Chris Jefferies

Blast from the past… 25

We spent Christmas Day in Cheltenham with Judy’s Mum and Dad. We had the usual fun, a great Christmas dinner, lots of presents to unwrap, and a gas fire that kept the room as hot as a sauna! (1989)

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June 2024 (6 months before publishing this article)

I’ve decided to include an even more recent section from now on, as that will allow us to enjoy a summer photo when it’s winter, and a winter photo when it’s summer.

This is from a walk I did on 11th June, along the towpath of the Stroudwater Canal on the edge of Stonehouse. This restored section of canal has a newly built railway bridge, and the canal stretches out to include a small lake called ‘The Ocean’, home to all manner of wildlife.

I enjoy a long walk now and then, perhaps ten or twelve miles; I still find this quite easy and very relaxing as well as interesting. I’ll continue as long as I can.

JHM: I wrote about the canal walk; and about the significance of Starship. World events: Starliner carried crew for the first time; and Julian Assange was released from prison.

< No earlier 6 month items – Jul 2024 >

December 2023 (1 year before publishing)

Erin, our cat, had come to the end of her life, the tumour was very large, she was no longer responding to steroid treatment, so we took her to the vet on 1st December and buried her in the garden on 2nd.

Donna was acting as a ‘guinea pig’ for a trial her brother, Paul, was running at the University of Bath. We drove over there and I sat in the car in heavy rain reading while Donna and Paul were working away in the lab. And throughout the month I scanned and organised a fair number of old 35 mm transparencies, mostly Judy’s but some of mine too.

We visited the family in Yorkshire over New Year having had Christmas at our house with Isobel, Paul and Vanessa.

JHM: I congratulated Vladimir Putin; and posted my online seasonal greetings. World events: The COP28 climate summit agreed a transition to non fossil fuels; and the death toll in Gaza passed 20,000.

< Nov 2023 – Jan 2024 >

December 2022 (2 years before)

We listened to Handel’s Messiah in Gloucester Cathedral, two of our friends were singing in the choir and it was a great performance.

There was a memorial service at Cirencester Baptist Church for my friend Stephen and a gathering later at the Corinium Hotel. I shall always remember the long conversations he and I had, it was a privilege to have known him.

We visited the family in Yorkshire in the middle of the month and had a great time with all sorts of different things to see and do, including a visit to Fairfax House in York.

JHM: I wrote about the war in Ukraine; and posted the very first Blast from the past. World events: The G7 and Australia capped Russia’s oil price; and the Brazilian footballer Pelé died aged 82.

< Nov 2022 – Jan 2023 >

December 2019 (5 years)

Tony’s Parkinson’s was making him confused now, he’d been puzzled about there being two Donna’s.

We voted in the General Election and stayed up to watch the initial results coming in, but felt disappointed as it became clear the Conservatives had won again.

And we visited York just before Christmas, including going to an ice-hockey match in Hull with Debbie, Steve, Aidan and Sara. That was great fun, lots of action, fast and furious.

JHM: I posted a Christmas card for my readers. World events: A new Coronavirus infection was found in Wuhan, China; and impeachment articles were drafted against US President Trump.

< Nov 2019 – Jan 2020 >

December 2014 (10 years)

I’d had an ankle injury in 2013, and it was now feeling much improved, more comfortable than at any time since before I damaged it. We visited Anglesey Abbey around the middle of the month and enjoyed the garden there. Donna was struggling with too much to do; she was busy with teacher training, helping out at the Food Bank and finding church life and the small group unsatisfactory and time consuming as well.

We spent Christmas in York this year staying first with Debbie, then with Beth and Paz, the photo was taken at Debbie’s. Then after Christmas we visited Paul and Vanessa in Weston. A busy end to the year, but a very satisfactory one!

JHM: Simple Church went on sale. World events: Japan launched a sample return spacecraft to Ryugu ; and The Pakistani Taliban killed at least 145 people, mostly schoolchildren in Peshawar.

< Nov 2014 – Jan 2015 >

December 2009 (15 years)

The building in the picture was where I worked when I started my employment at Unilever in April 1998. And here it is nearly eleven years later, being demolished in December 2009! Needless to say, our department had already been moved to alternative offices on the same site. I wrote in my journal,

‘The demolition has started in earnest now, they’re breaking up the concrete cladding and exposing the reinforced columns and floors. Quite a few of the familiar interiors are visible now; it’s weird to see.’

We visited York on 20th December to see my daughters and their families, having the usual great time, this year at Beth and Paz’s home in Fulford. Meredith and Aidan enjoyed the Play Doh Factory.

