Hello! Weekly news from Bedford, England

Beds. on Sunday leads with a report of the jailing of a sex pest.

A convicted sex offender caught loitering near a school as he watched children play in Bedford Park has been sent back to jail for four years.

The county's police have launched an operation to enforce the conditions under which convicted sex offenders are released on licence from prison.

As with all areas, the agencies involved in enforcement, monitoring and rehabilitation of offenders who have the potential to commit either violent or sexual offences work together to try to prevent new offences.

As part of this, Operation Nebula started this week and has already resulted in the return to prison of a man from Bedford who had been released on licence only last month.

He had previously been convicted of 14 sex offences dating from 1984 to 2001, including offences of indecent exposure and indecency with children.

The man's licence conditions were not to go to schools, public parks, playgrounds, swimming pools or leisure centres.

On Tuesday the man, who has not been named, was the subject of an operation by the force's drugs and serious crime unit (DSCU).

During the day, officers watched him loitering in the area of a school and visit Bedford Park.

Police say enough officers were involved in the operation to ensure public safety at all times.

The unit remained in consultation throughout the day with officers from the public protection team, who have responsibility for monitoring such offenders and the Home Office.

At a point when sufficient evidence had been gathered to justify a recall to prison, the man was arrested and has now been returned to continue his jail sentence for a further four years.

Off with the gloves and on with the pinny for Bedford's world boxing champion Matt Skelton.

Matt took up a baking challenge from Chiltern FM's noise Miss G to a cook off at Bedford College and the WBU champion was only to happy to 'rise' to the occasion.

Matt teamed up with Nicola Elston while Lil Miss G had Sarah Kirkland in her corner.

Referee for the event was Bedford College's senior catering lecturer Derrick Smith.

At the bell Matt got off to a great start proving that he can whisk as well as whack. After a high temperature session in the oven, Matt served up his vanilla cream filled Victoria sponge sprinkled with icing sugar.

When the judges tucked into a slice from each contestant they decided that Matt had won on points.

(Bedford College has an outstanding cookery department).

A former marine has taken to living in a garden shed for 33 days in his attempt to 'Make Poverty History'.

Chris Lowe, 26, has banned himself from his home at Tithe Road, Kempston Rural, sleeping instead with the spiders in the summer house on a budget of £1 per day with no electricity or running water.

He moved in on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon to make his stay 33 and one third days - during which time around a million children will have died poverty related deaths.

He said:

"The idea is to recreate some of the conditions experienced by those living in extreme poverty, though obviously you can't recreate war and genocide or terror."

Chris is raising cash for Vision Africa and anyone who would like to donate can contact him on 07712 599126 - which he is keeping with him for fundraising.

SIR - I am writing in response to the article of May 21 which reported on HBS's contracts with Bedfordshire County Council (BCC) and Milton Keynes Council (MKC).

We did provide Bedfordshire on Sunday with a statement in relation to both these partnerships and were disappointed that it was reported that HBS did not provide a comment. Therefore we want to take this opportunity to respond to the article 'Council partner under attack again'.

We can confirm that earlier this year, MKC carried out an internal review of key performance indicators in relation to the timely payment of invoices, which established there were discrepancies in the process for approving council invoices for payment.

HBS took immediate action and appointed KPMG to conduct a fully independent inquiry and the situation was resolved quickly.

The article referred to a 'policy of inappropriate practices' as well as 'a management culture where inappropriate practices are promoted by apparent threats of job security' at MKC.

We strongly refute both allegations. The reviews carried out by MKC and KPMG both concluded that this was an isolated incident and that senior management within HBS's MK partnership and the wider HBS organisation as a whole were not in any way party to this apparent manipulation. The two front-line managers involved have left HBS.

HBS takes issues like this very seriously and measures have been put in place to ensure that internal procedures are robust. We have a good working relationship with MKC and have delivered many successes throughout the partnership and continue to do so.

