AUGUST 2017 THEBEDFORDCLANGER.COM THE BEDFORD … · 2017. 8. 8. · 2 The Bedford Clanger • August 2017 BP Portrait Awards If you’re a fan of our Facebook page, then you may

Inside:PAUL CATHERALL

LINOCUTS EXHIBITION

AND LECTURE

PARIS HOUSE REVIEW

GET OUT AND ABOUT

WITH CANOE TRAILS

AUGUST 2017 THEBEDFORDCLANGER.COM

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Y O U R C U L T U R A L G U I D E T O T H E B E S T O F B E D F O R D

Cover: Paul Catherall

2 The Bedford Clanger • August 2017

BP Portrait AwardsIf you’re a fan of our Facebook page, then you may have already seen the picture we shared of Martyn Burdon’s painting of comedian and actor, Matt Berry, currently gracing the walls of the National Portrait Gallery in London. Here, Bedford-based artist, Martyn tells us about the inspiration for the piece, which can be seen as part of the BP Portrait Awards at the National Portrait Gallery until 24th September. Entry is free.

“Matt Berry grew up in my hometown of Bedford, and I felt he would make an excellent subject for a portrait. He is a painter himself, and he was keen to help with this project. Bedford has produced a small but illustrious list of comic actors and I’m glad that Matt is continuing that line. There is something quite wintery, and pastoral in the finished painting. I was keen to get past Matt’s widely seen brash comic persona and try and capture something of his true character. Matt is a very gentle and self-effacing person and I think the final portrait has a touch of something thoughtful and vulnerable about it. Trying to show a side of the person’s character, and gain a gentle insight into their personality is by far the most important thing.”www.martynburdon.com

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the puddin clubPuddings • Cakes • Breakfast • Cheeseboard Great Coffee • Prosecco • Wine • Beer • Cider Ice Cream • Milkshakes

You can either have private hire in the evening (not Fridays) or for smaller gatherings we can reserve you a table.

07773 943586www.thepuddinclub.co.uk120a Castle Road, Bedford, MK40 3RG

get your just desserts

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Letter from Team ClangerAs ever, we’re taking a Summer break, so this issue is your bumper

Aug/Sept guide to get you through til we’re back in October.

This issue we highlight a host of incredible exhibitions plus the

Consica Jazz Festival and some award-winning theatre to indulge

in. It’s enough to make you consider binning the budget airline

bunfight and staying put for a staycation. If that’s the case, we

highly recommend you read our reviews of the Embankment and

Paris House – a little bit of luxury right on our doorstep! Have a

wonderful summer and we’ll be back in October. Team Clanger

New Exhibition - A Walk in the WoodsA Celebration of Trees in British Art, Wixamtree Gallery, Higgins Bedford from 30th September

This new exhibition from the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery collection opens on 30th September and will celebrate the role of trees and woodland in British landscape painting. Works will include those by artists such as John Constable, John Sell Cotman, Francis Towne and Paul Nash. The exhibition will be produced in partnership with Professor Christiana Payne from Oxford Brookes University

The exhibition coincides with the anniversary of the 800th anniversary of the Tree Charter. The original tree charter was signed by Henry III to protect the rights of people to access and use the Royal Forests. On the 6th November 2017 a new Tree Charter will be launched led by the Woodland Trust which will establish a set of values that promotes and protects trees. thehigginsbedford.org.uk

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We’re about to start a new chapter, will you help us write it ?

JOHN HEGLEY: PEACE, LOVE & POTATOES

quarrytheatre.org.uk

Thursday 14 sept, 8.00pm

The Quarry Theatre at St Luke’s is part of Bedford School, which is part of The Harpur Trust

Ticket price £14.00 (£12.00 concessions)

Age suitability 14+

Running time 60 mins

Keats, Daleks, soot, belief, osmosis

and ‘compassionate autobiographical

poems and correspondence between

family members’. (Poetry London)

Verses spoken and sung. Hearts

broken and repaired.

Box office01234 362337

“Marvellous, joyful fun" THE TELEGRAPH

“Scandalously talented” THE SUNDAY TIMES

The Bedford Clanger • August 2017 3

500th anniversary of the Reformation is marked at Bedford’s Garden of EdenOn 31 of October, 1517 Martin Luther famously sent his Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences to the Archbishop of Mainz. This action began a seismic shift that challenged the establishment, set off a chain of events and profoundly altered the course of history. This included the founding of the Protestant church and the Church of England.

