A UNIVERSITY management school has launched 20 new Master of Business Administration (MBA) scholarships to mark the London 2012 Olympics.

Each scholarship at Cranfield School of Management is worth £12,000 and will help eligible applicants fund their studies on the full time Cranfield MBA programme starting in September 2012.

David Simmons, executive director of the full-time MBA at Cranfield said: “The eyes of the world will be on the London Olympics, and we hope that our scholarships that honour London 2012 will attract the eyes of the most talented MBA applicants from across the world.

“We want to help the world’s next generation of business leaders to shine and achieve more by completing the Cranfield MBA which consistently performs well in the major MBA rankings.”

Around 75 per cent of the students on Cranfield’s full-time MBA come from outside the UK.

The London 2012 MBA scholarships have been made possible through donations from past students.

The deadline for scholarship applications is April 15. For further information or to apply for one of the scholarships contact Helen Knight on (01234) 754432, email MBAadmissions@cranfield.ac.uk or visit www.cranfieldmba.info

A FILM-MAKER who is credited with getting David Gilmour his first gig with Pink Floyd has penned his first fictional novel.

Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon, 68, of The Green, Clophill who made music videos for the likes of 10CC, Squeeze and Donovan as well as cult film Syd Barrett’s First Trip, wanted to write a novel, but couldn’t think of a plot until the idea for the first chapter came to him in a dream.

He said: “I have always wanted to be a novelist but I didn’t have an idea.

“So I went to bed and I said to the universe give me an idea and I had the first chapter when I woke up.

“It just came to me in a dream.”

Nigel started his creative life as a poet and writer, but went into film-making when he met wife Jenny and wanted to settle down.

After attending film school Nigel got a job with director Hugh Hudson, who made the legendary film Chariots Of Fire.

He said: “I worked for Hugh Hudson’s company and for some reason Hugh took a shine to me, I hung out with Donovan and The Stones.

“Rock stars don’t mean anything to me and I have never been in awe of anyone, we all use the same roads.”

Nigel has also had an enduring and instrumental relationship with the band Pink Floyd, making Syd Barrett’s First Trip while still at film school and getting the band their first London gig at the Marquee Club.

He said: “Someone once said ‘Syd worships Nigel’. This was because I was a poet and he aspired to be a poet.

“He was a very beautiful young man, extremely handsome and elfin like. He was a painter and we used to go up to his house for jam sessions.”

But although Syd’s legacy in Pink Floyd has stood the test of time, he left the band in 1968 after suffering with drug problems.

Nigel said: “When Syd was really ill he used to go on stage and play other songs that the rest of the band weren’t playing.

“They were playing one night and I contacted David Gilmour and asked him to play and that was the start of David Gilmour being in Pink Floyd.”

As well as being involved with the music industry Nigel has made a number of commercials and corporate videos.

He had been involved in two books about fractal geometry the first of which was turned into a film for Channel Four featuring music by David Gilmour and content from science fiction novelist Arthur C Clarke.

Fractals are shapes that have special geometric, spiritual and artistic qualities. Nigel regularly speaks at universities on the subject and is giving a presentation at Imperial College London today.

Nigel’s latest novel Nothing and Everywhere is a comic thriller which tells the story of a young novelist searching for a book deal who finds adventure when his laptop is stolen.

He will be signing copies of the book at Waterstones, in Silver Street, Bedford on March 3 from 11am til 4pm.

Nigel said: “The exciting thing for me is that I don’t take credit for it.

“I really feel like kind of a conduit to which this stuff flows.”

He added: “It seems to come from the universal mind.”

To find out more about the novel visit www.gordonbooks.co.uk

To find out more about Nigel’s film work visit www.gordonfilms.tv

PEACOCKS in Bedford closed it doors this afternoon, just one hour after it was announced the company had been sold.

Administrators KPMG revealed that the company has been sold to High Street retailer Edinburgh Woollen Mill. The sale saw 224 stores close, but 388 were saved.

Customers were told at around 4pm to leave the sore as it was closing down.

Administrators KPMG announced the sale of the business this afternoon at around 3pm that Edinburgh Woollen Mill, which is one of the UK’s largest high street chains, had acquired the Peacocks brand, 388 stores and concessions.

As well as the business’ headquarters and logistics functions in Wales. The deal has protected around 6,000 jobs in the UK.

Unfortunately the remaining 224 stores were not included in the sale and have ceased trading with immediate effect, which included Bedford, resulting in 3,100 redundancies. There will also be approximately 16 redundancies at the headquarters in Cardiff.

Chris Laverty, joint administrator and restructuring partner at KPMG, commented: “Today’s deal ensures the continued trading of a well known name on the high street.

