Compliments

The other day I was covering a service at church when someone said they were going to pay me a compliment, but weren't sure I would like it. Time to brace yourself and maintain a charitable exterior, I thought. They the said it was good to see a clergyman (the male term was deliberate) who didn't have an ever-expanding girth.

I can only give the credit to my genes, not to any diet or exercise regime. Peatmans are thin (at least in my part of the family tree) - my dad never did middle age spread either. However, it did make me wonder what it is about the ministry that has given people the impression of a growing population of Friar Tucks. (And I'm from Nottingham, so how does that work?)