Reformers made use of inexpensive pamphlets using the relatively new printing press to provide movement of radical new ideas--without the printing press the Reformation could not have taken place. 400 years later in England it was another group who existed outside the (this time Protestant) male dominated church and used the same technology to produce thousands of leaflets imploring the Bishops of England to gather in Bedford to open Joanna Southcott’s box of prophecies.

They were almost exclusively women who called themselves the Panacea Society and they were led by Mabel Barltrop whom they believed to be the eighth prophet of the very English phenomenon known as “the visitation”. They also believed that their gardens (between Albany Road and Newnham Road) were the original site of the Garden of Eden.

These same gardens, now part of the Panacea Museum, will play host to “500 years: The Reformation and its Resonations” an international conference which seeks to investigate the events of

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1517, what led to them, their immediate and later aftermath, and how they still resonate today.

It is the final conference in the 2017 season for CenSAMM (Centre for the Critical Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements). Project Director, Simon Robinson, explained, “It is fitting that our final conference of the year marks the anniversary of the Reformation, an apocalyptic event that changed history, and especially so for it to be held in gardens so steeped in English millenarian and apocalyptic history.”

Attendance to the conference on September 15th is free to the general public and will include presentations by scholars from across Britain and including Germany and Nigeria.

To find out more about this conference and to reserve free seats visit www.censamm.org or email [email protected]

Paul Catherall: An Exhibition of LinocutsExhibition: Friday 15th September – 11th October 2017 Gilbert Lloyd Lecture: Thursday 21st September at 7.30pm

This September, Bedford School hosts an exhibition of one of the country’s most iconic printmakers, Paul Catherall.

Paul is best known for his posters in association with Transport for London and the Southbank Centre, but he has also produced work for the Higgins as part of a commission in 2010 to celebrate the Cardington sheds and the town’s airship heritage.

“I produced a print for the Higgins’ exhibition and two further black and white prints,” Paul told us. “The airships in the print are from the 1930s and my work is heavily influenced by the railway posters of that era.”

Born in Coventry, Paul trained as an illustrator at Leicester Poly and graduated in 1989. “We took our degree show to London to try and get a job and I never came back! For 8 years I was a jobbing figurative illustrator, but it was a struggle. I became influenced by the American artist Michael Schwab while in San Francisco and got myself a lino press. I started making prints at home in the late 90s. At the time, lots of iconic new buildings were springing up around London including the Millennium Dome, the London Eye and the British Library. I decided to leave drawing people and bodies behind and record these new buildings.”

Paul describes lino printing as a sophisticated version of potato printing, and will talking through his artistic process in more depth at the Gilbert Lloyd lecture he’s giving at Bedford school on Thursday 21st September. The lecture and exhibition are free to attend and all are welcome.Bedford School, d’Parys Avenue, Bedford, MK40 2TU tel: 01234 362200 www.bedfordschool.org.uk


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Bunyan Basement Gallery 19th-30th September 2017Free entrancePrompted by the Balfour Centenary, a group of local artists are curating this exciting, thought provoking and informative exhibition at the Basement at Bunyan.

The exhibition will include national and local artists, plus work by two high-profile Palestinian artists on loan from p21 Gallery, London: Manal Deeb and Arab & Tarzan.

Other highlights of the exhibition will be a unique range of cushions and bags designed by Central St Martins College London textiles students in collaboration with the Women of Hebron embroiderers from Palestine. Four images from photojournalist William Parry’s book, “Against the Wall” will be exhibited and at a date to be announced he will also be showing a short film “Beyond Generations” and talking about his experiences in Gaza and the West Bank, Palestine.

To mark the centenary there will be other events and film screenings celebrating Palestinian culture through food, music and dance.

