I’ve lived in my home town of Bedford for 25+ years. It’s a pleasant market town which I often refer to as a ‘throbbing metropolis’, which nobody else ever has. But that’s not to say exciting things don’t happen here from time to time. Sophie Wills, one of the fearless reporters at Bedford Today, has been hot on the trail of one exciting story. One of my first books, Guitar Gods in Beds. (Bedfordshire: A Heavenly County) (2009) was well received in the area. It consisted of the biographies of eight local guitarists who were well-known in Bedford’s pub live music scene. One of them, Thunderin’ Paul Carrington, a friend and chauffeur, was the unintended star of my travelogue Two Men in a Car: A Businessman, a Chauffeur, and Their Holidays in France (2011). Sadly, a sufferer with emphysema, he was one of the first people in the country to die after contracting COVID-19. I may yet revive my original idea of making a series of ‘in Beds.’ books. Obvious titles include Doctors and Nurses in Beds. and Priests and Nuns in Beds. To my surprise, the local Roman Catholic bishop refused to put forward suitable priests and nuns for interview.

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