The Reverend Rolly Bain has died.

Cedric Lackpot - 2016-08-11 19:30:06 UTC #

The Reverend Rolly Bain has died.

According to Martin Zippo Burton on Facebook, Rolly succumbed to a short battle with cancer.

I had the pleasure and privilege of studying with Rolly at Fool Time in '90-'91. To this atheist he was a fine advertisement for the clergy. I still remember him howling "YOU'RE ALL FUCKING CUNTS!!" at the rest of us, shrinking back from his good-natured comedy rage. It is very satisfying to encounter a cleric with a willingness to test the strength of faith and dogma with the fire of ridicule, and to come out of it cheerfully reconciled to the more obvious inconsistencies.

IIRC Rolly was for a time the vicar of the clown's church in Hackney, and I believe continued the dual roles of curate and clown for a good deal of his adult life. Even before his arrival at Fool Time he had been the subject of a tabloid kiss'n'tell about a stalker he collected in the 80s, in a story entitled "ROLLY'S UNHOLY FANCY", and as far as I know he continued to gather more salubrious coverage once he had left, about his quirky mix of circus and Christianity, in particular through the medium of his slack rope act.

I have not met Rolly for at least twenty years, and although it is a pity that he has died too young, I suspect that his life was well lived, fulfilling and rewarding for him and those around him. Requiescat in pace.