Palestine: Reflections and Thoughts

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HIS FUTURE’S BRIGHTER AT

BEDFORD

BEDFORD SCHOOL IS PART OF THE HARPUR TRUST

OPEN MORNINGSATURDAY 30TH SEPTEMBER

TO FIND OUT MORE AND BOOK YOUR FAMILY’S PLACE, PLEASE CONTACT OUR ADMISSIONS TEAM ON 01234 362216 OR VISIT bedfordschool.org.uk

BOARDING & DAY FOR BOYS AGED 7-18

A LEVEL & IB AT SIXTH FORMSTUNNING

50 ACRE ESTATEAWARD WINNING

FACILITIES


If you’re looking for some Summer holiday inspiration, then we can highly recommend picking up a copy of our little sister publication, The Smallprint. Designed by the award-winning Emma Lemon with little readers in mind, the pint-sized publication gives the low-down on the best holiday activities, suggestions for days out, theatre, comedy, puzzles and competitions. Your copy of the Smallprint even gets you a third off boat hire at Longholme Boating Lake. Just show your copy to Tom or Andreas at the Longholme Café and they’ll sort out your discount! Copies of The Smallprint are available from cafes, shops and restaurants in and around Bedford, plus at all of the museums and libraries. You can also download a copy from the website: the-smallprint.com/bedfordshire

The Smallprint – it’s not for grown ups…

Roll up, roll up for Fun Palaces 2017 Now in its third year, BedPop Fun Palaces will be bringing art, science and culture to the heart of Bedford with dozens of FREE events on the weekend of Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th October. There will be awesome engineers, amazing artists and super scientists at locations all over the town centre, so put the date in your diary and we’ll have more info in the October issue. Bedpop.co.uk

GROUP DOG WALKING, HOME VISITS & BOARDING FOR THE BEDFORD AREA

ADERLEY DOGS

ONLY £10 PER

WALK

[email protected] 01234 881 418facebook.com/AderleyDogs • www.aderleydogs.co.uk


Draw Some More…Where: Basement at the BunyanWhen: Exhibition 1st-5th AugustDrawing Day 5th August 11am-4pmJoin the Circus of Illustration as they look back on six years of Drink and Draw! This summer, the Circus of Illustration is putting on an exhibition of the best and barmiest of Drink and Draw’s past (yes, they’ve kept them all!)! Highlighting some of the collective’s favourite activities, the week will culminate in a drop-in drawing day for artists (and non-artists) of all ages. Decorate a sweet box, design a superhero top-trump card, make a cute finger puppet or a creepy tarot card. There’s sure to be something for everyone! All ages welcome. Free to all. (Donations welcome!)

Connecting With Your Wild SideThis summer there are plenty of opportunities to get outdoors and connect with your wild side within Bedfordshire. A rare chance to embrace a digital detox or boost your fresh air miles.

Canoe Trail, is an award-winning family-run watersports business on the River Great Ouse. They have over 65 canoes, kayaks and stand up paddle boards (SUP’s) so there is plenty to choose from and you can also grab refreshments at the newly refurbished Longholme Café on route. Canoe Trail has a wild campsite on the river which is perfect for family canoe and camp activities. So whether you fancy a splash about on the river or a two day canoe and camp experience you can find out more by visiting www.canoetrail.co.uk.

Want to make the most of the great outdoors? There is lots going on this summer at the Forest of Marston Vale with nature walks and kids’ activities. You can either join a planned session or head out for a walk around their nature reserves. Reward yourself with a slice of cake and a drink in the café afterwards. It is great place to entertain the kids at low cost for an afternoon or day. Visit http://marstonvale.org/

Further afield spanning the county is Bedfordshire’s long distance walk of 40 miles on the Green Sands Ridge starting on the Grand Union Canal near Leighton Buzzard and finishing in Gamblingay, Cambs. Along its route are some of our finest green spaces with Rushmere Park, Ampthill Park and Clophill Woods to name a few.Make a plan, embrace your wild side, pack a picnic and go for it. It’s all an adventure…

BedPop Record Shop at HerdOn Saturday 19th August, the BedPop Record Shop will be popping up at Herd on St Cuthbert’s Street from 9am – 6pm. Alongside the usual array of top-notch vinyl vendors, the day will feature a roster of the town’s best DJs, plus a little something to whet your whistle from sponsor, Charles Wells. Records, music, beer and burgers. What more could you want?Herd, 25 St Cuthberts Street herd.cool bedpop.co.uk

Under 14s AcademySunday 12:30pm - 2:00pm

Under 14s DevelopmentSunday 11:00am - 12:30pm

YOUTH BASKETBALL IN BEDFORD

If you would like more information or to book a place, please contact us at: [email protected] www.facebook.com/BedfordThunderbolts

Mini Basketball for children in Reception to Year 5Sunday 9:30am - 11:00am

Under 18s session for children in Year 10 to Year 13Sunday 2:00pm - 3:30pm

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WHAT’S ON?