JHM: I posted a video of the demolition; and notes on a meeting on small groups. World events: The UN Climate Change COP 15 meeting was held in Copenhagen; and the EU Treaty of Lisbon came into force..

< Nov 2009 – Jan 2010 >

December 2004 (20 years)

We were on holiday in Thailand from 26th November until 10th December. On 26th December a huge tsunami hit the beach where we’d been staying (Khao Lak). Possibly as many as 10 000 people died on this part of the coastline, the worst hit part of Thailand; it felt like a very narrow escape!

JHM: I wrote about Cogs and a gift. World events: The world’s tallest bridge opened in France; and there was a very large earthquake and Tsunami (see also above).

< Nov 2004 – Jan 2005 >

December 1999 (25 years)

We spent Christmas Day with Donna’s Mum and Dad in High Wycombe, then travelled west to Cirencester. And on Boxing Day we visited Cindy and Paul’s home at Bibury, a few miles east of Ciren. In the photo you can see Paz, Cindy and Beth all looking happy.

We’d also had pre-Christmas meals with Unilever colleagues earlier in the month.

Truffles (our new cat) had settled in well by this time. She was a young adult, not a kitten, and had struggled at first with a cat flap, but once she got the hang of it I think she really appreciated the freedom it gave her.

World events: Tori Murden became the first woman to row the Atlantic Ocean alone; and Boris Yeltsin resigned leaving Vladimir Putin as acting president of Russia.

< Nov 1999 – Jan 2000 >

December 1994 (30 years)

Judy’s Mum and Dad came to visit us for Christmas dinner this year. Judy was almost back to normal, having made a good recovery following an operation to remove a bowel tumour, and then further illness caused by failed chemotherapy. Despite all this she had now bounced back really well.

World events: Sony released the PlayStation in Japan; and the Netscape Navigator web browser became available.

< Nov 1994 – Jan 1995 >

December 1989 (35 years)

This December we spent Christmas Day in Cheltenham with Judy’s Mum and Dad. We had the usual fun, a great Christmas dinner, lots of presents to unwrap, and a gas fire that kept the room as hot as a sauna!

We might have visited Cirencester later in the day to see my Mum and Dad before heading back home to Yatton.

World events: Mikhail Gorbachev pledged greater religious freedom for citizens of the Soviet Union.; and growing numbers of Communist European states collapsed and were replaced by democracies.

< Nov 1989 – Jan 1990 >

December 1984 (40 years)

At this time I was still working in my spare time on educational Sinclair Spectrum games for the Clever Clogs series from Computer Tutor, while employed at Long Ashton Research Station in their Plant Science Division.

World events: The Bhopal disaster in India killed 23 000+ people and injured over half a million; and the networking company Cisco Systems was formed.

< Nov 1984 – Jan 1985 >

December 1979 (45 years)

At this time I was still studying pollen tube development in apple and pear cultivars at Long Ashton Research Station. Judy was at home working hard at managing the house and looking after the chilren; Debbie was four-years-old and Beth was just seven months.

World events: The first Star Trek movie premiered; and the first European Ariane rocket was launched.

< Nov 1979 – Jan 1980 >

December 1974 (50 years)

I was working for Ken Stott at Long Ashton Research Station, partly on willow and poplar growth rates, but also helping Ray Williams in the Pomology Group doing interesting studies on apple pollination. Judy was working on human erythrocyte membrane proteins in the Biochemistry Lab in Woodland Road, Bristol.

Judy and I were living in a rented flat in Belmont Road, still saving for a deposit for a house but now in the knowledge we’d secured a mortgage. We began considering where we might find a house we could afford.

World events: Cyclone Tracy caused severe damage to Darwin, Australia; and Malta became a republic.

< Nov 1974 – Jan 1975 >

December 1969 (55 years)

Judy and I were both in our final year at University, in Judy’s case at Aberystwyth where she celebrated an early Christmas party with friends (from left – Little Mary, Maggs, Big Mary, Jan, and two faces I know but can’t put names to. Judy isn’t in the picture as she took the photo).

This was the final Christmas before we were married, and 1970 would also be our graduation year.

World events: The Boeing 747 jumbo jet made its first passenger flight; and oil was discovered in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.

< Nov 1969 – Jan 1970>

December 1964 (60 years)

I was lucky enough to be able to go on a School Cruise on an old troopship, the ‘Dunera’. We travelled by coach to London, then train to Dover, ferry to Calais, and train all the way to Venice where we boarded the ship. The route took us past Corfu and we visited Athens, Rhodes, and Istanbul. The photo shows the party looking at Lindos from above before boarding the coach again to walk through the village streets and make our way up the Acropolis.

