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Notes from bygone years – Aprils springing up everywhere
Hint: Click on the thumbnails for larger images.
April 2023 (1 year before publishing this article)
Donna and I spent a week in Weston-super-Mare while her brother and sister-in-law were on holiday walking on Dartmoor. We stayed in their flat and combined looking after their two, black Labradors (Marple and Maizi) with an enjoyable week away ourselves.
The photo shows Maizi holding a stick while watching another one on the beach, clearly hoping I’ll pick it up and throw it; she is ultra-focused on this possibility! They’re senior dogs now, when Maizi was young it would have been a much larger stick!
JHM: I wrote ‘More on groundbreaking‘ about Jesus and his authority. – World events: – Finland joined NATO; and SpaceX launched its Starship rocket for the first time.
April 2022 (2 years before publishing)
I’ve always enjoyed walking, and I also like taking photos. On April 26th 2022 I walked along the field margins from Stratton to the polo grounds outside Cirencester Park, then down through woodland paths into town. The wild garlic was in full flower in the woods so I took a photo of it, growing here amongst sparse stinging nettle. The flowers look like snow from a distance, but close up they are exquisite.
World events: The IPCC released its sixth assessment warning of serious impacts from a warming climate; Ukraine sank the cruiser, Moskva.
April 2019 (5 years before)
We visited London for two days, here we’re visiting a tropical jungle at the very top of one of the city’s tallest buildings, the ‘Walkie-Talkie’ building at 20 Fenchurch Street. It’s really strange to visit a hilly area with mature trees on the top three floors of a 38-storey building!
JHM: I wrote about spiritual melody. – World events: A black hole was imaged for the first time; and Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris was seriously damaged by fire.
April 2014 (10 years)
On 16th Donna and I visited Burwash Manor, near Cambridge, where there were a number of small shops and businesses to explore as well as a place for coffee and refreshments. We very much enjoyed looking around and had lunch while we were there.
JHM: I posted about suffering in its various forms. – World events: The ‘Donetsk People’s Republic‘ declared independence from Ukraine; and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe stripped Russia of its voting rights.
April 2009 (15 years)
Donna’s birthday is in April, and in 2009 she was forty-years-old. She had a party with family, friends, work colleagues from Unilever at Colworth, and Open Door Church members all present. As you can see in the photo (click to enlarge it), the cake was a Noah’s Ark and was really beautifully and elaborately iced. There was an evening meal and dance at a nearby village hall.
JHM: I posted an article on Wolfram Alpha, this fascinating website is still available – World events: Albania and Croatia joined NATO; and UNESCO launched the World Digital Library.
April 2004 (20 years)
We flew to Cyprus for a holiday at a hotel in Paphos. Cyprus is a fascinating place in so many ways: archaeology, landscape, biology, society – there was a lot to see. The photo shows ‘The Tombs of the Kings‘ near Paphos. It’ not a built structure, but cut out of the solid rock.
JHM: We had some thoughts about being in the King’s presence. – World events: A referendum failed to reunite Cyprus.
April 1999 (25 years)
We were living in Tilbrook, Bedfordshire, and had a visit from friends on 5th April, Jacob is playing with a woodpecker toy. My job at Unilever was extended for a second year, good news as it gave me access to the company’s superannuation scheme.
World events: An Inuit homeland, Nunavut, was created; and the Columbine High School Massacre shocked the world.
April 1994 (30 years)
Around this time, Judy was having slightly odd bowel symptoms and arranged an appointment with her GP who listened, examined her, but found nothing wrong and suggested there was no cause for anxiety and it might sort itself out . We were living in Stowey Road, Yatton.
World events: The Rwandan genocide began in Kigali; and Finland decided to join the European Union.
April 1989 (35 years)
We discovered a field mouse in the house, cowering in a corner. We caught it by putting food in a tall bucket and building a way for it to climb up the outside of the bucket. The mouse jumped in during the night but couldn’t jump out again. Debbie and Beth released it in a field; in the photo it’s about to jump to freedom.
