Recently retired Reform head Rabbi Tony Bayfield is certainly in royal favour. Having collected his CBE from Buckingham Palace last week, he has been invited to dine with the Queen and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle early in April. At the end of the month he will join them again, this time in Westminster Abbey for the marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton.

And he has even more to celebrate - his beloved West Ham have finally lifted themselves off the bottom of the Premier League table.