Bedford Borough Council's Town Centre Jubilee Trail has launched today (Thursday 19 May), kicking off local celebrations for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

Twelve crowns have been hidden in various windows around the town centre, and the Council is inviting children and their families to explore the town while following the map to find the crowns.

Bedford Central Library will host two Royal Talks in the coming weeks to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

The first will take place on Wednesday 25th May at 11:30am and look at Royal Visits to Bedford.

The second will take place on Thursday 9th June at 11:30am and look at Royal Occasions in Bedford

Liberal Democrat Views by Mione Goldspink, May, 2022.

The terrible news about the ongoing ghastly war in Ukraine continues to dominate our UK news and to overshadow all our lives as we try very hard to "Keep Calm and Carry On". Many people wish to do something to help. Thousands of UK citizens have offered to be Hosts, which is marvellous, but it is really frustrating that the Home Office is so slow in processing the Visa applications. I still cannot understand why Britain cannot do as other countries do, and issue emergency Visas to admit the Refugees quickly and then complete the full process once they are safely here.

Here we find ourselves again. It is now coming up on two years since the Conservatives' first threatened to break international law over the Northern Ireland Protocol. Then, this time last year, we heard the continued threats over Article 16 which threatened to overshadow the G7 summit in Cornwall. And now, we are awaiting a rumoured announcement from the Foreign Secretary regarding legislation which will, reportedly, unilaterally rip up the Protocol.

Following the spectacular spring flowering display along the Embankment, the Council is giving the tulip bulbs away for free to community groups.

The Council planted over 40,000 tulip bulbs in the autumn as part of the spring seasonal bedding display, which is now coming to an end. These spring bulbs and plants will shortly be removed along the Embankment to make way for the summer display.

Since Spring Conference, most members will have been focused on the Local Elections which took place in many parts of the country - and rightly so: the hard work has paid off, with some truly fantastic gains made from both the Conservatives and Labour. Particular mention should go to our amazing Chief Steward at Conference, Mike Ross, who is now the Leader of Hull Council! Massive congratulations to Mike and the whole team.

First, a big thank you to everyone who voted Liberal Democrat on 5^th May.

Across Southend as a whole, the Liberal Democrat share of the vote showed a healthy increase compared with 2021, including several stand-out results.

Carole Mulroney, Leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Southend-on-Sea City Council, was returned for Leigh ward with a more than doubled majority.

Nicky Cuthbert is Elected to represent Shenfield

Nicky got her success for an excellent debut campaign beating incumbent Jan Pound for the right to represent Shenfield residents. Nicky received an amazing reception on the doorstep with her focus on local issues. We have no doubt that she will prove to be a tireless and effective representative for Shenfield. Nicky is pictured with fellow Shenfield Liberal Democrat Councillor, Andy Fryd.

The BBC Music Introducing stage is making its first ever appearance at the Bedford River Festival this year, curated by the team at BBC Music Introducing in Beds, Herts & Bucks.

This stage joins events and activities for the whole family across the River Festival weekend, 23 and 24 July, including music, boat races, funfair rides, stalls and much more.