5 September 2025
Bedford Ian has been looking at recent goings on across Bedford Borough and tells us what he thinks of it all….
Irony defined
What is the definition of irony?
How about sitting in a meeting with people talking about how we can better support Bedford town centre… while staring out the window at an Amazon pick-up locker in the entrance to The Arcade, home to some of the town’s best independent shops.
A giant yellow monolith for one of the world’s biggest online retailers, right next to a list of shops fighting tooth and nail to keep the high street alive.
I know it’s been there a while now (anyone know when it was installed?), but surely those who permitted Bezos to put it there understand how increasingly insensitive it is to place on their doorsteps the very thing that’s eating small businesses alive.
The indie traders inside that building work long hours, take risks, and pour their hearts into making Bedford better. Support local? Start by not undermining it.
Blue news
It’s sad to see that Blue (and White) Peris will now officially be closed to young Bedfordians on school trips after 50 years.
Generations of Bedford kids got their first taste of real adventure there. Bunkbeds, blisters, Snowdonia rain, being stung by bees, swimming in lakes, and the pride of scrambling up a Welsh hillside.
So why has it closed? A sign of the times? Councils stretched too thin? Or are schools starting to think this kind of thing doesn’t hold “educational value” anymore? Only five Borough schools used this excellent facility in 2024 and 2025.
Because if that’s true, we’re in more trouble than we thought. As one sad Bedfordian commented, “The councillors who pushed this through know the cost of everything and the value of nothing”.
Meanwhile, Oasis Beach Pool was announced for closure in November 2024, with the Council complaining it is too expensive to run.
Read: Oasis leisure pool earmarked for permanent closure
But it’s still open. Still costing money. And if budgets are as tight as we’re told, and more services are now at risk, why is no one turning off the taps?
Desperate Dorries?
It seems Dorries and Farage have made up.
Today, it was announced that Nadine Dorries, the former Conservative MP for Mid Beds has defected to Reform UK.
I had a good laugh reminiscing about how she had said she would be resigning with immediate effect on 9 June 2023, and then appeared to forget all about it until almost three months later, when she finally requested her P45 at the end of August.
Read: 78 days after saying she’d step down with “immediate effect” Nadine Dorries formally resigns
I then had another good laugh as a tweet from Reform leader Farage describing listening to Dorries speak as a “misfortune” resurfaced.
I then had a further good laugh when Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf said Dorries would be an “asset” to the party.
We’re sure Dorries, who never responded to a single press enquiry from us while she was representing some of our readers in Parliament, will feel right at home with her new Reform colleagues. Especially as they also seem to hate people asking questions.
Read: Reform council’s Nottingham Post ban a ‘massive attack on local democracy’ (The Guardian)
See you soon, Bedford Ian.
PS: If you see anything Bedford Ian might find amusing, tell us at news@BedfordIndependent.co.uk.
