Daily Mail, Friday, September 6, 2019 Page 15
QQQ
Songs of Praise gay
wedding triggered
1,238 complaints
Metal detecting
thieves plunder
Hadrian’s Wall
IT WAS built to keep the barbarians at
bay, and nearly 2,000 years later Hadri-
an’s Wall is under attack again – albeit
from a rather less intimidating foe.
A surge in thefts by illegal treasure-
hunting metal detectorists, known as
‘nighthawks’, has prompted police to
launch patrols along the Roman wall.
The 73-mile wall, which was finished
in AD128, is a protected Unesco World
Heritage Site, where using a metal
detector without authorisation is a
criminal offence. Mike Collins of His-
toric England, which looks after the
monument, said: ‘Most people who go
metal detecting comply with the law,
but there’s a small but significant ele-
ment – known as nighthawks – who are
damaging and stealing parts of this
important historical site.
‘Illegal metal detecting is particularly
a problem at this time of year, as adja-
cent farmland is being ploughed.’
Hadrian’s Wall, which was lined with
forts and castles to guard the wild fron-
tier of the Roman Empire, ran from the
banks of the River Tyne on the east coast
to the Solway Firth on the west.
Corbridge in Northumberland is among
the stretches worst-hit by the treasure
hunters who dig holes in the hope of
finding valuable artefacts or coins.
PC Lee Davison, of Northumbria Police,
said: ‘We will be conducting patrols. If we
identify anyone who has been stealing
historic artefacts they will be arrested.’WAR correspondent
Jeremy Bowen says
having bowel cancer
is more terrifying than
getting bombed in a
conflict zone.
The BBC reporter,
pictured, was diag-
nosed with cancer
last October and has
encouraged others to
get tested early to
avoid ‘dying of embar-
rassment’. He said his
near-death experiences as a foreign cor-
respondent – including being bombed,
shot at and robbed at gunpoint – do not
compare to the fear of having cancer.
Speaking at the NHS Expo conference
yesterday, Mr Bowen, 59, said: ‘In 1995, I
remember lying in the snow in Grozny in
Chechnya. The Russians were bombing
the place, and buildings were on fire and
planes were going over. I was thinking,
“any minute now, I’m going to die”.
‘Cancer is different, not in a good way. If
you’re in a dangerous place, you can always
get somewhere safer, but if you have
cancer, you can’t get anywhere safer.’Door left open
on 80mph train
A PASSENGER train travelled for more
than 20 minutes with one of its doors
open, accident investigators have said.
The incident happened on a Greater
Anglia service from London Liverpool
Street to Southend Victoria.
A passenger alerted the driver that the
door was open on the side opposite the
platform at Hockley station in Essex at
around 7.20am on August 22.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch
(RAIB) said the door was open for about
23 minutes while the train travelled 16
miles at speeds of up to 80mph.
A separate RAIB report published in July
revealed that a lack of sleep and food
may have contributed to a London
Underground driver leaving 10 doors
open while on the Jubilee line.Bowen: Cancer
worse than war
The rare bat found in a coat sleeve
Museum piece: Joules the batTHEy’RE rarely seen during the daytime
and if they are spotted, it’s likely to be in a
forest or somewhere remote.
So staff at upmarket clothes shop Joules were
understandably stunned when they found a
bat wandering around their store.
The barbastelle bat – a rare breed – was found
underneath a clothes rail having hidden itself
in the sleeve of a coat at the high street store
in Salisbury, Wiltshire. Staff member
Naomi young, who found it, told the BBC:
‘I’d just brought some coats down from the
stock room and it was in with them.
‘It scared the living daylights out of me. I
thought it was a kid’s toy, moving around.’
The bat was taken to a local vet but died hours
later. Following its death, the bat was sent to
the Natural History Museum and is the first tohave been added to its collection in 20 years.
Staff at the museum have named it Joules in
homage to where it was found.
