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The Andover Advertiser:Remembering the way we were

Mullins Pond (today, Mullinspond), Thruxton: Looking west, with the White Horse Inn, in the distance on the left, early 20th century. Photo courtesy of the John Marchment collection

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO FRIDAY, 18 MAY 1883 MULLIN'S POND - THE NEW CLUB The anniversary of the local sick and burial club was celebrated on Monday by a dinner at the White Horse Inn, but unlike previous years the members did not muster in sufficient numbers to form a procession to church, and that part of the ordinary custom was abandoned. At about noon the members met in the club room for the transaction of business, when it was explained that they had a slight increase in the number of members, and that the funds were improved by about £9. The secretary was unavoidably absent, and the exact details were not forthcoming, but the general appearance was favourable.

After the transaction of business a procession was formed, and headed by the Abbotts Ann drum and fife band the members marched through the village to Weyhill and other places to visit the houses of their honorary members, after which they returned to the club room for dinner, Mrs. White having made ample provision for them in this direction. After dinner Mr. White took the chair, and the usual loyal toasts were proposed, after which the afternoon was spent in a social manner.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO FRIDAY, 15 MAY 1908 WHITCHURCH - ANIMATED PICTURE ENTERTAINMENT The Royal Court Animated Picture Company on Monday gave two entertainments in the Town Hall, one in the afternoon to school children and the other in the evening to adults. The entertainment consisted of cinematograph pictures showing processions at home and abroad, and humorous scenes in which policemen, motor cars, &c., played a prominent part, conjuring, paper-cutting, shadiography, and bone playing. There were good attendances.

SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO FRIDAY, 19 MAY 1933 LUDGERSHALL - THE POLES ARRIVE Ludgershall's Parish Councillors must have sighed with relief when, a few days ago, they saw employees of the Wessex Electricity Co. erecting the poles which will carry the cables for lighting and household supplies to the various parts of the village.

The arrival of the workmen is the culmination of many months of correspondence and negotiation, during which the Electricity Commissioners were consulted. Though the poles are not beautiful to look upon, they are utilitarian, and few will complain that they spoil the surroundings, for Ludgershall cannot be described as a beautiful village. In one or two places they have been erected near the old lamp posts which did duty before the war, when the village streets were lit by acetylene gas.

FIFTY YEARS AGO FRIDAY, 16 MAY 1958 THE EDITOR'S POST BAG - TOOTHBRUSH THE ANSWER Mr. W. J. Rees, of 23 Landsdowne Avenue, Andover, writes: Andover is now entering the post-fluoride period in its historical development. Many of the public advocates of the "Fluorine for All" policy have fallen by the wayside but should we not remember them in their hour of defeat by giving them and their supporters the freedom of choice that they so stubbornly denied to others?

How? By making available through the pro-fluoride Council, fluoride tablets so that parents, who wish to avail themselves of the benefits of fluorine in fighting decay in their children's teeth, can do so.

Parental freedom of choice is granted where lives, not teeth, are saved--i.e. immunisation against diptheria--so surely it is time that this long drawn-out and acrimonious controversy was relegated to the "fifth division."

Daily use of the tooth brush is the answer to dental decay and that is a matter for the parents of the children, not for the Borough Council.

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO FRIDAY 20 MAY 1983 ALLIANCE SPURNS MAYOR'S BUFFET Leader of the Alliance members on Test Valley Borough Council, Malcolm Smith, pledged after Wednesday's ceremony in Romsey, when Cllr Laurie Porter was sworn in as mayor, that his group was dedicated to providing a "cohesive, effective opposition" to the Conservative majority group.

After speaking against two motions during the annual meeting following the mayor-making, the Alliance councillors left Romsey's Crosfield Hall refusing the buffet lunch provided because, they said, they would not eat at ratepayers' expense.

The new Alliance member for Alamein Ward, Cllr Sue Simpson, said she would be asking the chief executive for the cost involved in providing the meal for councillors, officers and guests.

ANDOVER - SHOP CLOSURE More changes in the High Street in Andover -- although this one will not take place until next year. The "Advertiser" understands that the branch of Timothy White's, the object of a takeover at Christmas, will shut down in the first quarter of next year.

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