Talk:Bedford/Archive 1

Surely Vibrant Discussion Should Ensue?

Was just a little surprised that no-one thought to discuss anything previously...! - Seriously though - I was always told that Bedford owes its name to 'Bede's Ford' - with Bede apparantly being quite a honcho in the middle ages... I'll dig up a bit more, and come back. No doubt this page will be full of interesting dialogue upon my return......... 11:55, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

I think you're right, although I think he was just a guy who forded the river and set up a rest stop there or something. Bede or Beda.

took out milton keynes

don't really believe that bedford swells to meet the huge demand for milton keynes worker ants.... so i removed it. still haven't worked anything about Bede into the article, but hopefully will before Bedford is forgotten..... Petesmiles 13:32, 23 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Vandalism

It is apparent that this page has been repeatedly vandalised by IP addresses linked to Bedford School: is there anyway of getting a vandal proof lock on the page?

Neil Evans 3:56PM 28/06/06 BST

Or just drop an anonymous letter to BOS shurly

Djharimaster

Seems this guy's one funny frog...

And I've heard of Tim foster too... can we stop him? Matty! 16:27, 29 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Bedford Vehicles

These were made in Luton. If there was ever a connection to the town it's not metioned in the Bedford Vehicles article. I've deleted the link. --Simon Speed 21:54, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Schools

The page mentions both Biddemhan And Sharnbrook but neither of those are actualy in Bedford.. surly we should have some links to schools like Thomas Moore or Mark Rutherford?

Technically Biddenham School is in Bedford (or at least was when it was built). The town boundary used to go past biddenham turn to encompass darlow drive in Biddenham. It may have since been moved as everyone thought it was somewhat nonesensical when I lived there. Sharnbrook has always been in the borough, although not in the town, and so probably shouldn't be included —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.84.127.134 (talk) 15:47, 30 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Bedfordian vs Barfordian

I grew up in Bedford and remember being told that I was thus a Barfordian rather than a Bedfordian. Is there a definitive ruling on the noun for someone who comes from the town? Wessexboy 21:18, 1 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I always thought that Barfordians grew up in Great Barford, not Bedford. I certainly never heard any other reference. Bedford School uses the term 'Old Bedfordians' for its alumni, and given its age (and nature) would probably have seized some obscure term if it was available!

Overstating the prominence of ethnic minorities

This articles overstates the position of ethnic minorities. I've lived in both Bedford and London, and the main thing I notice when returning to Bedford after visiting London is how white Bedford is in comparison with London. Beorhtric 10:44, 28 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Disagree. Bedford IS fairly white in comparison with London, but given that 2/7 of the population are from ITALIAN stock this is hardly surprising. 20 years ago the most visible immigrant communities were poles,italians and indians. Bedfords ethnic diversity is significant because on the surface it seems typically white and suburban. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.84.127.134 (talk) 16:01, 30 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The article mentions the ethnic diversity which is somewhat different. The town is unusually diverse in the range of ethnic backgrounds represented, rather than just the proportion of the population from those backgrounds. I believe that it is one of the most diverse places in the UK outside of London. Shritwod 07:48, 31 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I have removed the line saying ", making it one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse towns in Britain and the world, particularly in proportion to its size" since this is completely unfounded and based on no evidence whatsoever, despite being of statistical significance.

Whilst I have no proof, I have found that Bedford is extremely white, even when considering relative size. I have lived in London all my life and my road has one white family and all my school classes/work places seldom had more than two or three white people in them. For someone to claim Bedford is one of the most ethnically diverse places in the world is absurd when you compare it to the town where I am from. I think that every town would like to lay claim to the theory that their town is more ethnically diverse, but I can assure you that Bedford is not the town when other are far more mixed. 94.170.90.42 (talk) 00:57, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Rubbish. If you take London as a whole, then yes, London is more ethnically diverse than Bedford. BUT, if you compare Bedford to any single London borough (which is a fairer comparison relative to size), then Bedford IS more diverse. Remember that just because people look 'white' does not mean that those people are not from an ethnic minority. Bleaney (talk) 13:04, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

