A BISHOP returned to his former base for the first stop on an author's tour.

Dr David Jenkins, the former Bishop of Durham, spoke to local people at St Nicholas Church, just down the road from his former base of Durham Cathedral, about his new book The Calling of a Cuckoo.

In it, he explains his sometimes controversial views on Christianity, including his thoughts on religious divisions.

He said: "To come here with this book is quite something for me.

"It's very ironic that the book should be launched in St Nick's because when I came here in 1984, the then vicar thought I was almost the very devil.

"It's difficult to put in a book what you think and how you interpret Christianity, and the book has been rewritten by my daughter so it has short sentences and can be understood."