BREAK a leg, that's what they say to folk about to give a public performance. And the Reverend Rob Marshall did just that.

Hours before he was due to broadcast live to the nation on BBC Radio Four, the Archbishop of York's press officer stumbled down stairs at the friend's flat he was staying at in London.

He heard a loud crack from his left knee and feared the worst. But because his script for the Thought For The Day slot on Saturday's Today programme had already been approved, he decided "the show must go on".

The tube and bus journey that took him to the BBC were agony. Both Today presenter John Humphrys and newsreader Peter Donaldson were very sympathetic when they heard what had happened.

Ever the professional, Rob delivered his thought flawlessly. He even received a call later from a bishop, who had no idea about his injury, saying how good his talk had been.

Then he hobbled home - all the way to Yorkshire.

Deciding not to risk being "marooned" in a London hospital he finally sought treatment in Bradford on Sunday at 7am - about 30 hours after sustaining the injury.

The NHS speedily confirmed it was a break and his left leg will remain in a pot for at least six weeks, just as Dr David Hope comes to the end of his time as Archbishop. That means Rob will miss out helping to officiate at his sister's wedding, and has had to cancel assorted carol services and Midnight Mass on the moors.

He will be back to do a second Thought For The Day this Saturday. The subject will be decided the day before. "If it's anything to do with the National Health Service, I will be speaking from a very personal perspective," says Rob.

GOOD to see a prospective MP who is able to rise above the spin of Westminster and campaign from a deeply personal perspective.

That would be good to see. Until it happens we can only offer you this extract from a press release sent to us by David Scott, the Labour Party's prospective Parliamentary candidate for the Vale of York.

David was commenting on Gordon Brown's pre-Budget speech. "Gordon Brown and John Prescott also announced extra cash for LOCAL AUTHORITY to keep council tax rises down for all council tax payers," he is quoted as saying.

"That cash should mean that LOCAL AUTHORITY can improve their front-line services - in classrooms, in their care for older people, in cleaner streets - while at the same time keeping down council tax bills."

What does this blunder make David? He is a complete INSERT INSULT HERE.

THE young winner of the BBC's Hard Spell contest was in all the papers yesterday. But there were blushes at the Beeb when Shireen Shuster, retired York teacher and creator of spellzone.com, spotted that its Hard Spell web page contained the wrong spelling of the verb practise. It was quickly corrected.

"The problem arises because the Americans don't use 'practise' at all - they use 'practice' in all contexts - so I suppose it's another Americanism that's creeping (or swimming) across the Atlantic," said Shireen.

FINALLY, my thanks to Steve Carroll for doing a splendid job while this Diarist was busy attending birthday parties and flooding half of Huntington.

Updated: 10:09 Tuesday, December 07, 2004