We recently wrote to The Municipal Journal (MJ), in response to an article about our partnership with MKC, in the form of a joint letter from Milton Keynes Council's chief executive, John Best and our group chief operating officer, Steve Huxley, which The MJ published.

The letter entitled, 'Partnership shows positive results' puts the record straight about our partnership at MKC concluding 'this partnership is showing tangible and positive results'.

With regards to our partnership with BCC, it is important to emphasize that HBS has delivered on its contractual obligations and it is wrong to suggest that the partnership is under performing. HBS is only a third of the way through its 12-year partnership and we have already delivered many successes including:

• Over £12 million investment in assets, people and expertise to help BCC deliver improved services to the citizens of Bedfordshire.

• £1.5m investment by HBS in BCC's computer network, providing BCC and HBS staff with faster and more effective communications access for the delivery of public services.

• £1.2m investment by HBS in the creation of a 45-seat customer contact centre at BCC. The centre was the first of its kind in local government to use SAP customer-relationship technology to provide citizens with a more effective and responsive service.

The partnership review currently underway has been in response to the Transforming Bedfordshire Programme, which, as you are aware, was launched following the change in leadership at the council.

The purpose of this review is to identify opportunities for improving service delivery further, both within the council and the partnership and to establish a platform for a response to the increased pace of change at BCC. We are working with BCC as part of the review to identify how to best move forward over the remaining eight-year partnership. We are committed to the partnership and making it a success.

We are hoping to be able to report on the outcomes of the review and the next steps of the partnership with BCC in the near future.

Phil Ladmore
Partnership director
HBS

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(Last week Steve Lowe wrote an article on pensions, eliciting the following:

SIR - I must congratulate you on your excellent article on pensions in the week's BoS (Steve Lowe on Sunday).

It is very much what I have observed of late and is worrying for all in this country. I believe that a couple of years ago the local councillors voted an increase of something like £4.7 million in their pension contributions that ended up significantly increasing that year's council tax and of course has been included in the base for future increases.

You did not mention the Government's inability to have solved the impending crisis during its eight year tenure and the fact that the Chancellor has exacerbated the problem with a £5 billion annual raid on final salary, defined benefit pension schemes.

In addition, we can all point to the collapse of the stock market in 2000 and its inability to properly recover which has further dampened the returns of schemes weighted towards equities. If the stock market plateaus off now, we shall all face income deprivation in our retirement years.

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SIR - I've just read your Steve Lowe on Sunday column, well said!

I'm a 37-year-old divorced mum with two children and a new partner who is medically retired.

I've been out of the pension 'game' since I gave up work to raise my boys and latterly to become a student at University College Northampton (I'm in the process of gaining a BSc which hopefully will finally allow me to have some sort of career).

My partner and I scrape by on his pension and my student loan with no other assistance from the State and to be perfectly honest, the future worries me even if I do manage to secure a reasonable job.

I have watched my current pension fund being eroded during the last ten years and I'm looking forward to being able to boost it a little once I'm in gainful employment again.

However, the recent collapse of many pension funds concerns me as I have little desire to pay into a fund that won't be there when I retire.

The only answer, as you rightly say, is an overhaul of the current state pension system which will provide people with some hope of a decent retirement in the future. Never mind 'Winter Fuel Payments' and cheap television licences, give us the ability and dignity to afford these out of our own pocket!

Keep up the good work with your column, I thoroughly enjoy it and it makes a pleasant change from shouting at the radio.

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(A letter on cats was bound to elicit a few angry replies!)

SIR - In answer to V F Suter's hatred of cats and his stating that it was permissible for gardeners to 'shoot, trap or poison vermin', I would like to point out that not only is this illegal and inexcusably cruel but it is also morally repugnant.

Many cats belong to elderly, lonely people, their only companion is their furry feline. To them the loss of their beloved friend is akin to losing a close relative.

To stop cats straying on to their property there are several solutions for keen gardeners. These range from a bucket of water or, more effectively, a Super Soaker water pistol to electronic deterrents.