In terms of statistics the fairest way to study this is using percentages: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_London - This shows that London is clearly more diverse and that the relative size is accounted for as this is a ratio. Given that Bedford's demographics show that the vast majority are either White British, Italian or South Asian we can quite easily conclude that it's not close to the most ehtnically diverse town in the world, once again, this is completely unfounded and probably made up, there is no statistical evidence to back the opinion and without researching the vast majortiy of towns in the world no-one is going to find any.94.170.90.42 (talk) 22:58, 17 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Nobody denies London AS A WHOLE is more diverse. But no individual London Borough is. Bleaney (talk) 23:46, 17 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The ethnic diversity of the town is often quoted as being notable by local authorities, in particular I have personally heard it referred to many times. It's difficult to come up with a citation though. Bear in mind that we're are talking about the total spread of ethnic groups, not the total proportion of the population. I would suppose part of the reason is the proximity of Cranfield University, but also the University of Bedfordshire in addition to those who migrated to Bedford when it grew rapidly in the 1950s. Shritwod (talk) 06:04, 18 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The Brickworks at Stewartby are a major reason for Bedford's diversity. Over the last 100 years the works has employed people from literally all over the world. Many of the descendants from these workers have settled in Bedford, and this has had a major effect on the emograpy of Bedford.Bleaney (talk) 20:56, 18 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Once again, there is absolutely no comparitive evidence to prove the worth of this statement and it is an extremely bold thing to say. Whilst some say that no individual borough in London is diverse (something made up and a fallacious statement which is hugely contradicted by the previous statement, if London is more diverse as a whole, using percentages, some areas must be more diverse than the average with some less diverse) there is no statistical evidence provided. Whilst Bedford clearly has a high level of ethnic diversity we cannot make up "facts" and post them on Wikipedia in an extremely deceptive manner. This is biased, I'm sure you know Wikipedia's standpoint on this and lack of citations.94.170.90.42 (talk) 23:08, 23 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Added citation from BedfordBID Ltd, effectively a subsiduary of the Borough Council which quotes the generally accepted point of view of local government in the town. There is nothing "deceptive" going on, and it is certainly not "biased". Please refrain from making unfounded attacks about the intentions of other editors. Shritwod (talk) 23:21, 23 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for the citation. A lack of citations and making unfounded claims are deceptive. I believe the cited article claims "[Bedford] is arguably the most cosmopolitan in the UK", so it's unfair to use the "world" as a context for the statistic.94.170.90.42 (talk) 16:49, 30 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Bishop

The Wikipedia article on Matthew Parker, the sixteenth century Archbishop of Canterbury, mentions one "John Hodgkins, Bishop of Bedford". But I don't think Bedford ever had a bishop. Did it? Millbanks (talk) 13:41, 4 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Bishop of Bedford ;) currently a Suffragan bishop (in the Anglican sense) to the Bishop of St Albans, so there is no Diocese of Bedford, but the title has existed since the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534. David Underdown (talk) 14:13, 4 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

One Foot in the Grave

The article states: "Also One Foot in the Grave was also filmed around Bedford during the 1990s - 2000s." Yet, One Foot in the Grave states: "It was filmed in Christchurch, Dorset" (with a citation from the series 6 DVD)

I think that needs to be looked at. --80.42.154.130 (talk) 17:37, 16 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Layout

Just a quick nudge about WP:UKCITIES layout. I've done my best to reorganise some of the material and sections (cosmetically), but someone with better knowledge of the article and its content will be able to take this further. Thanks, --Jza84 | Talk 18:36, 15 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Panacea Society

I thought it odd that there isn't a reference to the Panacea Society under "Religious Sites" given that they already have an entry. The fact that they believe that Bedford will be the only place spared from the Apocalypse and that Jesus will come to live in a house on Albany Road is certainly unorthodox but noteworthy in my opinion. The society owns a significant number of properties in and around the Castle Road area. Shritwod (talk) 15:35, 17 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]