A Yellow and Blue Shop, and a Pink Pedalo!

You could describe the latter part of this week as a colourful one for me. First, on Thursday morning at 7.45am, I cut the ribbon at the newly refurbished Lidl store on Lurke Street. Despite the early hour, there were plenty of shoppers in attendance, keen to check out the revamped store. It's always welcome when chain stores invest in their Bedford premises - it shows a commitment to trading in the Borough and is evidence that they know that it's in businesses' interests to invest in Bedford. Then, on Friday morning, I went along to support a charity event in aid of an appeal to raise funds for an anesthetising machine for Great Ormond Street children's hospital. The appeal is being supported by the Town and City pub chain, which includes the Litten Tree and the Rose in Bedford, and managers from the Litten Tree are taking part in this event. As well as being an extremely worthy cause, this charity event is remarkable for the fact that it involves a pink pedalo being powered from Town Bridge in Bedford all the way to Huntingdon, along the River Great Ouse! Those involved, including managers from the Litten Tree, are aiming to cover eight miles a day, and to raise as much money as possible. Oh, and they are doing it dressed as pirates! I was there to set them on their way, and everyone present was in great spirits, from the pedallers to the well-wishers who had come to see them off. The appeal they are supporting has raised nearly £30,000 so far, and I hope that pink pedalo helps keep the momentum up as they head for £30,000 and beyond.