The easiest way is to place anti-cat crystals, available cheaply from pet shops, along your boundary, cats hate them and will stay well clear.

I must say I was surprised to see your paper printing such an inflammatory letter. I would urge cat-lovers not to retaliate against VF Suter by shooting, trapping or poisoning him, even though he may well be regarded as vermin!

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• SIR - With regard to V F Suter's letter, I feel that as a cat owner myself I cannot allow his vindictive words to go unchallenged.

It cannot be denied that cats can be a source of great frustration to our gardening friends but surely his remarks are not shared by the majority of the population. If they are then this country is in an even sorrier state than I imagined it to be.

As far as the local cat population in Elstow is concerned, how clever of them to wait until Mr Suter is away on holiday before they decide to devastate his garden.

Surely he does not advocate the extermination of these adorable creatures who, by his own admission, have shown admirable restraint by not entering his garden until he is elsewhere, probably stocking up on shotgun pellets.

(I like cats, but we do not have one. But I wish they would choose someone else's garden to do what cats do! Jill has tried just about every humane deterrent yet, but the cats in our area don't seem to have got the message!)

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(This in reply to someone who was caught speeding, and who wrote in last week).

SIR - In response to Amanda Lee's letter on being caught speeding where she saw no advisory signs, camera enforcement is conducted under the rules of the National Safety Camera Programme.

These state that all enforcement sites must be clearly signed and the cameras visible to motorists.

The rules, however, are only relevant to the way the safety camera scheme is funded. Compliance with all the rules means the partnership may reclaim its operating costs from the Government, which receives the fines, so the scheme is funded by those caught speeding.

Bedfordshire Police can also enforce speed limits anywhere and are not subject to the rules of the national programme.

Drivers need to be aware that it is an offence to break the speed limit anywhere not just where there are signed cameras.

Caryl Jones
Bedfordshire and Luton Casualty Reduction Partnership

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(A couple of weeks ago I reported an honourable mention of Biddenham Upper School. In the weekly John Ball's diary (name fictitious - just a shared commentary space) there was a rather unnecessary and childish comment and this week's letters include a stern one from a pupil at the school)

SIR - I am replying to comments made in John Ball's Diary last week.

In my opinion, you have used my school, Biddenham Upper, and our fundraising events as a tool to mock the Bedford and Kempston MP, Mr Hall.

The event mentioned was an Auction of Promises organize to raise funds for the Hope House shelter in South Africa, which my school has been supporting for the past two years.

In July, 18 fellow students including me are flying out to the shelter to help refurbish the building, which is in great need of repair.

I contacted 10 Downing Street to see if Mr Blair would wish to make a donation as Africa is on the agenda at the moment. He donated a pen bearing his signature to go into the auction.

I decided to make this gift a bit quirkier by disguising it and calling it the 'mystery prize'. It was by sheer fluke that Mr Hall bid and won the prize. He found it very amusing.

Mr Hall's intention in Prime Minister's Question Time was to make the point that contrary to recent press reports, there are a great number of adolescents doing good community work, not only for this country but for poorer communities abroad also. The work of Biddenham Upper is an example of this.

I think it appalling that when I contacted your paper asking you to write an article to raise awareness for our cause, you replied 'we don't do charity'.

Why now are you so quick to use not just my school, but the good fundraising work we are undertaking as a doorway to make a political point?

I would like to thank Mr and Mrs Hall for helping me with my individual fundraising efforts and for their continued support.

Bethany Coles

Biddenham Upper School pupil

(Editor's note: Point taken - though we generally don't cover charity events as there are so many people working to help good causes we could fill the paper several times over with such items each week and it would be unfair to do one and not all.)

Well done Bethany!

BoS reports that the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War is also set to be the final reunion of the Little Staughton Pathfinder Association.

A decision was made last year to wrap up the annual meeting as more and more members are unable to attend.

