Children’s art brightens bridge and barriers at Bedford station

Thanks to dozens of posters by young local artists, key workers using Bedford station can not only enjoy a brighter journey but can see the children’s heartfelt messages of thanks as they pass through.

Station Manager Bernadette(“Bernie”) Lee asked three local schools if their children would like to express their feelings about how Covid-19 was affecting their lives by drawing a picture. She was inundated with 40 vibrant posters, created by pupils of Bromham Lower School, Goldington Academy and King’s Oak Primary.

The children, aged between six and 10, have shown their feelings clearly and colourfully. They have conveyed their gratitude to key workers, recognising a whole range of people doing vital work as well as health and care workers – those in food shops and pharmacies, warehouses, emergency services, postal services, schools, councils, IT and public transport all get a mention.

Station staff have laminated and displayed the posters in prominent places throughout the station – near the ticket office window, on the overbridge, and on the temporary barriers installed to help manage social distancing.

Bernie said: “We are so grateful to all the young artists who have produced such beautiful pictures and messages. They have certainly brightened up our temporary barriers with their wonderful art, and I hope they cheer up key workers who see all the heartfelt thanks and wishes from children as young as six and seven. To any teachers having to travel, take a look at the posters because you might see your pupils’ work!”

Bernie had come up with the idea of asking schools to get involved when she was chatting on the phone with a friend about how difficult it is to stop their children getting bored at home during the lockdown.

She said: “I asked my friend if she thought her daughter would like to draw some pictures to show how she felt about this strange time. I felt it could give children not just a pastime but a sense of purpose, and expressing their thoughts about what is happening outside would help them feel more comfortable about it.”

Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director for Thameslink and Great Northern, said: “I’m so delighted with the children’s creative ideas and skills. They have brightened up the days of the key workers and others making essential journeys who travel through or work at the station, and shown them how grateful the young people of the Bedford community are to them all.

“But this doesn’t just make for better days at the station. It strengthens the bonds between us and the whole community we are part of – as one of the children’s posters says, we are all in this together.”

Ends