I WAS looking at the Andover Advertiser (2 February) and the front page showed that Marks and Spencer might close.

Well, then I started thinking about the memories I have of it. I can remember it being built. Mum was in the ‘Home & Colonial’ buying groceries and I was looking over the road at all the building going on.

I used to work at the Anton Laundry all through the war and sometimes when we finished work I would leave my bike at the laundry and go and see if Marks and Spencer had any cake. That was at noon time on a Saturday.

I went another Saturday and this time they just had biscuits, so I got in line and when it was my turn for some biscuits I was told, “Oh, we don’t serve children.”

I said, “Well, I’m 15 and left school.”

Guess what? I got some biscuits.

I used to get all my clothes there and I still have a cardigan with the M&S tag on.

Since living in Canada, every time I came over to Andover it was the first thing I would do; go down to the town and into Marks and Spencer.

I enjoy the pictures of Old Andover. If you look at the one dated 2 February (p38 ‘Nostalgia: Bridge Street in years gone by’), I well remember the bridge that went over the railway at the town station – many times I walked over that. It’s hard to believe that there were great stream powered trains chugging across Bridge Street.

I wonder if anyone can remember when we all collected for a Spitfire? We named it the ‘Andoverian’.

Well I might be a Canadian citizen, but I am still an ‘Andoverian’ at heart and I love my paper.

Muriel Bower, Morrisburg, Ontario, Canada.