The 109 and 582 Pathfinder squadrons of the RAF have met every year since 1983 and the final meeting is expected to attract around 120 former fighters.

Organiser Ron Jeffries said:

"For our final meeting we have members flying in from all around the world. Six are coming from Canada, two from France and others from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

The base was only open for one year during 1944 and 1945, but in that time we were awarded the Victoria Cross twice. There are also many historical artifacts at the village and we have set up a fund so that when we stop coming here, money can still be available to maintain these items."

The weekend of events starts on Friday June 17, when members will be socialising with locals in the Crown pub in Little Staughton. On the Saturday the final group annual meeting will take place and in the evening a semi-formal dinner will be held at the Moathouse hotel.

The special annual service for the two squadrons will be held on Sunday June 19 at All Saints Church in Little Staughton at 11.30am. The preacher and celebrant will be Air Vice Marshal The Venerable Ron Hesketh, Chief Chaplain of RAF.

Little Staughton Airfield was actually built in 1942 as a standard bomber station. It was used as a repair base for damaged American B-17s until February 1944 and then as a Pathfinder station with Lancaster Mks I and III and Mosquito Mks IX and XVI.

The new Lancaster squadron, No 582, was officially formed on April 1, 1944, to be joined the next day by the Mosquito crews of No 109 squadron from Marham in Norfolk.

Both squadrons were very active on the eve of D-Day and continued afterwards with many successful and heroic missions.

A Mosquito type XVI, crewed by Flying Officers AC Austin and P Moorehead dropped the last bombs of the war at 2.14am on April 21, 1945.

Local brewer Charles Wells is celebrating after receiving recognition for its ale and lager portfolio in the Monde Selection International Awards.

The Bedford company took a gold medal for Kirin Ichiban and Cobra beers, and silver for Wells Bombardier.

Jim Robertson, head brewer and production and distribution director of Charles Wells said:

"Monde Selection is a world renowned institute for selections of quality in the brewing industry. Its global reputation helps communicate our high quality standards.

We enforce rigorous checks on the quality of our ingredients, whether it be the accredited natural mineral water, the most flavoursome, ripest hops, or the crushed malt and adhere to the holy brewing method where these ingredients are fermented together for a full seven days."

(Jill and I were at a restaurant, where the waiter recommended Cobra beer from India as the perfect beer to accompany Indian meals. And indeed it is excellent!

Months later one of our men's church outings was to Charles Wells -where Cobra beer is manufactured and bottled!)

At 73, Ken Dodd is still a loveable star, full of crazy jokes, mostly clean, and an astonishing energetic performance. I saw him a couple of years back, and found the event utterly hilarious! Though it was scheduled to end just after 10pm, he was still at it near midnight, when I simply had to go, as I had an appointment the following morning.

It's no surprise, then, to find that his show, once again, is sold out.

The Times&Citizen leads with a report of a gas explosion in Acacia Road, resulting in the death of an 83-year-old. Joan Simcoe died on Wednesday morning after being taken to Bedford South Wing Hospital suffering from burns. The fire is not being treated as suspicious.

Ben Whetstone, a popular and long-serving member of Bedford rugby,has decided to call time on his rugby career.

After 282 appearances he has pulled on a Blues shirt for the last time.

And he has no plans to move on anywhere else.

"If I do play again, it will just be for fun with my mates.

At the moment I just intend to be among those watching Bedford next season."

Whetstone played his last game for Bedford against Otley at the start of last season, picking up an Achilles tendon injury which brought an earlier than planned end to his career. He said:

"I thought about retiring there and then, but Rudi Straeuli persuaded me to delay any decision.

Unfortunately the injury didn't heal in time for me to make a comeback. It's not the way I would have chosen to go out, but I am not complaining. I have had a wonderful career. "

Whetstone joined Bedford at the start of the 1992/93 season. "I was fortunate that by the time the game went fully professional I was already an experienced player. I was able to adapt without too many problems," he said.

