09 January 2026
Bedford Ian has been looking at recent goings on across Bedford Borough and tells us what he thinks of it all…
Baby talk
The Prime Minister was in Bedford this week, visiting a Family Hub in Goldington as the backdrop to announce the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap.
There were babies, prams, media, council workers, and tired parents trying to look interested, even though they hadn’t slept properly in six months.
But, honestly, it all looked rather pleasant.
It must have felt like a blessed relief from the constant shouting, briefing, counter-briefing and political warfare of Westminster. But it does raise a familiar question. What is it with politicians and babies?
It seems every opportunity they get, a politician finds themselves cradling one, crouching to toddler height, laughing for the cameras while a small human screams nearby.
I guess it must be politics’ safest habitat. As one journalist murmured in the gathered huddle, “Babies don’t ask any difficult questions.”
Cleaning up
Bedfordians will be breathing a collective sigh of relief at the news that the landlord of Beales has promised to thoroughly clean up the appalling state of the building by the end of next week.
Read: Beales clean-up to be completed by “end of next week”
When the building’s latest tenant absconded, they left behind shop fittings and mannequins, along with abandoned posters in the windows (one of which optimistically reads “closed due to refurbishment”) and white paint daubed over every pane of glass.
When other shopkeepers are trying their hardest to create a welcoming aesthetic and encourage shoppers into Bedford, it has been particularly galling to have such an enormous eyesore in the heart of the town centre.
My colleagues have said they’ll be keeping a close eye on the clean-up operation and hope to have good news to report this time next week.
Scorchio speedio
We know it’s been a bit brass monkeys this week, as my grandad would say, so it was nice to see even the speed signs on one Bedford road bringing a touch of the Mediterranean to the area, with its seemingly international greeting telling motorists they were driving safely.
OK, I know this is probably just a malfunction and the sign is simply showing an error, Vario is the sign’s manufacturer. But if you’ve ever seen L.A. Story, you’ll know why this excited me.
Backlash backfired
It was lovely to hear that Stephen Yaxley-Lennon’s so-called cronies had little effect on a Bedford pub landlord exercising his legal right to kick their ‘leader’ out of his pub over Christmas.
Read: Landlord who barred Tommy Robinson from popular Bedford pub hit by fake reviews
Alongside the fake reviews they left on various websites being removed, when I popped into The Rose on Bedford High Street this week, the landlord told me, “The good feedback has outweighed the bad”.
Nice work, Bedford.
See you soon, Bedford Ian.
PS: If you see anything Bedford Ian might find amusing, let us know at news@BedfordIndependent.co.uk.
