Acceptance Speech for The Superior Scribbler Award

Phil Groom writes:

I am delighted, humbled and honoured to announce that His Holiness the Rt Revd David Keen, Archbishop of Abbey Manor and Lord of the Landlocked Isles, et cetera, et cetera, has in his inestimable wisdom granted yours truly, and hence by extension, this blog, the prestigious and much coveted Superior Scribbler Award:

Superior Scribbler Award

Phil Groom: for his courage in calling Mark Brewers bluff on his legal threats, and dedication in continuing to blog about the increasingly sad saga of the former SPCK bookshops. The potential charge list against the new owners seems to grow by the week, and Phil has led the line in keeping this issue in the public domain. 

What can I say? Without your support, most excellent readers, this blog would be nothing at all, might even have gone the way of the Lost ‘Save the SPCK’ Dave Walker Posts.

As regular readers will know, like Dave, I too was threatened with legal action by Mark Brewer — who, like the the big, bad wolf, said he’d huff and he’d puff until he blew my house down. And he huffed and he puffed… and he blew himself all the way back to law school, courtesy of the Texas Bankruptcy Courts.

So as well as thanking David for the award, I wish to place on record my thanks to all of you good people who have helped to make the journey thus far a most memorable experience. The journey is, of course, far from over: the Brewers still infest the Great Kitchen at Durham Cathedral; they continue to suck the lifeblood from St Olave’s Church in Chichester; they persistently manifest in a dozen or so other places where once we had Christian Bookshops; and in their wake they leave a trail of damage and despair amidst piles of debris and detritus.

Having accepted the award, it is now my duty and joy, in accordance with the rules of the award (see below) to pass it on. Those to whom I pass it, I urge you: hold your heads high and display your award with pride! Keep the flame of Superior Scribbling burning until the entire blogosphere is set alight! Without further ado, let the awards commence! In no particular order, because I (please forgive this display of weakness) am a fan of Strictly Come Dancing:

• Matt Wardman: for burning satire, clear writing, defence of free speech and determination to reveal truth and expose lies, especially about the Brewers. Matt, I salute you.
• Asingleblog: for even more burning satire and for bringing us Mousey. Asingleblog and Mousey, I salute you both.
• Ben Gallagher: for enigmatic humour and clear thinking, but most of all, for bringing us Gerald the Sheep. Ben and Gerald, I salute you both.
• MadPriest: for being mad, for being human, for bringing us both vulnerability and sharp wit, for standing up for what you know to be right when everyone else calls it wrong. MadPriest, I salute you!
• The Revd Dr Christian Troll: for the most burning satire of all, for exposing the vapid stupidity of Christians who think they’re the only ones who are right to the point where — well, they are, simply because you couldn’t go any further right without falling off the edge of the planet (or going full circle, of course, but these guys would never go full circle because then they’d have to admit that the planet wasn’t flat).

The Award Rules

• Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends.
• Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.
• Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to This Post, which explains The Award.
• Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we’ll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor!
• Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

Advertisement