Bunyans and Corns

I wish to apologise if anyone caught last night's ramble: it was far too corny even for me, and I had been exercising my liver. Corn has gone, for now, as the harvest has finished. And I have exorcised the rant.

Meanwhile, my feet have been exercising themselves as I perambulate the lovely shores of Priory Park lakes. Bedford's levels have produced a pretty space around the river and canal, so I have been accepting the onset of autumn with good grace. Brother Steve will be pleased that not everything I see needs to be met with rancour, and I have spent a lazy afternoon enjoying the quiet delights of Blighty. Oh!, and then the Red Arrows flew by, which was a contrast in sound and vision.

Bedford has a couple of heroes, as well as a couple of well-endowed school boys. Sorry! It also has a couple of girls' schools too, so please reappraise the last sentence. I am led to believe that the Harpur Trust built its wealth through the merchant tailors, and ably supports the buildings, teachers and pupils of the town's schools some five hundred years later. I am amazed, as I cannot support anything after nearly fifty years; or even find fifty quid.

The heroes include Trevor Huddlestone, Bishop to the Stars of Africa, probably to the Kaiser Chiefs, before they became a tribute band for Leeds United, and friend of Mandela. The town mandarins, in their inestimable wisdom, have decided to remove his statue, covered in sackcloth and earmuffs, and replace him with a couple of extras from the Vauxhall plant at Luton. I'm sure they would have included the ashes too, if they had allowed the refuse incinerator to have been built. But poor old Luton would have wanted a better finish for its Astra.

The other hero is the town's greatest testament. John Bunyan is responsible for my current trawl through the Slough of Despond, though in inference only! He also could offer help for this pilgrim's progress.

I told you at the title bar that this was not going to be pretty: but count the links. Anyone know the Latin for 'star'?

...per ardua ad astrum...