RETIRED clergyman Alan Gawith has written a collection of 24 poems that he hopes will lead people on a voyage of discovery.

Alan, an honorary Canon of Manchester Cathedral and former social responsibility officer for the Manchester diocese and HIV/Aids adviser, he has published the work in a book "Poems of Exploration", subtitled "Surfing the Interlinks between Time, Faith and Possibilities".

He and his wife, Kit , have lived in Leigh since 1974, and he says the poems touch upon many topical problems and questions that face people today about God, religion, church and the world.

An ex-Quaker who became an Anglican, Alan, who has never moved far away from the Society of Friends and their persistent concern for issues of social responsibility, said: "They are not all solemn, religious and earnest. Try them have fun with them and think about them."

The £3 booklet is available from Chamley's bookshop in Union Street, Leigh.