Summer at Wrest ParkThis August, the Bank Holiday Bands will be providing the backdrop to a relaxing long weekend on Sunday 27 and Monday 28 August. Whether you’re picnicking with friends, or taking a spring stroll, you’ll transported back in time with fantastic big band players.

The summer season ends with a compelling outdoor theatre performance of Jane Eyre on Friday 1st September. The audience will be enthralled as they see young governess Jane, arrive at the mysterious Thornfield Hall deep in the Yorkshire moors, meeting enigmatic Mr Rochester and so begining this most unforgettable of love stories.For more details and prices, visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/wrestpark.Summer fun at the

Higgins BedfordThe ever-popular holiday activities return to the Higgins Bedford this summer, and in the spirit of the Short Brothers, Colonel Burnaby and a host of Victorian artists, the theme is EXPLORING. Join in with family friendly activities, create your own masterpiece in art and craft workshops and explore the amazing collections in the museum and galleries

Events this year are taking place on 22nd, 23rd, 25th, 29th, 30thAugust and 1st September and the timed sessions are at 11am, 12 midday, 2pm, 3pm Tickets cost is £2.70 per child (accompanying adults go free!) and they can be purchased on the day.

Guided Tours of the HigginsOn Wednesday 2nd August, join curator Victoria Partridge for a lunchtime tour of Romance & Rebellion: the Art of the Victorians. 1pm – 1:45pm, Booking essential

On 5th and 26th August and 9th and 16th September, Tate tour guide (and Higgins volunteer) Andrew Rodgers, will be offering 10 Minute Tours of Romance and Rebellion: the Art of the Victorians. Tours start at 2pm, 2:30pm, 3pm and 3:30pm, no booking required.

Skeptics in the Pub: Smashing PhysicsThe Large Hadron Collider - What have we learned and what’s next? Thursday, September 21 2017 at 7:30PMNorth End Social Club, 60 Roff Avenue, MK41 7TWThe Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Geneva is the biggest piece of scientific kit ever built. It continues to explore the structure of matter at the smallest distances and highest energies. ProfessorJon Butterworth will describe what we have learned from it so far – including the remarkable discovery of the Higgs boson – how we did it, and why it matters. He will also talk about what might happen next… bedford.skepticsinthepub.org


The Wind in The WillowsSat 2nd Sep 3:30pm - 5:00pm. Tickets from £11.21Open air fun for all the family! The highly entertaining Immersion Theatre will be performing one of the most delightful of Kenneth Graham’s tales, The Wind in the Willows.

Join the boat-loving Ratty, the sensible yet curious Mole, wise old Badger and the fantastically irrepressible Toad as they embark on the adventure of a lifetime culminating in a colourful battle with the sly weasel to save Toad Hall! Eye-catching costumes, toe-tapping music and larger than life characters promise to capture the imagination of the youngest of audience members whilst the sheer nostalgic charm of this beloved story is guaranteed to take older generations on a glorious trip down the riverbank onto memory lane. The perfect summer treat for all the family, set in the glorious surroundings of Bedford Park.Tickets and more info at: pavilion.attheparkbedford.co.uk/events

NT Live: YermaThursday 31st August at 7pm Tickets: £14.50/£12.50 conessionsBillie Piper returns in her Evening Standard Best Actress award-winning role as a young woman driven to the unthinkable by her desperate desire to have a child. The unmissable theatre phenomenon sold out at the Young Vic and critics call it ‘an extraordinary theatrical triumph’ (The Times) and ‘stunning, searing, unmissable’ (Mail on Sunday). Set in contemporary London, Piper’s portrayal of a woman in her thirties desperate to conceive builds with elemental force to a staggering, shocking, climax. Tickets available from: quarrytheatre.org.uk

John Hegley: Peace, Love & PotatoesThursday 14th September, 8.00pm Tickets: £14/£12 concessionsKeats, Daleks, soot, belief, osmosis and ‘compassionate autobiographical poems and correspondence between family members’. (Poetry London) Verses spoken and sung. Hearts broken and repaired.“Awesomely mundane” THE INDEPENDENTTickets available from: quarrytheatre.org.uk

