Home > Bedfordshire > Toddington > Angel Inn Angel Inn
Date of photo: 2019	Picture source: Movement80
The Angel Inn was situated at 1 Luton Road. This pub dated from the 16th century but has since been much enlarged by the incorporation of the former stables. It closed in 2017.
We moved from Houghton Regis to Toddington around 92. After I moved all my parents furniture into the house they decided to stay back in HR for the night. I went to the bathroom and had a shower and then decided to head down the road for a beer. The first place I hit was the Red Lion. It was a crappy old pub and the landlord was a miserable git. I always remember the fish tank with the fish swimming with 2" of shite hanging off its arse. Anyway the beer was what I liked (lager lout) and I made friends with a goth bloke behind the bar and a footy fan. Eventually I spread myself across the sea of pubs. I'd go to the Bedford Arms if I fancied a Red Stripe or maybe the Nags Head for the same. I made some more friends and we would do the Bell, Griffin, Oddies thing and then end up in the Indian up the road from the Oddies. I was going into the Griffin quite a bit and ended up chatting up the barmaid. The owners at the time were doing an extension to the pub for more restaurant room. As I was dating this bird and I was an architect,  I got friendly with the owners. I got them a deal on all the picture framing that went up on the walls. The owners were a chef and his wife. She ran the pub while he did the cooking. I can picture their faces but names escape me. One night I ventured into the S&P and met Roger. They served Kroneburg so I was happy. I got locked in there many a time. I liked the quirkiness of the place. There were these old battered lounge chairs that Rowley Birkin would feel comfortable in. Then you'd go to the bog and all the copper pipework was brightly polished. I remember the Oddies was owned by a NYC actor named Lou something. He left and it was taken over by new people. It became more of a pub eatery after that. I remember going in there one night with only a fiver and thinking it would be a short night. I decided to throw a quid in the monopoly quiz machine and got the 10 quid jackpot! I went into the Angel a few times. I got to know Keith and his wife. It was always the Sunday jazz thing there. I use to go watch as I'm a drummer and the drummer playing was this bloke who looked like the old guy from Benny Hill. They had a restaurant that did good food but then they decided to bring in a Italian chef for pasta. I was happy with that as I love the stuff. They had a big jazz event planned for a weekend so I did their artwork for the posters. The Bell was nothing special. It just seemed to be the place we'd all meet up in. Sunday night with the dj etc etc and then The Cult would come one close to closing time. Enough said. During these events, I met a bird and moved in with her at 17 Leighton Rd. a few years later I decided to move to London and split up with her. I have no idea if she still lives there or not. I did a quick google maps to see that the pet food store is still there, the ruby place is still there under a different name. Zax Snax is still there (many a doner taken home from there) but I did see the other places that have closed. As you pointed out, I had never been in a small area with so many pubs. I moved to the US in 2k but I have to admit, I'm debating about trying to move back to Toddy to retire. It had that much effect on me.
Patrick (September 2021)
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