No Easter eggs before Twelfth Night, urges Bishop of Gloucester

THE Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, has criticised two supermarkets for stocking Easter eggs during the season of Christmas. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), she asked Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s why they were already stocking the eggs, and pointed out that Christmas lasted 12 days. She described this as “shocking consumerism”, and said of the supermarkets: “You can do better than this.” According to the BBC, a Sainsbury’s spokesperson said that some customers “liked to treat themselves early”. Marks & Spencer declined to comment.

Manx public consulted on episcopal vote in the Tynwald

PEOPLE on the Isle of Man are being asked to give their views on whether the Bishop of Sodor & Man should have a vote in the Tynwald, the island’s parliament. Last year, Lawrie Hooper, a Member of the House of Keys, introduced a Private Member’s Bill, the Constitution Bill 2023, which was halted in December to allow the consultation to take place (News, 3 November; 10 November 2023). In an introduction to the consultation document, Mr Hooper explained that the Attorney General and the Bishop were the only unelected members of the Legislative Council, and that, while both could contribute to debates, only the Bishop had the right to vote, something that Mr Hooper described as “undemocratic”. The consultation runs until 29 February.

Suffolk tribute to neglected soldiers

THE Bishop of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich, the Rt Revd Martin Seeley, has dedicated a memorial to 13 soldiers who came home from the two world wars only to die of their wounds. The soldiers, 12 from the First World War and one from the Second, were identified by Sam Lanier, a historian from Holbrook, near Ipswich. She began her research seven years ago, as part of a project with a school there to investigate the stories of men in the area who had lost their lives in the world wars. Sales from the book raised enough funds to add a new tablet to the existing memorial and to pay for “Wilf”, an iron statue of a First World War soldier. The new tablet was added in 2019. Plans for its dedication in 2020 were disrupted by the pandemic. The ceremony finally took place in December.