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This month’s Great Bedfordian is proud Kempstonian, Ken Parsons, the host of the wonderful Bedford Podcast.
“I got frustrated at the amount of negative moaning on social media about Bedford,” said Ken. “So I set up the podcast to celebrate the amazing people in the borough who might otherwise slip under the radar.”
Guests so far have been Blues’ director of rugby Mike Rayer, proud Bedfordian DJ Spoony, and former Super League netball captain Beth Brittain.
Ken records the podcast alongside his job as a sports massage therapist and his charitable endeavours, including the Bedford Charity Chase, which he set up last year.
After a 25-year career with Royal Mail (“I started as a telegram delivery boy!”), Ken retrained as a sports massage therapist in 2013 and says he loves the job so much that it doesn’t feel like he’s done a day’s work since.
A serial fundraiser, Ken is not averse to a challenge and has cycled the width of England on a ladies’ racing bike (“I did that three times.”) and in 2019, he ran to London to collect his marathon race number and then ran the marathon with a 30lb backpack in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.
In September, Ken set up Bedford’s first Charity Chase, a five-mile closed-road course from Turvey to Carlton, raising money for local charities. “In 2025, the money was shared between the Road Victims Trust and Creating Memories, and next year we’re adding Emmaus too,” he told us.
You can find out more about the 2026 Bedford Charity Chase here.
After interviewing Ken, his love and enthusiasm for the people and places of Bedford and Kempston is obvious, and it exudes from his podcasts too.
Over to you, Ken…
Born here or blow in? Born and bred in Bedford;lived in Kempston all my life.
Best breakfast in Bedford? Sunbeam Cafe Kempston. It opens early and serves a great breakfast.
Best boozer? So many great pubs in and around Bedford, but The Castle on Newnham Street just pips it.
Best coffee or cuppa? Project 229 in Kempston – they do an amazing Chocolate Toothpaste Tart.
Best takeaway? Diya Royal, the Nepalese restaurant in Kempston.
Best gig you’ve seen in Bedford? Human League/Blancmange/Thompson Twins at Bedford Park last summer. They were all amazing, authentic and still hit the notes.
Ever read John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress? We were taught extracts at school, but no.
Ever eaten a Bedfordshire Clanger? Yes. It was lovely, but if we’re talking about Bedfordshire delicacies, I’m more of a chocolate toothpaste tart person!
An off-the-beaten-track gem that everyone should know about? The viewing point on Clay Way on the Bunyan Trail, just south of Bromham. It offers an amazing panoramic view of Bedford.
Best Bedfordian? David Simms, local historian, role model and inspiration to many of us old Kempstonians
Three words that best sum up Bedford? Historic, Diverse, Understated
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