The Frank Warren days were great days and it was an incredible experience to play with so many great players and be a part of the club's success. Winning promotion and getting to the final of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Cup were probably the highlights of my career.

Because of the upheavals the club experienced after Warren departed, Whetstone moved to London Irish for the 1999/2000 season.

"Given the choice I would never have left Bedford, but I have no regrets about going there. It gave me the opportunity to play in the Premier Division with and against some great players."

When the opportunity to rejoin Bedford arose, he jumped at the chance. He said:

"Bedford is just a wonderful club and it was great to be part of the revival," he said.

The supporters are just fantastic - you ask anybody who has played here. They give you a real lift and I would like to thank them for all the encouragement they have given me.

I will always be grateful for the way they supported me during my testimonial year."

Whetstone is delighted that Mike Rayer has returned to the club to take charge next season.

"He is a great bloke and I am sure he will do really well. I intend to be there supporting him and the boys as often as possible in the coming season."

And so the curtain comes down on a Bedford career which saw Whetstone make 282 appearances with a points-scoring tally of 122 tries, 10 conversions, 16 penalties and two drop goals.

Most experienced former players and supporters believe that he could have gained an England cap had he not put Bedford first.

All Blues supporters will say thank you and wish him a happy retirement.

If I were to tell you that last Sunday afternoon I had gone to the Cemetery Open Day" I am sure most would not believe me. What - an OPEN day at a cemetery? Pulling my leg, Robert!

No, this is absolutely true! I saw a large advertisement on the railings of St. Paul's church, and it intrigued me so much that I felt I must go!

The date of the Open Day was to celebrate the opening exactly 150 years ago.

The gentleman to conduct the opening ceremony was the mayor, Frank Branston, and about fifty or so congregated just beyond the gates of the cemetery whilst he gave a brief welcome.

Formalities over, we walked to the chapel, where we saw, outside it, the splendid horse-driven hearse, and heard in the distance the Bedford brass.

People were invited to examine the burial records and photographs of interesting signs on some headstones, and during the afternoon were treated to musical items by the Bedford band and the pipers.

I'm sure I've mentioned Richard Wildman before. (He is in the picture above, next to the mayor.) He has been in Bedford all his life, is an unrivalled expert in all things historical, and is a fascinating gentleman to listen to. He led us on a short guided walk round the ceremony, drawing our attention to notable people on the way.

A special area within the cemetery is devoted to the Wyatt family. James Wyatt was the Borough Treasurer, and it was he who encouraged the Council to buy part of a farm called Fosters (hence Foster Hill Road). Richard gave various details about the family, and then pointed to the gravestone of Raymond Wyatt, whom he had once known. And Raymond is known for signing the death certificate of the infamous James Joyce (Lord Haw Haw) just after the war.

The cemetery is in fact well landscaped, with many of the trees planted during Wyatt's time still in existence.

Sadly for the Wyatt family, one of the first to be buried was one of Wyatt's sons, a month later.

Friends who learned from Jill where I had been on Sunday afternoon hooted with laughter at the thought of a cemetery open day. It certainly conjures up odd pictures, but was in fact a pleasant and instructive event.

Rugby ace Dan Phillips scored a double whammy when he finished his playing career - a victory at Twickenham followed by a proposal to his girlfriend in front of the cheering crowd.

Dan, 34, was part of the Hertfordshire team which won the County Championship Shield final 20-13 against North Midlands at the weekend.

After receiving his winner's medal the second row forward borrowed the announcer's microphone to pop the question to partner Carolyn Gathercole who nodded her acceptance from the crowd.

It is thought to be the first time anyone has proposed at the home of English rugby.

Mr Phillips, a firearms officer for Hertfordshire Constabulary, has been playing rugby for 20 years. He said:

"I was always going to do it last Sunday. I am retiring because of work commitments but it was a good way to finish my career.

There was no way she was going to say 'no' in front of a couple of thousand people. I thought it would be a memorable way to do it. It was brilliant - Carolyn saying yes and us winning.

