From: The Bishop Of Bath And Wells (Archbishop of Canterbury-Elect), The Right Reverend Dr George Carey

15th August, 1990

Dear Julian,

Thank you very much indeed for your letter of 30th July, congratulating me on my appointment to succeed Dr Robert Runcie as the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

I was amused to get your letter asking me for details of my favourite brew! Without any question, my favourite comes from the North East, and is called "Theakston old peculiar". Alas, it is not the kind of brew that travels well, and it has to be enjoyed in its locality. I really don't think much of the beers around the South West!

You ask in your letter about speaking in tongues. I am certainly far from an expert on this, but I would not want to write it off as you do as just gibberish. It obviously means a lot to some people, and there is evidence in the annals of missionary expansion, of speaking in tongues being used by God to communicate his truth. It is a dimension that is much more common in the Pentecostal Church, than in the Church of England.

Once again, many thanks for your letter,

Yours warmly

+George Bath Wells