Mine’s a pint please, bishop!

THE Bishop of Manchester pulled the perfect pint when the swapped the pulpit for the pub.

Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch got tips from landlord Peter Edwards and chatted with locals when he popped into the Northgate, Sholver.

The sojourn was part of Bishop McCulloch’s pilgrimage to visit 330 parishes in the Manchester Diocese and started with a service and prayers at St Thomas’s Church, Moorside. He then went to St George’s Nursing Home, St Thomas’s School and St James’s Children’s Centre before dropping in at the Northgate which has a collection box for the church.

His visit was rounded off with a buffet and evening service back at the church which included thanks to vicar Rev Howard Gray — one of Oldham’s longest serving clergymen — who is retiring after 34 years.

Church warden Lynn Weston described the service as “beautiful” and added: “The bishop is so good with people. He listens to people, I think this is his secret.”