Spotlight on BEDFORD

Advantages: pleasant county town, historic connections, centre of sporting excellence, good shopping, something for everyone
Disadvantages: 'that photo' may have left a scar

...Bedford hit the National headlines recently, with that horrific photograph of the bodies in the Hospital Chapel. The story ran all week and the Spotlight was most definitely turned on the historic County Town – for all the wrong reasons. But Bedford isn’t all bad – honest! It has become and extremely cosmopolitan town with a large Italian community as well as areas like Queens Park, where Asian and West Indian ethnicities dominate. Add to this a Polish and Slav ‘enclave’ and a number of both Greek and Turkish Cypriots, you can see that modern day Bedford definitely has an international flavour to it. This is reflected – as you might expect – in the Restaurants in the town. Whatever happened to the good old English Restaurant? Ah you say, did we have any? Well Bedford’s culinary...

flashpointz 30.01.2001 · Read review
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Review of Bedford (England)

Bedford Blues

Advantages: The roads and rail connections leading out
Disadvantages: The roads and rail connections leading in

...To write about Bedford to pass the time, my boredom threshold has reached an all time low...... A little history Situated in Anglia and one hour north of London, Bedford is a cosmopolitan town with a population just in excess of 80,000. First recorded in Norman Times, it has increased in size through the centuries for several reasons but most notably due to the River Ouse which dissects the town, its relative proximity to the capital and, in the twentieth century, the establishment of brickworks which, now almost obsolete, were once the second largest in the world. Famous sons and daughters There a few Bedfordians who have made their name on a greater stage. In earlier times, these included men such as John Bunyan (author of the 'Pilgrim's Progress') and John Howard (an advocate of prison reform). More recently, the likes...

zyxwv 29.04.2007 (26.05.2007) · Read review
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Review of Bedford (England)

Bedford.More than Bunyan

Advantages: Near to London;Good road and rail communications,;History
Disadvantages: Night life is a bit tame;

...Bedford,the pleasant county town of Bedfordshire,which lies to the north of London, is forever associated with John Bunyan, the famous 17 th century preacher,pastor and author of Pilgrim's Progress. Reminders of this Son of Bedford in this town are never very far away. John,who was born in a cottage in Elstow Parish in 1628,is greatly honored in his home town. Unfortunately the cottage where he was born no longer exists but the spot is marked by a stone erected in 1951, there is also a John Bunyan Museum in Mill Street and a Statue of him in...

ashford 30.01.2001 · Read review
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Review of Bedford (England)

Bums.....or in my opinon pants!

Advantages: Kept my son amused.
Disadvantages: Bored me rigid!

...After a recent trip to the library my son discovered the book that I will now review, the fact that is entirely centred around a certain body part was incredibly funny to Connor, so of course we took it out to borrow. The book I will know review is - ?Bums by David Bedford and Leonie Worthington? To say the general concept of this book is non existent would be an understatement! The book consists of 7 double pages, the right hand side of the picture featuring a particular animal, my favourite being the roller skating hippo, with the left hand page showing a ¼ of the page with the rest of it being folded back on itself to hide the obvious body part of interest. Once the child has read the first part of the text, situated above the particular animals head, the child can then simply lift the flap to reveal what sort of ?bum? this...

sarahbarrow 23.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Bums - David Bedford

More than just a bedford the night!!!

Advantages: Location, price
Disadvantages: Breakfast/checkout times

......

kimbolaydee 01.05.2008 · Read review
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Review of Bedford Hotel, Blackpool

No more Swanning around!

Advantages: Good location, great food and memorable functions
Disadvantages: Might be too close to town, quite pricey

...The Bedford Swan Hotel Location The Bedford Swan Hotel The Embankment Bedford Bedfordshire Mk40 1RW Telephone: 01234 346565 Fax: 01234 21200 Distance from local towns Cambridge 25 miles London 50 miles Oxford 50 miles Distance from Airports Luton 20 miles Stansted 50 miles Heathrow 55 miles Car parking is available free of charge for 100 cars. www.bedfordswanhotel.co.uk info@bedfordswanhotel.co.uk The Hotel The Bedford Swan Hotel is located in the centre of the lively town of Bedford, occupying a great position on the banks of the River Ouse right next to the Town Bridge. The hotel was built in 1794 for the 5th Duke of Bedford and was acquired by Paten Hotels in 1916, who remain the long run owners to this day. The Hotel is the ideal base for exploring the local area featuring 104 Standard...

