The connection between John Bunyan and Nelson Mandela

 

A smiling Nelson Mandela together with the lady mayor of Bedford, wearing her official chain and other regalia
 Nelson Mandela's visit to Bedford, April 7, 2000, shown here with the Mayor 

Bunyan and Mandela's lives are separated in time by over three centuries. They lived in very different social and political contexts. Yet they have much in common. Both were prisoners of conscience who spent long periods in prison, relinquishing their own freedom in order to stand up for the freedom of others. Both, too, later emerged from prison as charismatic and inspirational leaders.

We tend to take for granted the freedoms they fought for, and the personal sacrifices they made to gain those freedoms.

Beyond that, there is another connection - which might be described as coincidental. On April 7th, 2000, Mandela briefly visited the town of Bedford in England in order to re-dedicate a bust of his old friend and anti-apartheid campaigner, Trevor Huddleston. The event lasted less than an hour, but 10,000 people turned up to witness it.

A highlight was when Mandela danced to the tune of 'Freedom is Coming' sung by a choir of local schoolchildren.

Mandela dances as a choir of schoolchildren sing heartily, with a crowd of people in the background
Mandela dancing to the song 'Freedom is Coming'



Remarkably, though largely unremarked upon at the time, the event took place on the site of the former Bedford County Gaol, where Bunyan was imprisoned for 12 years from 1660 to 1672 and where he is thought to have dreamed the dream which gave rise to his famous work, The Pilgrim’s Progress.


Mandela's visit is sometimes described as one of the most joyous events in Bedford’s recent history. If you missed it, you too can be virtually present at that special moment, by watching the evening’s news reports on BBC and Anglia TV, available on YouTube:





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