Bedford women travels the world for Tom Jones only to find him on her doorstep


You could say when Tom Jones came to play Bedford Park, for one fan it was like the Green, Green Grass of Home (geddit?)
Bedford woman Claire Ovenell has been a fan of Tom’s since the age of 14, like her mother and her grandmother before her – that’s not unusual.
However, her admiration is so powerful, she’s travelled all over the world to see her hero. She’s jetted to Las Vegas TWICE to see the Welsh singer, hid in a bush at the NEC arena for THREE HOURS to meet him and even named her son Thomas – if only she’d had a daughter, she could have called her Delilah.
So when Claire discovered Tom was playing her hometown, it came as something of a Thunderball.


She couldn’t contain her delight at seeing him – she’s a lady after all – and was first through the gates at the Bedford Summer Session last Thursday to get a plum position. She even took this old picture of her mum meeting Tom to the concert.