ANN Rogers of Rogers Fun Fair hasn't missed an October Fair in Ledbury for forty years, and this year will be no exception.

Mrs Rogers, now 63, married into the Rogers family in 1974 and, until the death of her husband David, nine years ago, the couple were the public faces of the autumn fair, which can trace its origins back to the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1 and always takes place in the town centre.

Now battling with ill health, Mrs Rogers is determined that her five children will continue the long tradition, but as a keen student of hop and mop fair tradition, she has regrets that the Ledbury October Fair isn't what it once was.

She said: "Everything changes, not always for the better; but there will always be a Ledbury street fair.

"In the old days, Bye Street wasn't part of the fair, but it was where the "run-outs" set up stalls - traders from outside the area.

"You could see a man throwing china up in the air and catching it. It was a skill - and in my younger days, I have actually seen that down Bye Street, and it is a shame it doesn't come back, because it was very exciting for the children."

In an interview for the Ledbury Reporter in 2006, the late Pip Powell, well-known for his long-lived bicycle shop in the Homend, also recalled how the event used to be much more that the two-day fun-fair it has become.

Half a century ago and more, he remembered, there were certainly fairground rides; but there was usually a boxing ring too, in the High Street, and trade stalls selling goods in the Homend, especially crockery.

Further back, in a situation similar to that described by Thomas Hardy in "Far From the Madding Crowd", men seeking agricultural work would have been hired in the street.

Mrs Rogers is promising "all the fun of the fair" for this year's October Fair, which will take place on Monday, October 13 and Tuesday, October 14.

Popular rides like the spinning Speed Buzz , the Meteorite and Magic Carpet Ride will be there, as well as the ever-popular dodgems and waltzers.

"I'm just praying for fine weather," said Mrs Rogers.

There is a close link between the Rogers Family and the town council. Each year the fair brings in around £2000 in revenue to the town council, and this money is divided between selected local charities and good causes.

Several councillors, including former mayor, Coun Keith Francis, has been given honorary membership of the Showman's Guild.

To accommodate the fair, as usual, the section of Bye Street from the Homend junction to the St Katherine's car park turn will be closed from 6pm on October 12 to 10.30pm on Tuesday, October 14.

The town centre, from Top Cross to the Homend's junction with Bank Crescent will be closed from 5pm to 10.30pm, during the actual evenings of the fair.

Diversions will be in place to Ledbury bypass.