A big day for Greg Bird

No god, please, we're secular

A FINE and police charges have not deterred the Popemobile imitator Ian Bryce from further public action. Bryce faces the Downing Centre today over charges incurred during World Youth Day when he installed a mannequin pontiff, complete with gold satellite phone and the words "broadband link to my invisible friend", atop his silver Mazda and drove it to a WYD event at North Sydney Oval. Bryce was issued with a defect notice for "having a roof ornament likely to distract motorists" and was charged with using a vehicle that "did not comply with standards". Bryce, the vice-president of the Secular Party of Australia, is organising a protest against the charges, for which he faces a fine of up to $2200 plus expenses. Supporters of his No To Pope movement are expected to gather outside the Downing Centre this morning. Bryce said the Secular Party had about 500 members and he expected at least "half a dozen" at the courtroom. "This is going to be a showdown," he told The Diary. The Popemobile did have a second, more successful outing at the Mardi Gras, this time on the back of a white ute, but the vehicle will not be making an appearance today.

POSITIVE DESIGNS

Wednesday night's fashion parade for Jayson Brunsdon will herald the designer's first public outing since completing a gruelling three-month bout of chemotherapy following the discovery he again had cancer. Brunsdon, who has been wearing a hat after losing his hair from the chemo, was diagnosed with testicular cancer last June. He underwent surgery to remove the diseased testicle and was initially given the all clear from doctors. However, he tells this week's Grazia magazine that doctors discovered more cancer cells during a routine check-up in January. Continued...