A VIP visitor gave a ringing endorsement to The Bell in Studham the other day.
Who was it? None other than Alex Polizzi!
If you’ve ever watched the TV hit series The Hotel Inspector, you’ll know who Alex is.
She dropped in on the popular pub restaurant while she was working on a episode of The Fixer.
That’s the BBC2 show in which she lends a helping hand to family businesses.
The Bell wasn’t in need of her services, of course.
But landlady Nikki Fuller and landlord Phil Belding had a call to say that a TV production team had been filming at Whipsnade Zoo.
The team wondered if The Bell had an area which they could use to complete their filming.
The couple happily agreed, but had no idea about who would be involved.
Then Phil took another phone call from the team, to confirm all was still OK for the visit, and he asked who was coming.
Nikki said: “Phil called up the stairs to me: ‘It’s Alex Polizzi!’ I didn’t believe it, I thought he was winding me up.
“But when I came down, she walked through the door, and she enjoyed a pint of Guinness and a packet of crisps!
“It’s strange to see someone you usually see on television, in real life, but she was very nice.”
Alex was filmed chatting to members of a family firm being featured in the series.
The business in the spotlight isn’t thought to be from the Dunstable area.
Nikki said: “Alex stayed for about two hours, and the crew stayed for a bite to eat.”
But before saying her goodbyes, Alex left a memento for The Bell.
She kindly signed a menu saying what a lovely place The Bell is and thanking the team.
The visitors also asked whether The Bell was a B&B.
Phil told them: “Funny you should ask. We have just had planning permission passed for a B&B but unfortunately, it’s not built yet – Alex is too early!”
Nikki joked: “We shall have to invite Alex Polizzi back when it’s finished. I hope she’ll give it the thumbs-up, as she did for The Bell!”
WE’RE used to seeing cars in our roads in Dunstable.
But have you ever spotted a plane in your street?
I thought not. Well, now you can.
I’ve been having great fun with an Internet phenomenon, the Take A Plane Down Your Street section on the British Airways website.
Type in your address or postcode at http://taxi.ba.com/ and it shows you a BA advert – with an extra section that really does look like the plane is taxiing slowly along your street!
Clever stuff. But you can tell it isn’t real when you type in Court Drive, Dunstable.
How? There are no roadworks, no angry shopkeepers and no nose-to-tail traffic...
DID you see the story in last week’s Gazette about snail-snatchers?
Actually, a colleague told me it was all about “snail-poaching”.
Reader, I was horrified. But turns out, it doesn’t mean cooking them in simmering water.
It turns out there are fears that Roman snails, a protected species, are being illegally taken from the wild to supply restaurant tables.
What really amazed me was how long these snails can live for if they don’t fall victim to misappropriation or misadventure – 20 years!
Bedfordshire walkers are being asked to keep their eyes open for snail-snatchers.
This investigation may be about the molluscs, but it won’t move at a snail’s pace...