to resist my industry's creeping use of the term, which turns books into produce - authors are artists, not factories.

This is the year we 'take up the tale'.
'Merlin's Isle: A Journey in Words and Music', with Malcolm Guite and the St Martin's Voices, is at Temple Church in London on 17th February. It will be stunning.

If you haven't got your tickets yet, you can do so here.

canterburypress.hymnsam.co.uk/events

The Canterbury Press 40th birthday logo. A simple line drawing of a gothic church window, with the words 'Canterbury Press' and 'Celebrating 40 Years' in a circle around the outside

By the way, Canterbury Press is 40 this year. I'm going to petition for a bouncy castle in the office to celebrate.

SCM Press is much older - over a century old, but its age is somewhat lost in the mists of time. Any and all information gratefully received.

It really is splendid.

When the Music Fades: Power, Surrender and the Soul Survivor Generation by Lucy Sixsmith. A blue book cover with bold yellow title over silhouettes of raised hands.

The Listening Path: Living Attentively, by Andrew Rudd. A bright illustrated landscape with rolling green fields under a blue sky, title text centred above.

Galahad and the Grail, by Malcolm Guite, illustrated by Stephen Crotts with a foreword by Susanna Clarke. A vintage-style illustrated cover showing a medieval knight holding a sword amid symbolic scenes, in red and black.

A book cover featuring a soft, blended watercolor background in shades of blue, gold, and peach, resembling a horizon at dawn or dusk. At the top is a printed endorsement from Rowan Williams. The title “100 Reasons for Living” appears in large pastel-colored capital letters, with the subtitle “The Diary of a Grateful Heart” beneath it in italic script. The author’s name, Richard Carter, is displayed at the bottom in blue capital letters.

Back at it, for 2026, which is shaping up to be an excellent year. Here is a very small slice of what's coming with @canterburypress.bsky.social

Errr...no sorry WHAT? 🏏⚱️#TheAshes

I accidentally just shouted 'Alexa' at a candle instead of blowing it out, and if that's not some kind of modern day parable, I don't know what is.

Just seen the new Knives Out. Fun film but the way all the action comes to a sudden pause, and we all have to wait for a while as Father Judd quietly prays over the phone with Louise is probably the most unexpected and exquisite and profound movie moment I've come across all year. Beautiful.