It was a blast to the past in Clanfield as a bunch of friends reunited to reminisce about the good old days. 

The ‘Clanfield Crew’ hung out in the 1960s at the previous Rising Sun and it was only fitting that the reunion took place at the current pub.

The event was organised by Elizabeth Haywood, who first became a part of the group when she moved to the area from the West Midlands.

“When I first met them they were all friendly and it was a bit like that film on the telly Cheers,” she said.

“People could walk into the pub and the landlady knew who they were, everybody knew everybody's name.

“Every year there was a fancy dress party. The day I won the one for being the lady's best dressed. I was a Spanish matador, and I just wore ordinary clothes, but altered them to fit a Spanish man and a black hat.”

On that same occasion, someone shot a cork from a champagne bottle directly into the lights in the ceiling. It caused the whole lights to come down crashing down and there was lots of laughter as people remembered.

“You couldn't have done it if you'd tried!” Ruth remarked.

The crew used to hold numerous events and outings including discos, end of year dinners/dances, fundraisers for the football club and going to the naval base. HMS Mercury was a shore establishment in nearby East Meon and the crew would mix with some of the officers.

Brian Bradley, originally from Belfast, said: “We had a great relationship with the people from HMS Mercury. We got on quite well with them and they had a dance every Thursday and it was free.”

Despite many now living in other counties the friendships have clearly stood the test of time.