Pavilion at the Park

The Quarry at St Lukes

theplacebedford.org.uk/tickets

01234 354321

LONDON’S AWARD-WINNING LGBT

LITERARY SALON SUNDAY 17 SEPT 7.30PM

WRITING WORKSHOP 2PM

POLARI

THE CLANGERTHEATRE

“A guaranteed good night out”Sarah Waters


Goblin presents:

Peter And The WolfSunday 3rd September at 2pm Tickets £10/concessions £8.50

Join Peter on a hilarious adventure through fields and forst as he discovers new sounds and noises. Featurig animal antics of singing birds, waddling ducks, sneaky cats and a rocking wolf. With new music lovingly inspired by Pokofiev’s classic, this is Peter and the Wolf as you’ve never seen it before. Goblin’s Peter and the Wolf features amazing usic created live with a varity of instrments and objects, including real musical vegetables. Combined with imaginative puppetry and physical comedy, the show will have children aged 4+ jumping for joy!Tickets available from theplacetheatre.org.uk or 01234 354321

Swan Theatre Company presents:

The Diaries of Adam and Eve12 – 16 September at 7.30pm Tickets £10 and £6 concessions £8Relationships: whose idea was that? One of you wants to get things done, the other wasnts to chill out in the garden. One of you wants a minute’s peace, the other wants to talk (and talk and talk). One of you knows that eating the apple is wrong, but the other is going to eat it anyway. In this witty and modern adaptation of Mark Twain’s affectionate satire, Adam and Eve confront their many differenecs whether they’re creating language, inventing fire, taming nature or discovering love and death. Tempted?Tickets available from theplacetheatre.org.uk or 01234 354321

Polari Literary SalonSunday 17th September at 7.30pm Tickets £12/concessions £10London’s award-winning LGBT literary salon, Polari, is coming to Bedford. Now in its tenth year, Polari has been show-casing the best in established and emerging LGBT literary latent at London’s Southbank Centre since 2007. This event is curated and hosted by author Paul Burston with a mixture of visiting and local guest performers.Tickets available from theplacetheatre.org.uk or 01234 354321

Cheshire Cats18th – 23rd September at 7.30pm Tickets £10Grown women, aching feet and heaving bosoms! Follow the Cheshire Cats team as they speed-walk their way to fundraising success in the London Moonwalk.

The Place

Sharnbrook Mill


Runs 15 July to 9 September 2017

SUMMER READING CHALLENGE 2017

Join the Animal Agents Summer Reading Challenge 2017 at any Bedford Borough Library Ill

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for T

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THE

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MUSIC...OH YEAH!

The ‘Conscia Jazz Festival 2017’ is taking place from the evening of Friday 1st September to Sunday 3rd September. This year’s event is the third festival that Bedford-based Conscia Jazz have produced in as many years.

The 2017 festival focuses on variety, as Conscia Jazz aim to reach as many different jazz fans as possible. Jazz is such a wide genre of music and there really will be something for everyone. If you have never been to a live jazz event before, or if you don’t consider yourself a jazz fan, come along and give it a go, you may surprise yourself!

Based at the Quarry Theatre, here are some of the weekend’s highights, including the headliners:

FRIDAY 1ST SEPTSnowpoet ‘refreshingly original and remarkably deep” - Notes and Vibes, “the band don’t just create music, they create art” - Wicked Child.

SATURDAY 2ND SEPT Joe Stilgoe “A very British Harry Connick Jr” – The Sunday Times, “Music should be fun and the new album from pianist and singer/songwriter Joe Stilgoe is just that” – The Telegraph

SUNDAY 3RD SEPTThe Birmingham Jazz Orchestra Ft Trish Clowes “All killer, no filler, packed with vibrancy and passion, and bursting with slick soloists and a superbly well-drilled team of players” – London Jazz News, “the Englishwoman’s quirky songwriter’s ear, subtly sleepy tenor sax sound and bright intensity on soprano are anything but cerebral” – John Fordham, Guardian

Main Stage acts include, the Nigel Price Trio, Empirical Trio, Arnie Somogyi’s ‘Jump Monk’ Quintet, Kit Downes and the Phil Meadows Quartet.

As well as Headline events and Main Stage events, there will also be fringe events and a free entry Community Stage, with the latter based in the garden of the Quarry Theatre. There will also be educational workshops on both the Saturday and Sunday mornings of the festival.

