100 years ago

At a door of one of the shops on the Promenade there are a couple of ornaments resembling puppy dogs. So life-like are they that it is only after very much investigation that the real "canines" are satisfied that the objects are lifeless. To the puppies, especially, they are a source of wonder. The other day one was seen to sniff round the china model and then to pat it in the face. Receiving no signs of recognition or intelligence, it barked furiously. Malvern Gazette, February 10, 1905.

There was a gathering of nearly 150 guests at the ball given by Lieutenant R Carnaby Forster, the non-commissioned officers and men of the Ledbury Troop Royal Gloucestershire Hussars, which was held at The Feathers Hotel Assembly Room on Thursday night. The regimental string band occupied a raised dais and were partly hidden by large palms and foliage. Much credit is due to Mr Dawes for the grouping of the plants. Ledbury Free Press, February 14, 1905.

50 years ago

Malvern Debating Society at its next meeting will have before it the motio: that "Television is a greater menace than the Hydrogen Bomb". This debate on TV is regarded by the committee as being particularly appropriate in a town where there is a higher percentage of TV sets - one per ten of the population - than in almost any other place in the country. Malvern Gazette, February 11, 1955.

My note last week about the Ledbury and District Home Guard rifle club has been interpreted by some as inferring that the club is connected with the Home Guard; quiet a natural assumption, given the names. In fact, the Rifle Club came into being on the disbandment of the Home Guard and, for a while, it flourished. Ledbury Reporter, February 11, 1955.

25 years ago

Malvern's cycling ecologist, Mr Dennis Nightingale-Smith, is nearing the last leg of his 1,750-mile bike ride up and down Britain to raise money for the Ecology Party. Mr Nightingale-Smith is in the far south, having already pedalled up to John O'Groats and back down the entire length of the country.

Malvern Gazette, February 14, 1980.

"What a way to spend your wedding anniversary!" declared a delighted Mary McBride on hearing the result of the Ledbury Council by-election at St Katherine's Hall on Thursday night. She had just scored a landslide victory over three other candidates and polled over two-thirds of the 664 votes cast. Ledbury Reporter, February 14, 1980.