A decent crowd of spectators braved the cold and the rain to watch the two annual Boxing Day fixtures that took place at Chester Road over the weekend.
Joined by Shefford and Sandy Hockey Club, Bedford were able to put on two matches for the crowd in the exhibition event.
The Bedford v Shefford & Sandy match, which included a couple of Bedford players donning Shefford & Sandy kit, was played with zeal, though always in the Christmas spirit.
The nimble performance by both sides showed no evidence of any over indulgence the previous day, with both sides were closely matched.
The win could have gone either way, though it was Shefford & Sandy who took the 2-1 victory thanks to a winning goal by one of the loaned Bedford players.
The second game was a more friendly affair; the two teams comprised a mix of ages and abilities, with some great competitive play bringing end-to-end action and goals aplenty for both sides.
Particularly joyful, in both games, was seeing mothers and fathers playing alongside sons and daughters and brothers and sisters revelling in their love of hockey together.
With the winter break in full swing, Bedford Hockey Club have had a largely successful opening half of the season, with many teams sitting in the higher echelons of their divisions.
The Ladies 1st XI are second in the Conference Midlands division, six points behind Sutton Coldfield with a game in hand, with a tough game at St Albans their first fixture back in February.
Their male counterparts are fifth in the Conference Midlands Division One and only a couple of points off third, a position they can reach with victory against Lichfield who they play next.
The Ladies 5th XI are the only Bedford side sitting top of their division, although a multitude of other teams are challenging in the top four.
The Conference begins again in haste in February, with the majority of other divisions kicking off in a couple of weeks, most notably when the Ladies 5th and 6th XI’s face off on 15th January.
