18 April 2025
Bedford Ian has been looking at recent goings on across Bedford Borough and has told us what he thinks of it all.
Stop song
Bravo to whoever turned the Lurke Street stop sign into a spontaneous jukebox moment.
I saw it, I smiled, and the song immediately got stuck in my head. You know how it goes. It started as a toe-tapper, became a hum, and by 4pm had morphed into full internal karaoke rage. Worth it.
Mug shot
Borough Hall celebrations rolled on this week after the Universal announcement. But while the news of millions in investment is exciting, what really got the mayor smiling was his new mug.
During a sit-down interview with the Bedford Independent’s Paul Hutchinson, he proudly unveiled a commemorative Universal Studios cup gifted to him by the council’s head of comms.
It lists every Universal theme park location worldwide. Hollywood, Orlando, Japan, Singapore, Beijing and now… Bedford.
It’s a brilliant gift, slightly surreal, but now we all want one*. If there’s ever been a more Bedfordian way to celebrate a global announcement, I haven’t seen it.
(*Seriously. Bedford Ian wants one, he’s not stopped going on about it since I told him about it – Ed)
Universal slice
While we’re on the subject of Bedford legends doing great things, how about a round of applause for Salvatore ‘Salv’ Garganese and the team at La Rondine?
To mark the Universal Studios plans taking a big step forward, they did what they do best and made a cake. A beautifully detailed, hand-crafted creation celebrating one of the most significant announcements Bedford’s seen in years.
It’s already been shared far and wide on social media, but I couldn’t resist heading down to see it in person and grab another photo for the scrapbook.
Nicely done, La Rondine. Bedford Pride, beautifully made and straight from the heart.
Private pinching
If I’d been sipping tea from my Universal Bedford mug (I want one), I’d have spat it across the room when I saw Private Eye‘s latest edition (No. 1647) borrowing from last week’s column.
That’s right, Bedford Ian’s ride suggestions (The Embankment Log Flume, Parking Panic, Mayor’s Office Drop Tower) clearly inspired the satirical scribes over at The Eye (Bedford Ian, 11 April)
They’ve offered up their own theme park attractions, like The Ken Loach Experience and Carry On Squirming.
Still, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And if they’re reading this, cheers for the nod. I’ll accept payment in the form of a tenner or an invitation to the Private Eye summer party.
Headline ignorance
Oh my days, am I going to have to write about this every week?
People of Bedford, a headline is not the whole story. If one catches your eye, tap it. Click it. Read it. It won’t bite.
It’s been over a week since every news outlet reported on a potential Universal theme park in our patch, and every single one included details on improved infrastructure and public transport.
Yet here we are, still wading through comments like: “The roads won’t cope!” and “Traffic chaos incoming!”
Mind you, if that’s the worst people can come up with as a reason for not bringing Universal here, then the project really must be a good idea.
It’s like amateur traffic experts and civil engineers have overtaken Bedford. But personally, I trust the real engineers with real qualifications, not Bazza from Facebook, whose profile pic is him holding a fish.
PS: Want to know why headlines are written the way they are? Check out the Bedford Independent’s Media Literacy Project. No Facebook experts (or fish) involved.
See you soon, Bedford Ian.
PS: If you see anything Bedford Ian might find amusing, let us know at news@BedfordIndependent.co.uk.
