Little Mimi's big day

"Jesus died in a cruel way at the hand of a foreign power. Christ, that sort of thing happens every day."

Those were the words of the priest who presided over the Christening of Amelia Mary Cotton in St Catherine's Church in Manchester earlier today.

And in saying what he did, not only did Father Whateveryoucalledhim - who I felt bore a striking resemblance to the druggy fake doctor in The Cannonball Run - take the Lord's name in vain, he also effectively drove a coach and horses through 2,000 years of Christan teaching. I suppose we all have our off days.

Thankfully, Father W's faux-pas did not take the spotlight way from Amelia - Mimi to her friends - of whom Vanessa is now a proud Godmother. 10-month-old Mimi is the daughter of Vanessa's lifelong friend Jane and husband Ed, who are now both good friends of ours. (Pictured blurrily above, from left to right, are Ed, Jane, Mimi, Tash - also a Godmother - and Vanessa).

Ed and I remain joined together in some people's minds (including his dad's) following an incident at his and Jane's wedding in Manchester City Hall three years ago.

The two of us had developed something of a party piece (at parties, funnily enough) where we, well, Riverdanced wildly but with very serious faces.

Jane and Ed's wedding was rather a posh do where formal attire was the order of the day. But weddings are no place for formality so, with the hour getting late and with me standing outside the door of the main banqueting hall, I heard the first few bars of Riverdance emanating from the DJ's decks. I walked in and there was Ed, standing at the front of the room, waiting to take my hand.

I offered it and off we went. For the next however many minutes (and, whatever it was, it felt much longer), we danced with all that possessed us, faces grim throughout.

And, like in the original version, we finished in a mass dance with everyone who could move in the hall joined together in one long line. (Feel free to watch Michael Flatulence and friends do it properly at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=X5Mc03_rlWo)

What made the whole thing all the more amusing - for us at least - was the fact that several guests were heard to make comments afterwards which suggested they thought we were for real. Yes folks, that's how good we were (or how drunk they were, take your pick).

And today was memorable too in a much more gentle way.

Vanessa, Jamie and I actually travelled over to stay with the Cottons last night where a dinner party had been lined up. Unfortunately, the evening coincided with my normally twice yearly sinusitis attack which forced me to lie in the dark away from all the fun.

On the upside, I had Jamie with me for company and it did actually ease the pain somewhat.

My mood was lifted even further this morning when the sunlight revealed that Jamie had been wearing Mimi's sleeping bag thingy after we forgot to bring his with us.

Pretty in pink, I'm sure you'll agree.