
I assisted Owen with the editing of the diocesan magazine, Ely Ensign, from about March 2003,

At the time, I was supporting his youngest son with his GCSE’s, so was a regular visitor to the Spencer-Thomas home.
Occasionally, after I had finished work with his son, Owen asked me to proofread one or two of the articles he was putting together for the magazine.
Gradually, as his son needed me less, Owen drafted me in on a more regular basis to help co-edit the magazine. It was a wonderful experience. As you can see from the selection below, there were some fascinating stories to be read.
- April 2003 The Bishops’ Way walk
- June 2003 Outcasts at Worship. How Cambridge cared for its lepers
- August 2003 Queen appoints new Lord Lieutenant
- November 2004 Celebrating pilot’s bravery
- November 2004 Pioneering priest lights up Christian faith with a bang
- November 2004 A dozen things you should know about fireworks
- December 2004 On the Spot (Owen Spencer-Thomas)
- December 2004 Wishing you a merry Christmas
- July 2005 Church glass
- August 2005 Around the world without a paws

Given my interest in the two World Wards, there were a series of articles, featuring Conington church, which I found of particular interest:
- September 2003 Conington church symbol of 60 year friendship between two countries
- September 2003 Down memory lane
- December 2003 Conington’s local bobby named
- July 2004 Ceremony and fly-past tribute to US heroes
And two articles about the bombing of St Paul’s Church on Hills Road, Cambridge in 1941:
- July 2005 Broken but restored
- August 2005 A wartime memory
You can find further Ely Ensign articles on Owen’s personal website, Say IT Straight, including:

- The Good and the Great
A series of articles about notable Cambridgeshire people, that appeared in the Ely Ensign, the Ely Diocese website, and finally Owen’s website, including a series of articles about local author, Dorothy L. Sayer’s and John Henslow Stevens, mentor to Charles Darwin. - The origins of Mothering Sunday (March 2006)
- November 2003 Dr Livingstone, I presume
- November 2004 – Church and community work together in face of school disaster Living behind the school, we had a first hand view of the disaster as it unfolded. And so we as a community pulled together to help provide support to the school and its pupils ready for school the very next day
- February 2004 Snowdrops in the churchyard
- A series of articles about Christmas including Wishing you a very merry Christmas, Face to Face – Father Christmas and Christmas plants
- February 2006 – Homes to roost for endangered swifts My time at GE meant I was aware of the work of ex-employee, and local churchwarden, Dick Newell, and his quest to safe the swifts