B_O_M_B_A 18.07.2008 · Read review
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Review of The Bedford Swan, Bedford

Well.....at least there are plenty of pubs

Advantages: pubs - lots of them,
Disadvantages: bus station is dismal, shopping

...Right from the outset of this opinion I’ll state that I’m probably slightly biased. I was born and bred in Yorkshire and moved here, to Bedford, when I was 9 – 13yrs ago. Although many people boast about how great Bedford is I’m afraid it really doesn’t impress me. For those of you who don't know Bedford is roughly 1hr north of London and sits at the end of the Bedford-Brighton railway line. It's a relatively old market town (although the Market is now almost no existent) and is probably best know as the town where John Bunyan was born, imprisoned and preached. It's know as 'Little Italy' because of the large numbers of Italians that live in the town (hence the abundance of Italian Restaurants and Pizza Places). They arrived here after the end of the Second World War to work in the London Brick Works...

Gwenick 16.06.2001 · Read review
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Review of Bedford (England)

A Touch of Class.

Advantages: Great afternoon teas, particually at Christmas!
Disadvantages: Resturant is not particually quick or efficient.

...The Swan Hotel, Bedford, reminds me of my childhood, when my Grandmother took my brother, Gareth, stay and I on our first in a hotel ever. It is a unique hotel, which seems to invite relaxation and calm. There is even a leisure centre inviting its guests to unwind and is a complimentary facility to any guests staying overnight, in the hotel. This takes the form of a ‘Roman Style’ Leisure Pool and Spa Bath. The Swan Hotel is an elegant hotel, which is part of the ‘Paten Hotels’ chain. This hotel overlooks the River Ouse and yet is situated this stands on a site in the heart of Bedford’s town centre. It is a magnificent grade II listed building, built in 1794 for the 5th Duke of Bedford, now offering excellent modern amenities combined with traditional values of comfort and care, associated in ‘days...

wulise 10.09.2001 · Read review
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Review of Swan Hotel, Bedford

LIFE'S A BEACH...

Advantages: Everything required for family fun under one roof
Disadvantages: None

...My fiancé and I like to take our children swimming quite regularly and so have visited quite a few swimming pools in and around the county. The most recent being The Bedford Oasis Beach Pool, which we came across on a recent search on the internet. The internet site was very informative and the photographs displayed looked very inviting, and wanting to amuse the children as well as fit in a little ‘normal’ swimming this seemed to fit the bill very nicely. Although it was a little further afield we arrived in less time than we expected, driving at a steady pace on a fine Sunday morning, some would call us Sunday drivers on this occasion but we were in no hurry and so enjoyed listening to the kids guessing where we were going by the road signs and winding each other up in the back. We hadn’t told them we were...

GraingerN 25.09.2001 · Read review
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Review of Bedford Oasis Beach Pool

SNAP HAPPY

Advantages: good story, lovely pictures, understandable message
Disadvantages: want more adventures

...own before having your friends join in again. This, she certainly goes along with. The book is written by David Bedford. It is written quite simply but with a pleasant rhythm to the words and phrasing. He is the author of other children's books such as the splendid "Big Bear Little Bear" and "Little Otter's Big Journey". For older children, he has also written a football series: "The Team". As I have not read this, I cannot comment further. The book is illustrated by Emily Bolam. She has also illustrated several other children's books such as: "Gotcha Louie!" and "Goin' to Boston". Here, she has drawn big and bold pictures, which bring the story to life. Although the crocodiles look similar, the lead character has its own individual look. Some may say that is because he is pink but without disagreeing with the obvious, I would say you...

imogen49 20.11.2006 · Read review
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Review of The Copy Crocs - David Bedford