15 August 2025
Bedford Ian has been looking at recent goings on across Bedford Borough and tells us what he thinks of it all…
Universal panic
It appears Helen Lovejoy has left Springfield and now lives in Bedford Borough.
At a recent Stewartby Parish Council meeting, someone raised concerns over the proposed Universal Studios development, asking whether it would still be safe for children to play outside when “55,000 random people” descend on the area.
Read: Parent’s concern over child safety and Universal Studios
As The Simpsons’ character Lovejoy would cry, “Won’t somebody please think of the children?”
Of course, safeguarding is a serious subject, but this concern seems rather far-fetched.
I mean, even if a parent is lucky enough to have a child who wants to play outside these days, exactly how many people do they think are going to buy tickets to a theme park and then wander around the local villages?
After all, how many of us can honestly say they’ve wasted rollercoaster time wandering around Alton, Chessington or Thorpe? I bet it’s not many.
While it’s appropriate to ask the relevant agencies if they’re considering certain things, let’s take a breath before we start listing the possible issues this proposed theme park may or may not have.
Daily fail
It was pretty interesting reading the news, both local and national (and the average Bedfordian’s reaction) about my beloved home town while I was away recently.
It all kicked off when a national newspaper caused widespread anger for not bothering to try to understand the nuances of Bedford, and instead left out details and balance about our Borough, just to, I presume, get the headline and clicks it wanted.
Bravo then to Bedford Clanger editor Erica Roffe for helping set the ‘Bedford Isn’t Sh*t’ record straight, highlighting that while Bedford has its problems, those problems are indicative of towns all over the UK.
Read: Not all publicity is good publicity
Bedford’s problems are issues that blight our society wherever we live. Does that mean we need to ignore them? Of course not, and whether you agree with them or not, the actions of a few citizens to tackle these issues have at least sparked conversations about those topics.
But while we may need to be honest about the challenges we face, can we also be sincere, honest, and open-minded enough to see both the good and the bad on our doorstep?
And can we also pay credit to those who are, and have been, at least trying to do things to make it better in a way that best suits their own skills or abilities. Some of which are things that we can all take collective pride in.
After all, it’s often the average person who inspires or brings about more change in Bedford than those who are actually supposed to.
Bedfordians on tour
There’s a theory that everyone on earth is connected through seven other people. In Bedford, many would argue that people are connected by just two degrees of separation.
One then has to feel for Bedford Independent editor, Paul Hutchinson, when he tried to get away recently and found himself enjoying a meal surrounded by fellow Bedfordians.
Sitting at his table with his partner at the Gunton Arms in Norfolk, which he says is lovely by the way, he overheard some people comparing it to The Plough in Bedfordshire.
“Not The Plough in Bolnhurst?” he asked.
Turns out it was, and it was a nice, albeit brief, chance to chat with fellow Bedfordians from Sharnbrook about some of the great places to eat that we’re lucky to have on our doorstep.
As Paul said upon his return, holidays are fun, but there’s no place like home.
See you soon, Bedford Ian.
PS: If you see anything Bedford Ian might find amusing, tell us at news@BedfordIndependent.co.uk.
