I appreciate that mop fairs are not everybody’s cup of tea and have to admit that my involvement nowadays is limited to the occasional ride on a sedate old merry-go-round (when there is one, that is). But how I love the atmosphere of fairs and last Saturday the Marlborough Mop had it in abundance.

First there is the noise, heard from afar, whetting the appetite for the fun to come. With the volume at full blast each attraction strives to outdo its neighbour with the showmen adding to the din and the shrieks of excited children completing the raucous mix.

Approach the fair and you get that lovely all-pervading smell wafting down the High Street, of chips mingled with doughnuts, of hamburgers and hot dogs, candy floss and toffee apples – plus that hint of diesel oil.

And then there are the attractions themselves. All manner of stalls from humble hoopla to rifle ranges, little roundabouts for the toddlers, helter-skelters and bungees, hall of mirrors, ghost train and haunted house. And what about those giant, thunderous awe-inspiring pieces of equipment? There’s a mountainous wheel and a frog bouncer; there’s a contrivance that whips from one direction to another at terrifying speed and, to cap it all, there’s a huge arm that launches about a dozen people to a height exceeding that of the Castle and Ball Hotel and then proceeds to spin, turn and twist. Lovely stomach- churning stuff and would that I were 60 years younger.

The fun of the fair exists today as it did all those years ago. The same anticipation, the same thrill, just different attractions. There were questionable side shows then – The Incredible Bearded Lady and The Snake Man to name but two; there was a boxing booth – beat Bill Williams and earn a fiver! And I remember the newest attraction The Dangerous Wall of Death.

To close on a practical note, I admire the speed and efficiency with which the mop fairs are erected and dismantled in Marlborough and I congratulate the street cleaners on their excellent work in clearing up after the events.

Robert Macmillan, Kelham Gardens, Marlborough.