14 February 2025
Bedford Ian has been looking at recent goings on across Bedford Borough and has told us what he thinks of it all.
Gimme Moore
Well-travelled as I am, as I get later in life I’m more appreciative of the home comforts, but as I sat on a private jet this week sipping a glass of Henri IV Dudognon Heritage Cognac Grande Champagne, it occurred to me that perhaps it’s still worth venturing further afield.
However, that wasn’t what lured me away from my usual haunts this week. Instead, I was off to have a chat with Captain Tom’s daughter, after her recent chat with GB News wasn’t received as well as she might have hoped.
“I just wish everyone would let us move on,” Hannah Ingram-Moore sobbed, and as I sat there eating almas caviar and ayam cemani chicken it was difficult not to feel for what this poor family has gone through.
“My family’s reputation has been demolished and all because of what? Just because we are widely seen as having enriched ourselves through misconduct and/or mismanagement of a charity we set up in my father’s name.”
Captain Tom captured the hearts of the nation during the COVID pandemic, with his sponsored walks around the garden of his home. He raised almost £40million which went direct to the NHS.
But, opinions about the management of the Captain Tom Foundation which the family set up later have left the Ingram-Moores “devastated”.
Surely then the bravery of his daughter is even more admirable. Who else would have seen the goodwill of her father’s efforts as an opportunity to have a spa and pool annex built on the grounds of their Grade II-listed home?
And Ms ‘Gimme-Moore’ struggled to hold back the tears as she said: “My father had a very strong opinion of right and wrong, and he would think how we’ve been treated was despicable.”
Yes, they took more money in ‘management costs’ in their first year of the Captain Tom Foundation than they gave to charity.
Yes, they also paid more than £16,000 to a company they ran.
Yes, they tried to have her made CEO of the foundation on a £150,000 annual salary.
Yes, they misled the public about a payment of nearly £1.5m from Captain Tom’s books, none of which went to the foundation.
But that doesn’t mean she should be treated so badly, does it?
Somebody certainly needs to be held accountable for the repeated instances of misconduct and/or mismanagement of the charity set up in Captain Tom’s name.
Who do you think that should be, Hannah?
Kempston character
Back in the early 2000s, some graffiti appeared on the side of the old stone masons at the roundabout for Ford End Road, Midland Road and Prebend Street.
Much like other eye-catching street art, it was a useful landmark to visitors arriving from the station: “Turn right at ‘Kempston Biggie is a c*nt 100%’”.
OK, it’s no Banksy, but it was certainly making a statement.
At the time, locals rang the council to request the graffiti be removed, only to be told that despite the colourful language, it was on a private building so without the owner’s permission they were power(wash)less.
So, a word of warning to any neighbours who don’t bring their bins in on time or let their dogs foul the pavements, rather than complaining in a passive-aggressive Facebook post, I might start highlighting the issue using a spray can on the side of my house.
PS: if anyone did know Kempston Biggie in the 2000s, are they able to vouch for his character?
Roadwork woes
This week, the council announced bold new plans to transform St Paul’s Square and create a better link between the town, the river and the museums.
Read: Regeneration of St Paul’s Square is “vital” part of £4.98m town centre funding
Judging by the response to the Bedford Independent’s story on social media, you’d have thought they’d suggested bulldozing the Embankment.
The main, and frankly baffling, objection, was that there’s no point trying to make something perceived to be bad, better. They want the town centre to be better, but not better than this.
Of course, the quality of the town centre is subjective, but those who say they never visit and in the same breath, say there’s nothing there, don’t really have a leg to stand on.
Ironically, when there was a Debenhams*, Woolworths*, M&S, Beales*, BHS* and Top Shop*, people were still moaning that there was nothing in Bedford.
You can’t win sometimes.
See you soon, Bedford Ian.
PS: If you see anything Bedford Ian might find amusing, let us know at news@BedfordIndependent.co.uk.
*These stores no longer exist anywhere anymore.
