[Click on the image for the full sized version which will pop up.]

This is the cartoon I did for the Church House Bookshop late night shopping event. The image is a bit off-colour as it is taken from a photograph of the original which is A1 size. The shelves on the left, by the way, say ‘charismatic worship’ at the top, and ‘prayer’ at the bottom. The shelves on the right say ‘high church’ at the top, ‘middle of the road’ in the middle and ‘low church’ at the bottom.

I may well do a version for the Church Times but if so I will redraw it. I forgot to label the ‘extreme browser’ who is clambering over the shelves. Not that I drew it in a hurry you understand. Thanks to the various people who supplied ideas, especially commenter ‘Jaded for Jesus‘ who sent me the ‘kneeling for prayer’ gag months and months ago.

On the subject of bookshops: I don’t have a lot to report on the SSG shops front. Christian Marketplace have a report here: The SSG saga goes on. Unfortunately there seems to be some problems with paragraphs dropped out of the online version - I’ll contact Clem in case it’s a technical glitch.

There are some quotes in the article with which I do not agree, as you might guess. I can’t really say more though as it is all a bit close to home.

SPCK have, since I last wrote, updated their news page with the following:

Bookshops: a statement from SPCK

SPCK would like to emphasize that they do not own, manage or otherwise run the Bookshops which transferred to SSG’s Charitable Trust in October 2006.

Saint Stephen the Great (SSG) was contacted by SPCK’s lawyers in October 2007 concerning its use of the SPCK name for what used to trade as the SPCK Bookshops group.

In October 2007, SSG put out a release clarifying that from 1 November the bookshops would be trading under the name Saint Stephen the Great.

The front page still says:

In October 2006, the SPCK Bookshops were transferred to another charity, the St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust (SSG), who run them independently of SPCK.

SSG will not in future be using the SPCK name for these shops.

The SPCK name continues to be used in the shops - signs, bags etc.

Meanwhile on the internet the spckbookshops.org site remains empty, with links back to SPCK and the St Stephen the Great Trust site, which has been ‘down for maintenance’ for a week or so. It looks like they are designing a new site.