Tickets are on sale for most of the events already, with ticket deals on sale also. Conscia Jazz have introduced Weekend and Day tickets for this year’s festival, with weekend tickets costing just £99 for adults! Head over to www.conscia.org for tickets and more info.

Conscia Jazz Festival 2017


The Selecter & The Beat feat Ranking Roger - Co Headline tour7.30pm, Saturday 30th September, Bedford Corn Exchange. Tickets £27.50 in advance2 Tone legends, The Selecter and The Beat are teaming up to give fans a rare treat, hitting the road together n 2017. Life-long friends, they are two of the main bands to come out of 2 Tone – a crucial musical and cultural movement which is still as relevant today as it was over 30 years ago. Renowned for their energetic live shows, longevity has not diminished either band’s ability to put in a performance and get everyone in a room, or field, dancing. Don’t miss arguably two of the best live bands around playing full sets of their many hits, and more each night.

The Selecter is led by their iconic frontwoman Pauline Black, alongside an incredible talented band of musicians, and co-fronted by original member Arthur ‘Gaps’ Hendrickson. Their latest album, Subculture, was mixed by UK dub-master Prince Fatty and released to critical acclaim in June 2015.

The Beat fronted by Ranking Roger released their spectacular fourth album Bounce (the first in over 30 years) in September 2016. Joining Roger in the revitalised band is his son Ranking Junior AKA Matthew Murphy a powerhouse MC who brings to the band an update on the toasting that made Ranking Roger such a pivotal part of the original Beat. The same energy that drove the hit singles of the 80s; Mirror In The Bathroom, Stand Down Margaret and Too Nice To Talk To – is here again on the new album.Tickets are on sale online from seetickets and Bedford Corn Exchange Box Office / Website (subject to booking fee). Tickets can also be picked up in person (booking fee free) from Planet Boutique in the Arcade, Mario’s Hair Design in Kempston and Vinyl Revelations in Luton.

Worbey & Farrell at the Quarry Theatre Thursday 28th September at 7.30pm Tickets: £12.50 concessions £10.50Worbey & Farrell are internationally acclaimed concert pianists with a wicked sense of humour.

The Edinburgh-based duo bring to Bedford their astonishing arrangements of the world’s greatest music with a program including favourites such as Saint-Saën’s Carnival of the Animals, Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and many more.

Prepare to be moved, delighted and utterly gobsmacked.To book tickets: quarrytheatre.org.uk


Restaurant review: Paris House, WoburnThe extraordinary Paris House is an award-winning fine-dining restaurant, set in 22 acres of parkland on the beautiful Woburn estate.

Built as part of the Paris Exhibition in 1878, the Renaissance half-timber structure was dismantled and rebuilt in Woburn at the behest of the 9th Duke of Bedford. Among its many incarnations, the building has been accommodation for staff of Woburn Abbey, a ‘tonsil hospital’ and also played host to generals and royals during WWII. At the end of the kitchen garden is a bunker, rumoured to have been built for Winston Churchill as a bolt-hole from his work at nearby Bletchley Park.

The unique (and a bit bonkers) building stands alone amidst the parkland at the end of an incredibly imposing, sweeping driveway. If you’re looking to impress someone, this is the place to take them!

Owner and executive chef, Phil Fanning and his wife Clare have recently overseen a refurbishment of the dining areas, creating a modern and relaxed atmosphere. “It reflects our style and personality,” said Phil. “We’ve created a private dining room on the ground floor which can also be opened up to become part of the main restaurant. The rooms are now much more versatile.”

Team Clanger’s lunch was in association with England’s leading wine producer Chapel Down. The seven course tasting menu was a feast for the eyes and the taste-buds. It featured trout, KFV (Kentucky Fried Veal), duck and apricot Mochi, all paired with Chapel Down wines and ciders. While the food was the star of the show, a highlight was definitely a demonstration of sabrage – the technique of opening a bottle of sparkling wine with a sword. Following a flawless demonstration by James McLean of Chapel Down, the sabre was offered to a member of the gathered guests to have a go. Imagine our relief when a fellow diner stepped up to the plate. We valued our thumbs (and doubted our prowess) too much to volunteer!

