A Roomful of Elephants: My First Eighty Years in the Church

In this entertaining autobiography, the Rev. Patrick Forbes looks back at an exceptionally varied ministry in the Church of England—from being the idiot curate to parish priest, to religious programs producer, to a BBC Radio 2’s “Pause For Thought” contributor, to co-founder of the Holy Fools UK, all while asking challenging questions about the future direction of the church. Sometimes known as “Partick Frobes, the well-known clerical error”, Forbes often finds and points out the humor and not-so-funny “elephants in the room”, after his more than eighty years in the church. He may be the only ordained minister in the Church of England to have been blessed by an Archbishop of Canterbury as the front end of a pantomime horse.

Patrick Forbes is a writer, broadcaster and priest. Along the way he has been a radio officer in the Merchant Navy, served numerous parishes, and over many years contributed to religious broadcasting as producer and presenter. He still contributes regularly to Radio 2's Pause for Thought and has written two books, Gospel of Folly and Clowning Glory about the ministry of clowning. He lives with his wife Annette and his trombone in Hertfordshire.