Reunited at Bible by the Beach (after 61 years!)
James Stileman
Date posted: 23 May 2026
Hazel Gordon and Linnet Smith left their Cheshire girls' school in 1965. They hadn’t seen each other for over 60 years until this year’s Bible by the Beach (BBTB) conference in Eastbourne over the Early May Bank Holiday.
They sat in a seafront hotel and talked for four hours without stopping. “It was a fitting conclusion to our first meeting,” said Hazel, “to attend the Sunday evening celebration service in the Congress Theatre. What a profound moment to stand together as we sang ‘From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny’. We felt so blessed to have had this remarkable opportunity – and to discover that the adventure of life has not yet stopped.”
news in brief
Conversion therapy ban
Equalities Minister Olivia Bailey has reasserted her determination to introduce a conversion therapy ban.
She told a Stonewall event in February that Labour will bring forward a conversion practices bill this parliamentary session, which ends in May. It is more than eight years since the then Conservative UK government said it would outlaw conversion practices.
Bible sales are up & ESV is best-selling
Emily Pollok
Date posted: 24 Jan 2026
Crossway’s ESV was the best-selling translation of the Bible in the UK last year, according to Christian publisher SPCK Group.
And Bible sales are up overall, reaching the highest level recorded, research shows.