World events: Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize; and the US F-111 supersonic attack aircraft made its first flight.

< Nov 1964 – Jan 1965>

December 1959 (65 years)

My first term at Cirencester Grammar School came to an end and we enjoyed our Christmas holidays. I think I felt settled in by this time, and knew most of the other children in my class well enough.

World events: The Antarctic Treaty was signed by 12 countries; and Makarios III became the first president of Cyprus.

< Nov 1959 – Jan 1960>

December 1954 (70 years)

I was in my second year at Querns School, and the end of the first term was approaching. We were still living on the Beeches Estate in Cirencester – Daddy, Mummy, me and little Cindy who was just three-years-old.

World events: The first Burger King opened (in Miami); and the world’s first successful kidney transplant took place (Boston, USA).

< Nov 1954 – Jan 1955>

December 1949 (75 years)

Mummy, Daddy and I moved house! We had been lodging with my grandparents in Victoria Road, Cirencester. But on 5th December we were able to move into a newly built council house on the Beeches Estate just the other side of the river. I had a change of address on my identity card (see whole card).

I don’t remember any of this, though, I was less than a year and a half old!

World events: The government of China moved to Taiwan; and UHF TV was broadcast daily for the first time.

< Nov 1949 – Jan 1950>

December 1944 (80 years)

Dad said goodbye to his friend Joe at the railway station on 4th of December; Joe was posted elsewhere. Mum and Dad were both annoyed by Dad’s CO lecturing him about their relationship.

On 9th, Dad travelled to Belfast by bus, then train to Larne, and boat to Stranraer reaching Carlisle at 01:15 on 10th. He was posted to Skendleby in Lincolnshire, another radar station, finally arriving there on 11th December. Mum and Dad began writing frequent letters to one another and Dad spent Christmas and New Year at Skendleby.

World events: The Soviet Union changed Turkish place names in Crimea to Russian; and Glenn Miller‘s plane was lost over the Channel en route to Paris.

< Nov 1944 – Jan 1945>

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Cirencester Hospital

The old house is still interesting on the inside, at least one beautifully oak-panelled room is now a patient waiting room, and gives a hint of how the house would have appeared in its heyday.

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Image 104 – What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every day or so.

Cirencester had two hospitals in the 1950s. There was the Cirencester Memorial Hospital, the main part of which was demolished recently and is now one of the town’s car parks. And in 1948, the new NHS took over a large house near the Bull Ring (the town’s Roman Amphitheatre) and converted it internally as a maternity hospital – The Querns Maternity Hospital. Later, this was repurposed again as a general hospital and modern extensions were added. The Memorial Hospital closed.

The photo shows the rear view of the old house, you can see part of a modern extension on the extreme left. The old house is still interesting on the inside, at least one beautifully oak-panelled room is now a patient waiting room, and gives a hint of how the house would have appeared in its heyday.

I was born in this building when it was a maternity hospital, I was either the first or the second baby after the hospital opened in 1948.

Today, the NHS is struggling with insufficient funding and too few staff leading to long waiting times and impacting the wellbeing of patients, I hope the present government will be able to start correcting this, bringing the service back to full strength and effectiveness. That aside, the NHS remains a wonderful service for everyone who lives in the UK, a job it’s been doing for more than 70 years.

When: 9th January 2024
Where: Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Cirencester

For convenience, here’s a list of all the Cirencester area images:

A417 roadworks, Advent Market, Bishops Walk, Baunton, Canal 1, 2, Castle Street, Christmas lights 1, 2, Church 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Churn flood, Countryside, Fallen tree, Fleece, Gasworks, Gloucester Street, Hare 1, 2, Hospital, Market Place 1, Phoenix Fest, Riverside Walk, Stone plaque, Stratton Meadow, Tank traps, View, Wonky 1, 2, Yellow Iris

Themed image collections

The links below will take you to the first post in each collection

Cirencester, Favourites, Irish holiday 2024, Roman villa

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John 15:18-21 – Hatred

A master issues instructions, a servant follows instructions. Jesus teaches, his chosen apprentices learn; and it follows that if Jesus is persecuted they will be too.

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Bible text – Read it yourself (opens in a new tab)

Meaning of the word

The subject of hatred can be difficult, hating someone is not just a matter of disliking them, maybe we need to look at a dictionary definition.

The Greek word used here (μισέω – miseo) literally means to ‘detest’ (See the Bible Hub definition for details). In the Graeco-Roman world of the time it implied a strong emotional response of enmity and hostility. In Hebrew thought it was a little different, hatred was seen as being the opposite of love, but also as a righteous attitude to sin and idols. This can lead to misunderstanding in English translations when we read, for example, that we should ‘hate’ our father and mother. A better translation might be that we should love our father and mother less than we love Jesus.

