THE airborne Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Revd James Langstaff, was taught a range of football skills by Daniel Cutting, a professional football freestyler at the diocesan family festival at West Kingsdown. It included jumping with the ball between his feet - although he seems to have lost it in our picture.

The Bishop also learned how to flick the ball into the air behind him, turn to catch the ball with his hands (is this allowed?), and balance the ball on the back of his neck, before flicking it into the air. All skills that will doubtless stand him in good stead as he goes about his diocese.

He didn't, however, quite come up to Mr Cutting's own skills, which have put him into the Guinness Book of Records. Mr Cutting can claim the fastest time to run 100 metres with a football balanced on his forehead, and holds the (headache-making) world record for rolling a football from temple to temple for 45 minutes.

But he passed on more orthodox skills to children and adults during the festival at West Kingsdown C of E Primary School. Despite the wet weather, about 150 people came, and the Bishop said that he was encouraged that so many children had braved the rain.