26 September 2025
Bedford Ian has been looking at recent goings on across Bedford Borough and tells us what he thinks of it all…
Still not sh*t
While delivering the latest issue of the Bedford Clanger around the Borough, the team stumbled across a piece of graffiti repeating the well-known mantra that Bedford isn’t shit. For once, the spray-can philosophers are bang on (see pic above).
Read: Bedford Clanger
The timing couldn’t be better. On the very same morning, posters for the Clanger’s #BoughtInBedford campaign were being delivered to Bedford’s independent businesses, a campaign that doesn’t just confirm Bedford isn’t rubbish, but proves it with entrepreneurial spirit.
Since 2011, Totally Locally has been telling us that if we each spent just £5 a week in our local indies, the local economy would get a £29m shot in the arm. That’s almost enough to fill in all the Borough’s potholes. Almost.
So here’s the plan. Spend your fiver, and share your purchase on Instagram tagging #BoughtInBedford. You could even win a £50 voucher to blow on something lovely.
Read: Congratulations to our first #BoughtInBedford winner
That’s fifty quid that won’t vanish into a shareholder’s offshore account but will stay here, fuelling more brilliant businesses on our doorstep.
And if anyone still insists on muttering that Bedford is rubbish, perhaps we should all club together, hire the graffiti artist again, and spray “Bedford Isn’t Listening” outside their front door.
Hugs not drugs
A certain world ‘leader’ may be busy warning us that paracetamol causes autism (next week: ibuprofen linked to losing your car keys), but Bedford has decided to take a more scientific approach to health, and it involves hugs, not drugs.
Yes, this weekend, professional cuddle therapist Samii Wood is dishing out free embraces on the Embankment and cuddles in the town centre until her team has dispensed 100 each.
Read: Need a hug? Head to Bedford for free cuddles this weekend
That’s right, hundreds of people in Bedford will soon be able to say they’ve had more meaningful contact than most politicians manage in a lifetime.
According to experts (the actual kind, not the one ranting to the UN in New York), hugging for 20 seconds or more can lower stress hormones, ease anxiety and even boost your immune system.
Which makes you wonder why the NHS hasn’t already replaced GP waiting rooms with giant cuddle piles (don’t try this during cold season).
Of course, Trump (of course it’s Trump) would probably ban hugs too, on the grounds that prolonged physical contact may cause socialism. The UN would then have to endure another hour-long rant, during which he’d reveal that kissing babies has been linked to wind farms.
Meanwhile, Bedford offers a simple remedy: forget the rants, take the hug, even if it doesn’t solve every problem, it may make you more able to deal with it.
2% outrage
Some readers have been grumbling that the Bedford Independent has been writing too much about a certain story. Some of you will probably know the one.
So, I thought I’d run the numbers and tackle this with facts. Since 17 March 2025, when this story first began, we’ve published 1,197 news pieces. Of those, just 24 items (a fifth of which are readers letters) have been about this hot potato. That’s 2%.
Two. Per cent. Barely enough to count as a decent tip at one of Bedford’s coffee shops.
Since 1 August, when the plans we are reporting on were put in place, articles about the subject have risen to 5% of the Bedford Independent’s output (17 articles out of those 24). OMG, the horror.
Putting this into perspective, that means 95% isn’t about this subject. If this newspaper were a pie, and you cut yourself a 5% slice, you’d be left with crumbs. Delicious and news-based, yes, but still crumbs.
Meanwhile, good news stories have made up 34% of our coverage since 1 August, a much more satisfying slice of pie. But nobody’s storming into the comments section shouting, “Stop shoving happiness down our throats!” Funny, that.
Read: Good news only
So, no, my editorial colleagues are not chasing clicks or sensationalism. They’re simply reporting what’s happening in Bedford Borough with honesty, accuracy and transparency for the public interest.
Because, if they didn’t, the same people would most likely complain that we’d buried a story. And then we’d be accused of being part of a cover-up. And then we’d all need a cuddle therapist.
See you soon, Bedford Ian.
PS: If you see anything Bedford Ian might find amusing, tell us at news@BedfordIndependent.co.uk.