We are Christ’s

In the previous section Jesus was talking about love; in verse 17 we read, ‘This is my command: love each other.’ And immediately afterwards he says, ‘If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first’. In other words, the world sees Jesus as sinful and idolatrous, and sees us in the same way because we follow him. We see this most clearly when we consider the approach of the Priests, the Pharisees, and the Saducees. They really did see Jesus and his followers as teaching dangerous and abhorrent errors.

He tells his apprentices (disciples) that the world would love them if they were themselves worldly. But we, too, are his disciples so let’s make this more direct and personal – the world would love you and me if we were worldly. Are we worldly? I hope not! And why are we not worldly? Because Jesus has chosen us out of the world. If you’re popular in the world you should be alarmed! Jesus is the head, not us. We are merely the body of Christ. Or more encouragingly, we are amazingly the body of Christ. So when the vicar offers you a wafer and tells you, ‘This is the body of Christ, broken for you’; you might retort, ‘No it’s not, I am part of the body of Christ, as are you’. But I’m not sure how well that would go down!

Master and servant

Jesus reminds them of something he told them previously, namely that masters are greater than their servants. A master issues instructions, a servant follows instructions. Jesus teaches, his chosen apprentices learn; and it follows that if Jesus is persecuted they will be too. And those who follow Jesus’ teaching will also follow theirs. They are going to share in more than his life, for elsewhere he clearly states that they have become his friends (no longer servants), so they (and we) become teachers like him and will be persecuted by some, followed by others.

The abuse will come because of his name, because they don’t know the Father. Jesus came as a servant, a messenger, in his Father’s name. We go as servants, as messengers, in Jesus’ name. And we go to those who don’t know his name, his mission or his character. Jesus came to reveal the truth to an ignorant world, to bring life to a dying world. So should we – but if we do not, can we really claim to be his followers at all?

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Cotswold skies

One of the joys of these walks is the sky. Sometimes it’s grey and overcast, sometimes it’s blue from horizon to horizon, but sometimes it’s full of interesting cloud formations at various heights.

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Image 103 – What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every day or so.

Traditional Cotswold fields were quite small, but as in many parts of the UK, farmers have removed hedgerows to combine small fields into larger ones that can be more efficiently cultivated, planted, and managed. Although this has some deleterious effects on wildlife and biodiversity, it does create some big skies. Here is an example.

This field is an easy walk west from Stratton where I live, along a permitted route along a stony track. I come out this way from time to time to enjoy the wide open spaces, to look at the nearby polo fields, to listen to the larks that nest here in considerable numbers, and to watch them rise higher and higher before plummeting down to land.

And one of the joys of these walks is the sky. Sometimes it’s grey and overcast, sometimes it’s blue from horizon to horizon, but sometimes it’s full of interesting cloud formations at various heights.

This wonderful world is full of beauty in big skies and also in tiny details. And it’s always different, no two days are alike.

When: 19th January 2024
Where: North-west of Cirencester

Favourites

For convenience, here’s a list of my favourite images:

Anemone, Cloud, Honeybee, Hydrangea, Kiftsgate1, Kiftsgate2, Large White, Mugshot, Nelson, Robin, Rose, Spilhaus, Sunset1, Weston beach

Themed image collections

The links below will take you to the first post in each collection

Cirencester, Favourites, Irish holiday 2024, Roman villa

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Hen Brook

This was such a peaceful view that I just had to take a photo to remember it by, and years later I’m very glad I did.

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Image 102 – What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every day or so.

Hen Brook is a very small tributary stream that flows into the River Great Ouse in St Neots, Cambridgshire. We lived in St Neots for years before moving to Cirencester in 2017.

Walking just 100 metres or so from this point, Hen Brook really is tiny, but the final stretch before it enters the river was widened and deepened so that barges could reach the point in the town where much of the industry was in Victorian times. Today it remains navigable, as does the river itself. There’s an area for private boats around this area, and a yacht marina further downstream on the river itself. This was such a peaceful view that I just had to take a photo to remember it by, and years later I’m very glad I did. I hope you will like the composition as much as I do.

When: Summer 2010 (ish)
Where: St Neots, Cambridgeshire

Favourites

For convenience, here’s a list of my favourite images:

Anemone, Cloud, Honeybee, Hydrangea, Kiftsgate1, Kiftsgate2, Large White, Mugshot, Nelson, Robin, Rose, Spilhaus, Sunset1, Weston beach

Themed image collections

The links below will take you to the first post in each collection

Cirencester, Favourites, Irish holiday 2024, Roman villa

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