BARONESS Margaret Thatcher has paid a private visit to Winchester.
Lady Thatcher visited Weir House, Alresford, before going on to see the garden of Tory election candidate George Hollingbery.
Weir House was open as part of the National Gardens Scheme to raise money for charity.
The prime minister from 1979 to 1990 paid the £3 entrance fee and rubbed shoulders with delighted members of the South Basingstoke Women's Institute.
But her past when she was a constant terrorist target lingers, and she was accompanied by three Special Branch officers.
Mr Hollingbery had only a couple of hours' warning that the former premier would be visiting.
He said: "For a lady of her age and who has had the medical problems she has, she was very lively.
"She was very engaging and interested in family and the garden which she seemed to love, the flowers and the colours."
Lady Thatcher also stopped off in Gosport during her visit to Hampshire, which included lunch on board HMS Victory.
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