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The Andover Advertiser:Remembering the way we were

Co-op float: Andover Carnival, around 1930. The picture was loaned by Derek and Mary Tarrant, newsagents in Andover from 1959 to 1999, who now live in Swanage.

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO FRIDAY, 11 MAY 1883 ANDOVER - ENTERTAINMENT Another of those enjoyable entertainments, in which Mrs. Moon and party assist, was given on Monday evening in the Lecture Hall, New Street, when the room was crowded to excess, and in fact many were unable to gain admission. The programme was a varied one, but the nature of the pieces was too high for the majority of the audience, who at present are not educated to the higher class of either music or literature, but would prefer to hear something of a lighter or of a comic nature.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO FRIDAY, 8 MAY 1908 ST. MARY BOURNE - SPRING There were several concomitants of spring at St. Mary Bourne which are well worth noting. First of all, the Bourne stream, a tributary of the upper Test, seems to increase its flow, having perhaps ceased to flow in the autumn. The stream generally reaches it culmination in May, and remains stationary till the end of May. The Bourne is usually said to take its rise in a spring near Upton; but, according to the season, there is a difference in the point of rising from five to seven miles.

St. Mary Bourne is famous for its sheep wash, a pool having been used in the parish for over 300 years. During the week the process of sheep washing might have been seen in full swing near the railway viaduct. It generally takes place in May and June, and in olden times it was customary to make it a festival by introducing cakes and ale.

SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO FRIDAY, 12 MAY 1933 ANDOVER CARNIVAL As the result of the meeting held in the Guildhall on Tuesday evening, under the chairmanship of the Mayor (Councillor F. L. Shrimpton), who convened it, it was decided to hold a Carnival this year--it will be the tenth of the series--in the week commencing August 21.

If the enthusiasm shown at the meeting can be continued then the success of the Carnival is already assured. The right spirit has been engendered from the start, and the Mayor can feel confident in the general public supporting him to the best of their ability.

The Mayor, at the outset, reminded his hearers that it was usual at this time of the year to meet and make the preliminary arrangements in the event of a Carnival being decided upon.

It was not necessary, he said, to comment on the wonderful success of past Carnivals. To his mind he thought it would be an absolute tragedy, which did not bear thinking about-in fact it would not be Andover-if they did not have a Carnival, and the time had come for them to get to business and elect officers to carry on.

FIFTY YEARS AGO FRIDAY, 9 MAY 1958 ANTI-FLO'S GAIN CONTROL: VICTORY IN THREE WARDS Andover people yesterday gave in dramatic and devastating fashion their verdict on fluoridation: They want it ended.

In the municipal elections three out of four anti-fluoridation candidates swept to victory with handsome majorities and the fourth was defeated by only eight votes in a poll of 1,600.

The Mayor, Cllr. Gordon Simpson (Lab.) was heavily defeated in Alamein Ward by the Chairman of the Anti-fluoride Association, Mrs. Olive Harvey, a former Mayor and Alderman, and the Mayor-Elect, Cllr. R. Harrison, retained his seat in Millway by only those eight votes, narrowly defeating the anti-fluoride candidate, Mr. G. Lynn.

In St. Mary's the retiring Cllr. W. H. G. Newman lost his seat to an anti-fluoride newcomer, Mr. L. Coleman, and in Winton the retiring anti-fluoride councillor, Cllr. P. S. Batchelor, heavily defeated his Labour opponent.

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO FRIDAY 13 MAY 1983 DOUBLE CELEBRATIONS AS NEW STORE OPENS Next Tuesday provides a double celebration for Safeway Food Stores Ltd. Not only will the opening of a new 29.000 square feet superstore in Andover be the company's 100th store trading in the United Kingdom but it will also occur during Safeway's 21st year of operation in Britain.

Tuesday's opening ceremony at 10 am will be performed by actress Hannah Gordon and the Mayor of Test Valley, Cllr Eleonora Williams. The band of the 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers will be on hand to provide the music.

Andover shoppers will find all the necessary departments under one roof to satisfy even the most diverse shopping list.

Close at hand will be a large car park capable of holding over 350 cars.

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