World events: Margaret Thatcher‘s government introduced the Community Charge in Scotland; the Hillsborough Disaster killed 94 in Sheffield; and the world’s smallest mobile phone was introduced.
April 1984 (40 years)
My sister, Ruth, and her husband, Martin, are coming up to their ruby wedding, they were married in April 1984. Congratulations Ruth and Martin!
This is Ivy Church at Ampney St Mary where the wedding took place.
World events: An Indian Air Force pilot, Rakesh Sharma, flew on Soyuz; and an X-class solar flare erupted.
April 1979 (45 years)
This is a draft for the opening of John Jefferies & Sons new Forum Garden Centre in Cirencester. As you can see, it was to be a grand event with Lord and Lady Bathurst taking a leading role in the opening. There was a barbecue, several talks and films, and the Town Crier would announce it in the Market Place.
World events: Iran became an Islamic Republic; and the La Soufrière volcano erupted in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
April 1974 (50 years)
I was busy working at Long Ashton Research Station (LARS) with experiments on temperature effects of plum pollen tube growth rate. I used growth cabinets at a range of temperatures and plum flowers supported in wet florist’s foam. After some microscope work, the data had to be fitted to mathematical growth models (for which I collaborated with a statistician).
World events: The brand new county of Avon came into existence; and ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest.
April 1969 (55 years)
I was at Bath University in my third year of their four-year Horticulture degree course. Judy visited Cambridge on a biochemistry trip. Dad went to Fairford Airfield and filmed Concorde on an early test flight. The image is a still frame from his 8 mm movie camera.
World events: Concorde arrived at Fairford for testing; Richard Nixon was sworn in as President of the United States.
April 1964 (60 years)
I was in the 5th year at Cirencester Grammar School. Here’s a photo I took of my sister Cindy in Girl Guides uniform outside the family home in Victoria Road. It was always a happy home, Mum and Dad were great parents and we had opportunities to do so many interesting things.
World events: Sentences were passed in the Great Train Robbery trial; and BBC Two television began broadcasting.
April 1959 (65 years)
I was now in my final term at Junior school (Querns School), the photo is from 2023, but it looks much as it did in 1959. We were spending some of our time practising the sorts of logical problems we’d meet in the 11+ exam and pupils who passed would go to Cirencester Grammar School. About one in three would typically succeed, and although Mum and Dad didn’t make a big deal of it, I think they knew I was marginal and could go either way.
World events: NASA selected it’s first potential astronauts; and the Saint Lawrence Seaway opened, connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic.
April 1954 (70 years)
The Easter holidays meant that Querns School was closed and I could revert to spending the entire time playing at home or with local friends from Queen Anne’s Road where we lived. Linda next door was probably 6 and I was in the last few months of being 5. Our parents were friends too, so we spent a lot of time in and out of one another’s homes and gardens.
The photo shows a building on the corner of London Road and Beeches Road. Both directions were good for the walk home.
World events: Toscanini had a memory lapse during a concert and retired from conducting; Bill Haley & His Comets recorded ‘Rock Around the Clock‘.
April 1949 (75 years)
I was nine months old at the end of the month, and was probably able to pick items up and transfer them from one hand to the other. I might also have looked for objects that had been moved out of sight. I’m glad to report that I can still do those things 75 years later!
World events: NATO was created, originally with 12 members; and Rodgers and Hammerstein‘s South Pacific opened on Broadway.
April 1944 (80 years)
Dad was now in Skegness (Skeggie) for basic RAF training. This involved marching and parade practice, rifle shooting and bayonet work, fieldcraft, watching training films, aircraft recognition and more. Sometimes there were fatigues to be done, in the cookhouse, for example.
There was also time off when they could visit the town, play football, write letters and generally do whatever they wanted. One highlight was an inspection by an Air Chief Marshal.
World events: The US Air Force accidentally bombed a Swiss city; and a large scale D-Day practice on Slapton Sands was attacked by German U-boats.
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