Steph West, from the museum, said: ‘It’s only
the 12th specimen of this species from the UK
since our first specimen in 1879.’
The bats, which can live for up to 23 years,
weigh between six and 13 grams and are distinc-
tive because of their upturned pug-like noses.
Its name is derived from the Latin for ‘star
beard’, referring to the white tips on the bat’s fur.
The Wildlife Trust estimates there are only about
5,000 barbastelle bats left in the UK and the spe-
cies is classified as ‘near threatened’. They live in
a variety of habitats and are protected under the
Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.Daily Mail ReporterBy Eleanor Sharples
TV and Radio ReporterLGBT views and attitudes. This
is wrong and perpetuates a
myth that faith and LGBT inclu-
sion cannot coexist.
‘Faith is an important part of
many LGBT people’s lives and
it was powerful to see this rep-
resented on Songs of Praise.
‘While we know there are dif-
ferent opinions in faith commu-
nities, we work with lots of
LGBT people of faith and faith
leaders who are passionate
about LGBT equality.’
Speaking on the programme,
Mr Wallace said: ‘Jesus preaches
about love, inclusion, kindness,
compassion. A good lady who
comes to this church told us in
one of our discussions, peoplewill change, and don’t underes-
timate older people, either. They
just need to think about it, and
they’ll get there one day.
‘As a committed Christian,
being able to marry the man Iopen to same-sex couples.’ Mr
Wallace, a sociology lecturer at
Glasgow Clyde College, praised
the church for being ‘in tune
with modern Scotland’.
Since 2016 individual United
Reformed Church congregations
have been able to vote on whether
or not their church should hold
same-sex weddings.
Songs of Praise, which has
been running since 1961, was
traditionally ‘a sort of hymn
sandwich’, according to Pam
Rhodes, one of the presenters.
But the programme, which is
shown on Sundays, now favours
a magazine format instead of
just filming a single service.Executive producer Cat Lewis
said: ‘We understand this is a
sensitive subject, but the United
Reformed Church is the sixth
biggest in the country and as
Britain’s only Christian TV
series, it is very important we
reflect all aspects of the faith.’
A BBC spokesman said: ‘Songs
of Praise tells the stories of
Christians across all denomina-
tions in the UK and in so doing,
aims to reflect the balance of
opinions on different issues.
‘We featured the wedding of
James and Ian to find out
what it meant to them as Chris-
tians, to be able to take their
vows in church.’SONGS of Praise has received
1,238 complaints for broadcast-
ing a gay wedding on the show
for the first time.
Viewers complained to the BBC
that its decision to feature a
same-sex marriage was offensive
to Christians.
The episode about Faith and Mar-
riage, which was screened on BBC1 on
August 18, showed the wedding cere-
mony of Jamie Wallace, 27, and Ian
McDowall, 39, at the Rutherglen United
Reformed Church, near Glasgow.
The pair are the first gay couple to
marry at the church after the local con-
gregation gave its backing.
The United Reformed Church is one
of the few Christian denominations to
allow same-sex marriage. Such services
are currently banned by the Church of
England and the Church in Wales.
A Songs of Praise spokesman said
last night that the programme had also
been sent many letters by wellwishers.
‘As well as the complaints, we received
almost 400 letters of congratulations,
applauding the fact that Songs of
Praise is reflecting modern Christian-
ity,’ he said.
Stonewall, the lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender charity, has defended
the BBC’s decision to feature the wed-
ding on the programme.
‘LGBT people exist in every commu-
nity, in every workplace, in every region,
from every ethnic background, and in
every religion,’ a spokesman said.
‘Faith is often used to justify anti-
TV first: The wedding of Ian McDowall, left, and Jamie Wallace, shown on Songs of Praise‘Something I’ve
dreamed of’love with all my heart and soul,
before God, in the church I love,
with my family, friends and the
congregation around us, is
something I’ve dreamed of.
‘Now it’s happened, I’m proud
my church is welcoming and