It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

This week the National Lockdown ended and Bedford Borough entered Tier Two.

Also this week I announced the winner of my Christmas Card competition. There were over 200 entries and the winner was Priya from Camestone School with a candle and bauble design - it also included the 'stay safe' message which has been so important this year.

The runners-up were Avery from Hazledene School with a Christmas tree design and Iman from Brickhill Primary School with a reindeer design.

Congratulations to Priya, Avery and Iman. I was impressed with all the entries and thank everyone who sent me their designs. A selection of the designs are displayed in the Harpur Centre.

Also this week saw the start of the Festive Christmas Trail across Bedford Town Centre with the Council working in partnership with Love Bedford. The Christmas Trail lets families explore the town centre to find the twelve Christmas characters that have been hidden in the windows of some of your favourite town centre businesses.

The trail, which runs until Thursday 24th December, is free to enter and although aimed at younger children, it can be enjoyed by people of all ages. If you would like to take part in the Christmas Trail, you can download a copy of the trail sheet by visiting www.bedford.gov.uk/christmas. From Friday 4th December, a limited number of hard copies will also be available to collect from La Piazza on St. Paul's Square.

As well as the Christmas Trail, we again have the Christmas Trees in Bedford Town Centre along with the Christmas Lights, including some new lighting on the trees along The Embankment. The Harpur Centre and many local shops and businesses across the Borough have put up decorations as well.

On Sunday 13th December there will be a Christmas Artisan Market, organised by Made in Bedford at St Paul's Square between 10.00am and 3.30pm.

In order to help to slow the spread of COVID-19, we've thought a lot about how we can mark Christmas in a safe and responsible way this year. While you're enjoying the seasonal celebrations, you should continue to follow government guidance on slowing the spread of the virus and the "Hands, Face, Space" advice.

We have again seen a reduction in cases in Bedford Borough in the week to 2nd December with 171 cases, down 52 from the previous week, partly as result of the four week National Lockdown and an amazing response from local residents. Our weekly positive cases are back below 100 at 98.7 per 100,000 population. Sadly, however, we have again had an increase in our number of deaths, with 7 in the week to 20th November.

The figures are encouraging, but we cannot become complacent and I urge everyone to continue to follow the guidance. You can see the latest snapshot here.