It was the ideal send-off and how I wanted it to be. I always planned a swan song at Twickers."

Bedford Borough Council will discover sometime this month if it has been successful in its application for Heritage Lottery money to regenerate Bedford’s Castle Lane area.

The council is currently working with partner organisations on a major long-term project to develop the arts in Bedford entitled “Three Galleries: One Vision”. The aim of the project is to form a “cultural quarter” providing a focus for arts throughout the eastern region. An application for nearly £5 million of Heritage Lottery money to help fund the scheme is currently being considered and a decision is expected in June.

The proposals would see a regional arts attraction created by combining the art gallery and the artifacts in the museum in a new landmark building. The new facility would include interactive and hands-on displays of historical art and local heritage in both refurbished and additional exhibition galleries. More education and learning spaces would be provided and a new reception, café/restaurant, shop, toilets and covered courtyard could also be built. Bedford’s cutting edge art gallery – the BCA Gallery – could also be given space to display contemporary visual art in the building.

The council’s bid for Heritage Lottery funds received a boost recently when former Government Arts Minister, the Rt Hon Estelle Morris, MP, Minister of State for the Arts, visited Bedford to learn of the town’s plans to develop a cultural quarter. The Minister spent some two hours touring Cecil Higgins Art Gallery, Bedford Museum and the BCA Gallery, and heard from Bedford Borough Council representatives on future plans for the development of the arts in Bedford. She was impressed with what she saw and promised to pass on positive feedback about the project to the Heritage Lottery Fund. John Moore, service manager for culture at Bedford Borough Council, says:

“The aim of this project is to provide local people and visitors with more opportunities to view and learn about the excellent collections at the gallery and museum and to improve the whole visitor experience.

The new facilities would be a valuable boost for both the town centre and tourism and this project is an excellent opportunity to put Bedford firmly on the cultural map.”

A PS from last week. Private Vernon Alan Lawrence's medal went for £53.01

Whilst we're on auctions, I was intrigued by one offer being made HERE. The blurb reads:

"Did you used to work or live in Bedford / Bedfordshire or one of the surrounding villages? Maybe you went to school / college / university there?

Are you intrigued to see what your old school, house or office looks like now?

Do you want to see what the "new" people have done to your old house?

Has your old office been turned into a housing development or a block of executive apartments?

Click on the Buy It Now link, tell me the exact location you are interested in and I will post you the images in jpeg (JPG) format on CD. All pictures are taken using a high quality "Canon Digital Ixus V3 with 3.2M Pixels".

Areas covered: Astwood, Bedford, Biddenham, Bromham, Cardington, Carlton, Clapham, Cople, Cotton End, Felmersham, Harrold, Kempston, Lavendon, Milton Keynes, Oakley, Pavenham, Renhold, Sharnbrook, Stevington, Turvey, Wilstead, Wootton. Please ask (via the Ask seller a question link) if the area you require is not listed.

Please note - Photography and local history is my hobby. I do not make a profit from this. The charges purely cover the cost of any travel expenses, blank CDs etc etc. I am an honest eBay trader, check my feedback. "

So for £15.84 including postage, you can have a photograph of some part of Bedfordshire. This seems quite an enterprising idea, really - something I have not seen on the web before and which could catch on. I hope that he will succeed, and that this will attract expats - it may bring back many memories, and really is not too expensive.

It's such a good idea, in fact, that I'll forgive its author for infringing copyright and ripping off my shot of Bedford Bridge that appears on this site's home page!

Just putting this to bed when I saw the guestbook message. These are events that as one becomes older one tries to keep quiet! Yes, you were right. In fact, it was my 65th, so I join the many who, with reference to scripture (Acts 2:v17) find it increasingly difficult to distinguish between visions and dreams! My grandfather lived to be just over 100, so I have a long way to go yet!

A splendid scene at the Foster Hill cemetery, on Open Day. The chapel is in the background.

Week ending 11 June 2005