AS a churchgoer, I have had occasion to parry the awkward questions from sceptics about the Christian church and its clergy; the latest being: "How come you have vicars sitting on roofs, people abseiling, etc, to raise funds for churches that badly need repairs, and here we have Blackburn Cathedral spending a fortune on 'Spaceship Scuplture'? It doesn't make sense."

When I replied the money came from elsewhere, the answer came: "OK, here's a parable, like in the Bible. You've got holes in your only pair of shoes. A rich benefactor wants to buy you a really expensive hat. Would you not say: 'No thanks, I don't need a hat. If you don't mind, I'll have the money to buy some shoes, which I badly need."

I got the message. If there's any money going, let's steer it where it's desperately needed.

The cathedral sculpture and all the other junk artefacts we have in Blackburn are like the Emperor's New Clothes story. In other words, it's inferred we're a bit slow because we can't see the beauty of them.

In reality, the people who promote these hilarious horrors are from another planet.

B SWAINBANK, Longshaw Lane, Blackburn.