Origins of choral society and Australian Scouts

ANDOVER CHORAL SOCIETY

The first annual meeting of the members and subscribers of the society, was held at the Town Hall, Andover on Tuesday evening last, when the Rev H White was re-elected president, and Mr Thorpe, treasurer, for the coming year. The latter produced his accounts for the season ending July last, the society having a balance of 14 shillings after all expenses had been paid in this first season.

When the quiet and unpretending manner in which this society was originated is considered, the members have every reason to congratulate themselves upon the result.

No doubt a larger subscription might easily have been attained but the committee very properly was desirous of testing the capability and success of the fledgling society. Now, however, that strong impressions of satisfaction have been achieved, the number of subscribers will be increased. It is important to know that one of the objects of the society is to afford strong instruction in the Elementary classes and which very soon qualifies for joining in the practice with more advanced members. Last year the society was fortunate to obtain the kind assistance of several ladies and it is hoped that more will join in the coming season.

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 13 OCTOBER 1899

THE MAYOR’S CHAIN

At the recent meeting of the council, the Mayor, Cllr Philip Ponting, said that before they began the business on the agenda, there was a little matter he would like to mention with regard to the Mayor’s chain. He found that every link of that chain had a name engraved on it, the ex-Mayor’s being the last, so that all Mayors who followed him must have their names engraved on the reverse side of the links unless they adopted the course he was willing to do of adding a new link to it. If all who came after him did this it would in time be long enough to go twice round his neck. If they had no objection he would add a new link and have his name engraved on it and hoped that this would become the general practice in the future.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 10 OCTOBER 1924

CORRESPONDENCE – PUBLIC LIGHTING

Sir: I read with interest in your paper that Cllr Moore has urged the Andover Lighting and Power Company to reduce its charge for public lighting. I have two things to say about that; first, it has long been the settled policy of the company that public lighting should be delivered at the barest margin and second, that the new tender had already been delivered to the council by the time Cllr Moore made his remarks, whereby the cost of ordinary lamps was reduced by 3s 9d and point lamps by 4s per lamp below last year’s prices and that these prices were fixed by the directors some four weeks ago.

This means that for a little under 2s 2d per week per lamp, the company provides standards, lanterns, gas, all maintenance, lighting and extinguishing. This figure is arrived at by dividing the annual cost by 39, the actual number of weeks during which the lamps are lit. I feel sure we are not supposed to take Cllr Moore’s remarks seriously about the dividend. Surely, he does not intend to suggest that five per cent is too high a dividend to pay shareholders in an industrial concern? The Board of Trade has fixed a standard price for gas at which a dividend of five per cent is payable and if the price of gas goes up, the dividend will be reduced. There is therefore little room for manoeuvre under these circumstances.Yours faithfully, W Percival Clarke, chairman of A.L. & P. Co.

SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 14 OCTOBER 1949

AUSSIE VISITORS

Mr and Mrs Colebrook of 2 Albany Road, had a pleasant surprise on Saturday when they were visited by two Australian Rover Scouts. It all started last Christmas when Mr and Mrs Colebrook received a food parcel from a family they knew in Frankston, Victoria, a small town about the size of Whitchurch. Two friends of the senders, Kenneth Cameron, 21, and Dick Alchin, 17, were travelling to Norway for the fourth World Rover Scout Moot, and promised that whilst in this country they would visit the Colebrooks. Arriving at Southampton on the SS Orontes in June, they toured Scotland, Wales and parts of south-west England, before leaving on the second part of their journey to Norway. The London dock strikes stopped them making the direct voyage from England, so they caught the boat train to Belgium and made their way through Germany, Denmark and Sweden to Norway. They returned via Aberdeen and came down to Hampshire to see the Colebrooks before leaving the country. Yesterday the two scouts left Tilbury en route for home and they reckoned that since leaving Frankston in May they had travelled 30,000 miles.

FORTY-SEVEN YEARS AGO – FRIDAY 14 OCTOBER 1977

JUBILEE LAMP SWITCH-ON

The Victorian lamp standard erected in Andover’s High Street to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887, has just been replaced after rescue from the scrap heap. It was removed in 1952. Derek Marder of Pickett Piece decided it would be an ideal memento of the 1977 Silver Jubilee year if it was repaired and placed in the town. He was joined in the project by several businessmen and firms in the town and on Wednesday the attractive blue and gold lamp was erected outside the Guildhall. It will be switched on tonight by the mayor of Test Valley, Cllr Alf Parke, at 8pm.

A committee was formed amongst the people and firms to decide the positioning and the Guildhall site was chosen to cut down the risk of vandalism. The lamp stands only a few feet away from its original site. The attractive design, with a curving fish, was a popular one in the last century and originally incorporated a fountain but this has not been repaired because of hygiene risks. The top fitting was lost and a copy made by Mr A Hopkins who spotted an identical lamp in York. Its colours in the early days was black and gold. Lighting will now be provided by electricity but the bulbs and holder will look like the original gas fittings.