Christmas in Bedford starts the first weekend of December with Love Bedford and Bedford Borough Council, in collaboration with Made In Bedford and EAT Feast.

Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th December - Saturday is Small Business Saturday- the perfect time to get some Christmas shopping done with our fantastic independents. The traditional Charter Market will be on, and in Harpur Square Lingers Butchers will have a hog roast, alongside the Salvation Army Band bringing that festive feeling to town.

We are celebrating St Andrew's Day by flying the Saltire at Borough Hall today.

Bedford Borough Council's new Parking Patrol van has been outside schools during the morning and afternoon drop-off and pick-ups to tackle dangerous and illegal parking.

Parking illegally outside schools, either on double yellow lines or on the zig-zag keep clear lines, causes a hazard and is dangerous to school children, parents and other pedestrians.

On Saturday, the Prime Minister announced a number of measures to combat Coronavirus following the emergence of the Omicron variant in the UK.

These include making face coverings compulsory on public transport and in shops again and changes to testing and isolation rules for those entering the UK from overseas.

We have now had confirmation that the rules relating to compulsory face coverings on public transport and in shops will come into effect on Tuesday. These new rules should not stop us enjoying Christmas and there are plenty of events across Bedford Borough that are either outside or can be enjoyed safely inside.

From Wednesday the Christmas Angels and Elves Trail starts in Bedford Town Centre, find out more including where to collect or print off your map here. Also, on Wednesday the Christmas Tree Festival starts at St Paul's, you find out more about this event here.

Next weekend we will have the first of the Festive Weekends in Bedford Town Centre including a special Eat Feast in Riverside Square and on Saturday it is Small Business Saturday which is an excellent opportunity to shop local at our wonderful independent shops.

You can read further detail of the Prime Minister's announcement at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-sets-out-new-measures-as-omicron-variant-identified-in-uk-27-november-2021

The latest weekly Coronavirus snapshot for Bedford Borough has been published.

The figures show that in the seven days up to 21st November:

• 8,628 PCR tests were taken
• There were 816 Coronavirus cases (44 more than the previous week)
• The weekly positive cases per 100,000 population was 467.1 (up from 441.9 in the previous week)

Today is the National Day of Albania and the Anniversary of the Albanian Declaration of Independence in 1912, so we are flying the Albanian Flag at the Old Town Hall in Bedford.

We are proudly flying the Bedfordshire Flag at Bedford Borough Hall to celebrate Bedfordshire Day.