Potty-mouthed ex-vicar causes school outrage
-06/10/05
While media attention in the UK is drawn to various instances of religious communities offended at the representation of their beliefs and symbols, an ex-vicar who is a best-selling childrenís author has reversed the trend by getting chucked out of a school for bad language.
GP Taylor, author of the highly-acclaimed ëShadowmancerí, was asked to leave Penair School in West Cornwall by head teacher Barbara Venn after he was alleged to have used ìinappropriateî words in front of 12-year-olds.
The offending terms included ìassî, ìbogeyî (in relation to a famous Raymond Briggs cartoon character), ìbumî, ìcrapî and ìfartî.
Mr Taylor, an ordained priest of the Church of England, also said that Harry Potter was ìnot the only gay in the villageî, pinching a line from the popular BBC TV series ëLittle Britainí.
The reference was to the distinction between his fictional characters and those of JK Rowling. Declared the author: ìIím a great respecter of her, but my villains are much scarier than those in Harry Potter.î
Local bookstore Ottakarís helped organised the Penair School talk. They backed Ms Vennís decision to ask the potty-mouthed ex-vicar to leave the premises after the children became ìexcitableî.
But Mr Taylor is unrepentant, saying that it is all a fuss about nothing. He commented: ì”If you stand in any playground you will hear language that is far in excess of that. English has changed and ëinappropriate languageí is now part of the everyday talk of teenagers.î
Meanwhile, in other recent instances of religiously aggravated offence, the Kent police force has renamed its latest crime crackdown (previously Operation Pagan) to avoid offending pagans, and a Muslim employee of Dudley Council has complained about pig-shaped novelty items in the workplace.
ëShadowmancerí, a fantasy novel for children, has sold over 250,000 copies so far. It concerns a sorcerer who is seeking to control the highest power in the universe. He will stop at nothing. The only people in his way are Raphael, Kate, Thomas – and the mysterious Jacob Crane. Their tortured struggles lead them to a dramatic climax in the gothic church of St Mary’s.
One less-than-anxious parent told Ekklesia that it is ìa rattling good readî in which good gives evil ìa kick in the assî.
The authorís other books are called ëWormwoodí (recalling CS Lewis) and ëTersiasí.
It is not known whether GP Taylor will now face pickets from the Christian Voice group.
Potty-mouthed ex-vicar causes school outrage
-06/10/05
While media attention in the UK is drawn to various instances of religious communities offended at the representation of their beliefs and symbols, an ex-vicar who is a best-selling children’s author has reversed the trend by getting chucked out of a school for bad language.
GP Taylor, author of the highly-acclaimed ëShadowmancer’, was asked to leave Penair School in West Cornwall by head teacher Barbara Venn after he was alleged to have used ‘inappropriate’ words in front of 12-year-olds.
The offending terms included ‘ass’, ‘bogey’ (in relation to a famous Raymond Briggs cartoon character), ‘bum’, ‘crap’ and ‘fart’.
Mr Taylor, an ordained priest of the Church of England, also said that Harry Potter was ‘not the only gay in the village’, pinching a line from the popular BBC TV series ëLittle Britain’.
The reference was to the distinction between his fictional characters and those of JK Rowling. Declared the author: ‘I’m a great respecter of her, but my villains are much scarier than those in Harry Potter.’
Local bookstore Ottakar’s helped organised the Penair School talk. They backed Ms Venn’s decision to ask the potty-mouthed ex-vicar to leave the premises after the children became ‘excitable’.
But Mr Taylor is unrepentant, saying that it is all a fuss about nothing. He commented: ‘”If you stand in any playground you will hear language that is far in excess of that. English has changed and ëinappropriate language’ is now part of the everyday talk of teenagers.’
Meanwhile, in other recent instances of religiously aggravated offence, the Kent police force has renamed its latest crime crackdown (previously Operation Pagan) to avoid offending pagans, and a Muslim employee of Dudley Council has complained about pig-shaped novelty items in the workplace.
ëShadowmancer’, a fantasy novel for children, has sold over 250,000 copies so far. It concerns a sorcerer who is seeking to control the highest power in the universe. He will stop at nothing. The only people in his way are Raphael, Kate, Thomas – and the mysterious Jacob Crane. Their tortured struggles lead them to a dramatic climax in the gothic church of St Mary’s.
One less-than-anxious parent told Ekklesia that it is ‘a rattling good read’ in which good gives evil ‘a kick in the ass’.
The author’s other books are called ëWormwood’ (recalling CS Lewis) and ëTersias’.
It is not known whether GP Taylor will now face pickets from the Christian Voice group.