“While it is unfortunate that redundancies have been necessary, we are pleased that we have been able to preserve the majority of the business and jobs.

“Like many other retailers, Peacocks suffered from a decline in consumer spending due to the tough economic conditions and this, combined with a surplus of stores and unsustainable capital structure led to the business becoming financially unviable.

“However, a strong brand presence and loyal customer following meant that Peacocks attracted a great deal of interest from both trade and private equity bidders, leading to today’s successful sale.

“I would take this opportunity to thank the management team and staff for their continued assistance in very difficult circumstances; their support has been invaluable in securing today’s sale.”

]]> 1.3549361 Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:53:27 +0000 http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/nadine_dorries_monthly_column_sorry_but_there_s_no_conspiracy_and_no_secrecy_for_the_sake_of_secrecy_1_3548179

THERE are certain words in Britain that are bound to arouse public interest and are often liberally doused over headlines or campaigns to add a touch of spice.

One such word is ‘secret’, which has been playing a starring role in many emails my office has received this week about the NHS risk register.

Before the Health And Social Care Bill was committed to Parliament, and while changes have been made to it on its journey through both Houses, comprehensive analysis has been conducted on the benefits the bill will bring and, crucially, on the risks it contains for the NHS.

Constituents across Mid Bedfordshire, campaigners all over the country, and the Parliamentary Labour Party, have all been clamouring this week for this information to be released and made freely available. There is an inherent public interest in this information and it must not be kept ‘secret’.

Unfortunately for the wider eyed members of society, the government agrees with this position and always has done. The information has been and remains freely available on the Department Of Health website, and my office has been sending out links to it to anyone who is interested.

I am quite fond of the modern trend for ‘click button campaigning’. However, the debacle over the risk register has revealed a flaw in the way this kind of campaign allows incorrect assumptions to spread.

Despite the wilder fantasies of conspiracy theorists, no-one in government is committed to secrecy for the sake of it. There is an NHS risk register and it won’t be released, but for reasons that are entirely understandable – the NHS uses a wide variety of commercial suppliers and letting some information into the public domain would seriously damage the NHS in achieving value for money.

To be clear and to remove any element of doubt I will state the following. I am totally committed to ensuring that high standards of universal healthcare are maintained in Mid Bedfordshire and across the country. As such, I will always support an NHS that is free at the point of use and available to all that need it.

EIGHT “luxury camping pods” are being planned at Whipsnade Zoo as charity chiefs aim to make it a year-round attraction.

The Lookout Lodge pods are set to open up a new market for the 80 year-old hilltop attraction.

“Everything we do has mission overlay,” said Zoological Society of London (ZSL) director David Field. He explained that the zoo wants to give visitors experiences that turn them into champions of Whipsnade and to reconnect people with nature.

Mr Field became a champion of nature at a very young age and wants other people to have experiences that do the same for them.

ZSL aims to put 10 per cent of its turnover into conservation efforts around the world. In a good year that can add up to £10million.

Also on the cards this year are a sophisticated indoor play area and refurbishment of the sealion enclosure as the zoo aims to give visitors more of what they want from a day out in the Chilterns.

Last year, some 500,000 people went through the zoo’s gates, with more than ever during the warmer than average winter months.

“We want to encourage people to visit the zoo throughout the year, not just during bank holidays in August,” said Mr Field. He added that by encouraging people to make repeat visits, its conservation efforts can continue into the long term.

> See our video interview with David Field at www.hemeltoday.co.uk/news/business

BLACKFRIARS tube station in central London re-opened this week, offering a new link to commuters from Bedfordshire.

The London Underground part of the station closed in March 2009 as part of a wide-ranging programme of service upgrades.

It now has platforms long enough for 12-carriage trains on the route between Bedford and Brighton.

A MOBILE fish and chip shop is giving people the chance to win a chippy dinner if they can guess what seaside is on the side of its van.

Teri Baker, who runs Youngs Famous Fish n Chips based in Maulden, has just invested in a bigger van due to the success of the business.

And to celebrate Teri, 61, has decorated her van with an image of a seaside, and is asking people to guess where it is.

And the lucky winner will fry with happiness with a free dinner for two.

Teri, who used to own a fish and chip shop in Barton Le Clay, said: “The business has been going from strength to strength. I just started it as a part-time thing, but it has been so successful it’s now full time.,

“We have now invested in a bigger van to cope and it is literally like the old shop, but in a van.”

The mobile shop is based at Burgoine Business Centre in Maulden, but travels around Mid Beds and Wilstead and Wixams. And Teri is also taking on new staff. Call her on 07813145112.