Bradford Lit Fest: Nearly Infallible



I start the week tired, but excited to see Bradford Lit Fest on the Channel 4 News.  Added to the fact that AA Dhand is on the cover of Writing Magazine, and that the David Hockney celebrations also make the national news, I feel that Bradford is getting some amazing positive exposure.

I hope to return to what I've dubbed "Bradtopia" on Wednesday, for Lunch Bites: Fantasy Fiction, but unfortunately it is cancelled as speaker Naomi Foyle has broken her ankle.  

So, it's Friday again, and I'm going to A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation. I approach with some trepidation.  As a Christian who is committed to ecumenism, and whose spiritual DNA is part-Baptist, part-Catholic, there a few events in history I feel more conflicted about.

It turns out to be an enjoyable and informative event.  Author Nick Page manages to inject humour and a balanced view into an incredibly complex history.  Our whirlwind tour takes in Playmobil Martin Luthers, Top Trumps of Reformers, and scatological sermons.  Key to the talk is the power of the printing press as the Internet of its day, and the way that, once you start letting out alternative ideas, it's impossible to control what will happen next.

The talk is so good, I decide to buy the book.  According to the cover, John Calvin says I am predestined to read it!

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