Community News 4

The new country park will be delivered within the first phase of the scheme and will make up half of the development’s total area.

The next step is for Present Made to review the feedback received before submitting their planning application in early 2022.

A website has been set up for the local community, providing a way for people to stay up to date with the latest news as the site develops. Residents are invited to sign-up to the mailing list to keep informed of any future developments on the project, including Present Made’s response to the consultation, the latest plans, and future feedback opportunities.

www.millviewconsultation.com

Pupil-inspired Airship sculpture unveiled

The pupils of Shortstown Primary School in Cardington are now benefiting from a bespoke airship sculpture which they helped to inspire.

Local Culture Challenge artist, Paul Pibworth, hosted a workshop with children from the school and asked then what emotions the airships would have inspired. He then used this to help create his artwork. The words the children chose were then translated into various languages, all of which are spoken by children of Shortstown Primary School. Paul said: “I was lucky enough to spend a few days with the children of Shortstown Primary School. Each word was carefully etched into the sculpture by hand, which then has the text engraved beneath in English, stating the meaning and telling us the language being illustrated. All of the words and phrases came from the children, see if you can look and find a favourite.”

The sculpture is part of a wider Airship Dreams project hosted by Bedford Creative Arts. As Elaine Midgley, Director of Bedford Creative Arts explained: “One of our goals was to engage the local community in the engineering heritage of the local area, and our links to the airship industry.

“The workshop with Paul really inspired the children at Shortstown and they were thrilled to see their input in the artwork itself.”

Denise Cottam, Head Teacher at Shortstown Primary School said: “The R101 now sits proudly in Adam’s garden. The opportunity to collaborate with Bedford Creative Arts and work with the artist Paul Pibworth, was so exciting. The whole R101 project was an amazing experience and to have such a significant piece of artwork, in the school, is a privilege.”

The full exhibition, Airship Dreams: Escaping Gravity, took place at The Higgins Bedford between July and November 2021, and the community exhibition will run until 25th March 2022.

If any other local schools are keen to get involved in the project, they can access a wealth of educational resources at: www.bedfordcreativearts.org.uk

Do you have some village news to share? Email jacqui@bedslifemagazine.co.uk Copy deadline for the February issue is 12 January

Spring Term Events 2022

Working Memory Workshop

Community Activities/Short Breaks Focus Group

Parent Training from the Educational Psychology Team

Health Facilitation Service - Over 18's

Sleep Course for Parents

Thursday 27th January and Thursday 3rd February 7pm

Speech and Language Therapy Team Discussion

Monday 31st January 2022 - 10am

School Nurses Get Together

Monday 7th February - 10am

Autism Spectrum Advisory Teachers Get Together

Thursday 10th February - 10am

Eating Disorders - Focusing on ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder)

Monday 21st February - 10am