Paris House has many charms: its unique setting, the beautiful building, the relaxed atmosphere, a super-talented chef, passionate team and incredible food - all paired with amazing wines. While we can’t guarantee that you’ll witness a man slicing the cork off a wine bottle we can confirm that you’ll have a unique and memorable dining experience and one that we’d highly recommend.parishouse.co.uk tel: 01525 290692 chapeldown.com

THE CLANGER

FOOD & DRINK

Mark Morriss


review: THE EMBANKMENTWhen the sun is shining and the ‘out of office’ message is on, then there is nothing better than a staycation. There are so many places to explore in our green and pleasant land, that often there’s no incentive to go further afield. And sometimes you don’t even need to leave Bedford. If you’re looking for a bit of luxury on our doorstep, then look no further than the newly-refurbished rooms at the Embankment Hotel. After an exhausting weekend camping, our child-free dinner, bed and breakfast was the perfect, luxurious antidote!

We were in Room 2 and it was fabulous. Enormous bed? Check. Huge free-standing bath? Check. Lovely complimentary shower and bath products? Check. After unpacking and enjoying the view over the Embankment and River Great Ouse we headed down for dinner and were greeted by the wonderful Maddie – the hostess with the mostess. After a weekend spent in camping chairs, it was heaven to sit at a proper table and we opted for a sharing platter starter, followed by scallop & monkfish risotto for me and full Sunday roast for Mr Clanger. He thought all his Sundays had come at once when additional roast potatoes and Yorkshire puds came out from the kitchen halfway through the meal! Service was subtle and slick, with Maddie over-seeing things and generally being great. The Embankment’s dining room and bar is always busy and lively, with lots of families, couples and groups enjoying the riverside location. We visited during

the recent hot spell (also known in the UK as ‘summer’) and the terrace over-looking the river was full of revellers. Any concerns about noise from outside disturbing our 8 hours’ of shut-eye were unfounded. The rooms are well sound-proofed, with fans provided so you can keep your cool.

The following morning we enjoyed breakfast on the terrace, watching the world go by. Coffee, granola and American pancakes with bacon and maple syrup set us up perfectly for the working day ahead, not-to-mention the gruelling the five minute drive home to be reunited with the children. We had a wonderful ‘night off’ and would recommend it to anyone. It might be just on our doorstep, but it’s a world away from the day-to-day routine. Go on, treat yourself!The Embankment Hotel, 6 The Embankment, Bedford MK40 3PD embankmentbedford.co.uk 01234 261332

500 years: The Reformation & its Resonations

Presentations include:

15 September, in the Panacea Museum Gardens, 9 Newnham Rd, Bedford. Contact [email protected]

Visit WWW.CENSAMM.ORG for more info & free tickets

This conference seeks to investigate the events of 1517; their causes; their immediate aftermath in local and national contexts; reactions to them with-in the Catholic world; and their long-term consequences, notably through the emergence of various Protestant denominations during the 16th and 17th centuries. In addition, we also wish to explore how these events still

resonate today.

Prof Michael Questier, School of History, St Mary, U of London: ‘The Protestant Reformation in England and the Making of Catholic Saints.’Prof John Coffey, Dept of History, U of Leicester:‘From Luther to Locke: How Protestants Invented Religious Liberty’

Dr Ariel Hessayon, Dept of History, Goldsmiths, U of London:‘The English Revolution as Radical Reformation’

In the spirit of the Short Brothers, Colonel Burnaby and a host of Victorian artists, we will be exploring at The Higgins Bedford this summer. Join in with family friendly activities, create in art and craft workshops and explore the amazing collections in the museum and art galleries.

EXPLORATION!

Check out our twitter feed, facebook page and website for more details.

Workshops start at 11am, 12 midday, 2pm and 3pm and last about one hour. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Cost £2.70 per child, accompanying adults go free! No need to book, buy tickets on the day.

ART AND CRAFT WORKSHOPS:• Tuesday 22nd August• Wednesday 23rd August• Friday 25th August

• Tuesday 29th August• Wednesday 30th August• Friday 1st September

@higginsbedford TheHigginsBedford

22ND AUGUST TO 1ST SEPTEMBER

SUMMER HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES AT THE HIGGINS BEDFORD

www.thehigginsbedford.org.uk

Documents

AUGUST 2017 THEBEDFORDCLANGER.COM THE BEDFORD … · 2017. 8. 8. · 2 The Bedford Clanger • August 2017 BP Portrait Awards If you’re a fan of our Facebook page, then you may