Saturday 9th July 7.30pm at The Bridge House Theatre. Rory McGrath Was In Conversation With Andrew Davies… 

         ‘The Father, The Son
         and The Ghostly Hole’

 ‘I remember thinking when I was about 14, “I hope God doesn’t find out I’m an atheist”.’

What a super evening was enjoyed by a wonderful audience of well over 200 people, yet another successful event put on for Warwick Words by Warwick Books.

Rory McGrath was brought up a Catholic. He was baptised, taught by nuns at Catholic school and spent his Sundays at church as an altar boy.  His life’s rhythm was set by the routine of Mass, Confession and Holy Days.  Until, that is, as a teenager in crisis, he abandoned his faith, entered the God-forsaken world and embraced its evil ways with a spring in his step.

But almost immediately he realised that in the process of giving up the Church, he had also inadvertently ‘freed’ himself from certainty, safety, confidence and hope. So, Rory never quite escaped the pull of Catholicism. Instead, his apostasy became a long and winding road which included the coincidence of marrying a (lapsed) Catholic and getting married in a Catholic church and baptising his children so they could attend the best school in the area.

Witty and reflective, The Father, The Son and The Ghostly Hole examines how being raised a Catholic always colours your view of life and death.  For Rory, it fuelled the guilt he felt in every nook and cranny of life, and it provoked an [unsuccessful] search for God in other things; sex, drugs, drink, love, family, football and the Periodic Table.  Taking the Seven Deadly sins as a starting point, The Father, The Son and The Ghostly Hole humorously reveals how, even as the most lapsed of Catholics, the religion has shaped Rory forever.

Rory McGrath was born in Cornwall in the last century. He studied at Redruth Grammar School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He is one of the best-known faces in British comedy, appearing in programmes such as They Think It’s All Over, QI and Three Men in a Boat. He was a co-founder of TV production company Hat Trick Productions, and has written jokes for many comedians, including Frankie Howerd.

His first book, Bearded Tit, was a Sunday Times bestseller and Radio 4 Book of the Week, receiving widespread acclaim:

“Rory has pulled off something rather special”  Simon Barnes

“Funny and surprisingly moving” Griff Rhys Jones

“Lyrical and beautiful”  Daily Telegraph

“A real pleasure” Sunday Express

“a gentle, warming, nostalgic and gag-ridden memoir” Daily Mail

 Rory lives in Cambridge and supports Arsenal.

 We all have a great time when authors visit, and love to meet them all. It was a particular pleasure to meet Rory as he is such a nice fella! We are delighted that Rory’s publisher Ebury have supported us in putting on this event. Do look out for our other terrific events..always on www.warwickbooks.net