Remember When: A Litterblitz, signs of the times and a Grand National victory

1973: A fearless cat attempted to chase a mischief of rats out of St Mary’s Church Hall as young dancers performed a scene from Dick Whittington.

The show was put on by 100 pupils from the Janet Goodier School of Dancing and included displays of ballet, tap, modern and acrobatic dancing.

1973: Villagers accused Berkshire County Council of taking a wrong turn over the introduction of new metal road signs in Waltham St Lawrence.

Harold Light, chairman of Waltham St Lawrence Parish Council, said the signs were ‘unsightly, unnecessary and a waste of money’ and called for the reinstatement of the old wooden signs.

1978: Two inches of snow was dumped on Maidenhead as the town experienced its heaviest snowfall of the year in spring.

The freezing temperatures didn’t deter Cookham youngsters Michael and Helen Bootham from venturing outside and building their first snowman of the year.

1978: A mallard duck and drake were pictured waddling across the road as they headed for an early morning snack at a chip shop in Bridge Road.

Where else would you want to go if you were feeling peckish?

1978: Bulldozers smashed their way through the old Budgens site as the redevelopment of Maidenhead town centre continued apace. Sound familiar?

After being reduced to a pile of rubble, the site was due to be have ground floor shops with offices on the second and third floors.

1983: Pockets will have been feeling a bit heavier for the town’s horseracing punters as a born-and- bred Maidonian rode the Grand National winner.

Former Cox Green Comprehensive School pupil Ben de Haan swept to victory on board the 13-1 shot, Corbiere.

And the 23-year-old sealed his place in history, with the horse becoming the first female-trained runner to win National Hunt’s prestige event.

1988: Spurred on by watching their brothers playing football for Twyford Comets, a group of girls decided to launch their own team.

But with no other female sides to play against, the Comets had to compete against older boys teams.

They fought valiantly but manager Doug Cunningham said his players were getting a bit ‘disheartened’ by the lack of female opposition and appealed for teams to come forward to play them.

1988: Showbiz star Roy Castle and the 1st Wargrave Brownies launched a Litterblitz campaign (main picture) in a bid to keep Berkshire tidy.

The initiative aimed to encourage litter picking and improve awareness of the cost and danger posed to the community by dumping waste.