Saturday 4 April 2009

Grand National: Place your bets...

People wonder what the future of Christianity will be in Britain. Is it about getting everything licked into shape with the institutional Church, or adventurous new forms of priestly ministry? Is it about renewing our historic resources to be all they could be? Or is the life at the more sectarian seeming margins? Is it about social renewal?

In today’s Grand National, people can put their money where their mouth is, down the betting shop. Straws in the wind, you may say, but keep an eye out for the following Grand National contenders:
  1. No 5: Comply or Die 12/1
    Winner last year, but out of form since

  2. No 10: Priests Leap 100/1
    Solid Stayer — Interesting at a Big Price
    thus the Parish Share?

  3. No 19: Parson’s Legacy 16/1
    Will love this stamina test, but lacks pace

  4. No 21: Fundamentalist 150/1
    Fell 3rd Fence last year. No Chance.

  5. No 31: Rambling Minster 10/1
    Thorough stayer who is int he form of his life
    Note there is only one “i” in the name...

  6. No 38: Idle Talk 66/1
    Reported in great shape, but needs to improve to win
So there you have it. All good Anglicans should, of course, lay Each Way bets, preferably on everything at once. You don’t win anything, but it sure beats making up your mind. Go easy on Fundamentalist though. If it comes in, various of you will feel like leaving the country...

h/t Revds Colin Smith and Richard Watson, and the Daily Telegraph for the form guide.

5 comments:

Tony Sidaway said...

Big Fella Thanks might stand a good chance but I hear he is favoured by most punters only on a Sunday.

Anonymous said...

I was hoping to bet on 'Mixed Economy', but I think the financial backing folded...

Ernest said...

Well, Comply or die came second, with the rest nowhere.

The winner was a 100-1 outsider, the bookies are weeping in their beer right now.

Jesus never liked Gamblers anyway!

Bishop Alan Wilson said...

Thanks for comments. Ernie, I'm not sure bookies do get too suicidal when a long odds horse comes in — they have to pay out a very small number of big awards rather than a very large number of medium size ones; also outsiders tend only to have small sums put on them by people who have to bet on them because they know the owners... all in all a recipe for a smaller dent in the bookie’s pocket. And, to boot, publicity about the fact that one person has won a lot is more of an incentive for mugs to bet than a large number of small payouts... all in all I bet the bookies cope OK with this one. Not sure what odds, though...

CreekNationCasino said...

Idle Talk is my favorite, for sure.

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