St Neots – Page 2 – Journeys of Heart and Mind

Blast from the past… 13

In December 2022 I posted my first attempt at ‘Blast from the past’. It was brief, covering just 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 years

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Notes from bygone years – December after December, Christmas after Christmas…
Hint: Click on the thumbnails for larger images.

December 2022 (1 year before publishing this article)

In December 2022 I posted my first attempt at ‘Blast from the past’. It was brief, covering just 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 years; I only mentioned earlier JHM blog posts, nothing about my personal history or memories, and no images. It’s changed beyond recognition in 12 months!

On 17th December we drove up to York to visit my daughters and our grandchildren. On the way, the snowy fields and trees were really lovely to see. On the 18th we walked into the centre of York together and looked around Fairfax House, a fabulous and fascinating place – well worth a visit if you’re in York and haven’t seen it before. On 19th, back at home, I built a stack of cats! These were a present, a game where players take turns to add one cat – until the stack collapses.

Also in December 2022, I published an article about order and disorder, destruction and abundance, restrictions and freedom. I called it My Father is a farmer.

< Nov 2022 – Jan 2023 >

December 2021 (2 years before publishing)

In December 2021 the young Moon and Venus made for a lovely sky in the evening twilight. I took this photo, only noticing later that a passing bird had photobombed the scene!

My friend, Nick Henderson invited me to write an article on why I left the Anglican church. You can read it here on my blog, and and on his website, Anglicanism.org.

< Nov 2021 – Jan 2022 >

December 2018 (5 years before)

In December 2018 I took a photo of the clock on Cirencester’s Parish Church tower. The honey coloured Cotswold limestone of the tower glows gloriously in the orange light of the setting sun. What a combination! Studying the photo later, I realised for the first time that the clock face is painted onto the stone of the tower. I had always imagined it was a large wooden or metal panel.

I posted an online card for Christmas and New Year, hoar frost on red berries.

< Nov 2018 – Jan 2019 >

December 2013 (10 years)

In December 2013 I was at a Newforms Gathering in Nottingham. It was great to be amongst other people doing their best to follow Jesus and represent him in what is often a very broken world.

On JHM I wrote about food banks and why they were needed in Britain. Sadly they are still needed a decade later.

< Nov 2013 – Jan 2014 >

December 2008 (15 years)

In December 2008 we visited Donna’s parents and walked along the coast near Bournemouth. It looked lovely with some strong sunshine, but my word it was cold!

I wrote an article on JHM the same month on the topics of science and technology.

< Nov 2008 – Jan 2009>

December 2003 (20 years)

In December 2003 I was working for Unilever Research; and the department had a couple of working away days as a planning and learning exercise. These were always daytime effort and evening fun.

< Nov 2003 – Jan 2004 >

December 1998 (25 years)

In December 1998 we were living in Tilbrook, a tiny village near Kimbolton, Bedfordshire. I received my replacement driving licence for the new address. There was no plastic card, this document folded up and fitted into a flexible plastic sleeve.

< Nov 1998 – Jan 1999 >

December 1993 (30 years)

In December 1993 we were living in Yatton and visited Judy’s parents in Cheltenham for Christmas and my parents in Cirencester for New Year. Here are Cindy, Rachael, Neil and Tom in the dining room at Churnside, playing Buccaneer. It’s a 1938 game of pirates, treasure, shipwreck and rum – great fun.

< Nov 1993 – Jan 1994 >

December 1988 (35 years)

In December 1988 we visited my parents in Cirencester. Dad still had his African land snail in the glass tank and everyone was interested to take a closer look at it. Beth is unfortunately hidden behind Debbie in this shot. The glass tank was originally for a lead-acid radio battery.

< Nov 1988 – Jan 1989 >

December 1983 (40 years)

In December 1983, my department at Long Ashton was beginning the process of working out how proposed budget cuts would effect staff. Some would be redeployed in other research centres. Others would be made redundant.

< Nov 1983 – Jan 1984 >

December 1978 (45 years)

In December 1978 Debbie was three and three quarters and Beth was 7 months old. We’d been in our 1960s mid-terrace house in Yatton for some time but there still seemed to be enough room for us. In Iran, two million people demonstrated in the streets against the Shah.

< Nov 1978 – Jan 1979 >

December 1973 (50 years)

In December 1973, we were trying to save enough money for a deposit on a mortgage. We’d saved quite a lot, but house prices were rising faster than we could manage.

The Pioneer 10 spacecraft was the first probe to fly past Jupiter. The images were fuzzy by modern standards, but far better than any telescope could achieve at the time. I remember sitting in the library at work in my lunch break, reading about it in Science, Nature, and at home in New Scientist.

< Nov 1973 – Jan 1974 >

December 1968 (55 years)

December 1968 was a significant month. As far as I can recall, on 31st December both families were in the same room in Cheltenham when I asked Judy’s Dad if I might marry his daughter. He said, ‘Yes’, right away so all was well. It’s possible this was very early January, but I think it was New Year’s Eve. Of course, Judy and I had decided this well in advance but it was fun to make the move with everyone present!

< Nov 1968 – Jan 1969 >

December 1963 (60 years)

In December 1963 I was in the Fifth Form at Cirencester Grammar School. Mum made the usual stonkingly large Christmas cake (we always managed to eat it all in a week or so). Even Chloe, the dog has a small slice on her own plate in the photo. And, of course, it goes without saying that there’s Marmite on the table.

< Nov 1963 – Jan 1964 >

December 1958 (65 years)

In December 1958 I was in my 6th and final year at Querns School. One of my friends from before we started school, Robert Kneale, wrote a Christmas poem for our teacher, Miss Taylor. We were both ten at the time, I wonder if he had a little help from his Dad, George? It’s a great effort – click on the image to read it.

< Nov 1958 – Jan 1959 >

December 1953 (70 years)

In December 1953 I was five-years-old and finished my first school term.

The world of human paleontology was still reeling following the announcement on 20th November that Piltdown Man had been a hoax.

< Nov 1953 – Jan 1954 >

December 1948 (75 years)

At the end of December 1948 I was five months old and turned over by myself for the first time on 2nd. Dad had a 10/- raise in his wages and was busy lifting Christmas trees for sale.

< Nov 1948 – Jan 1949 >

December 1943 (80 years)

In December 1943 Dad travelled by train to Paddington Station and on to Euston House where he went through a series of subject exams and aptitude tests. He was enlisted as a Radar Operator in the RAF Volunteer Reserve, received 10/6d pay, and was deferred for six months. He was very disappointed to have been turned down as a pilot.

< Nov 1943 – Jan 1944 >

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Blast from the past… 12

Dad went to the RAF Recruiting Office in Gloucester for a medical; everything was good except his eyesight, but they passed him for aircrew.

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Notes from bygone years – Novembers one and all
Hint: Click on the thumbnails for larger images.

November 2022

In November 2022 our friends Jim and Kevin drove over from St Neots to visit us for a day. Jim’s wife, Pam, couldn’t make it this time. We took them to see the Corinium Museum, and Jim was very impressed by some of the mosaic floors on display. Kevin, being an engineer by trade, was interested in the Roman iron tools on display.

A few days later we had a visit from Sean and Tania, friends from Bedford. So lots of ‘easterners’ visiting us during November!

And some friends lent us a lovely jigsaw made from an old map of Cirencester as it was in the late 19th century; we enjoyed fitting the pieces together and noticing the many changes that have taken place here over the years.

This month I published an article about Clifford’s Tower in York.

< Oct 2022 – Dec 2022 >

November 2021

In November 2021 we visited Batsford Arboretum near Moreton-in-Marsh. This is an informal collection of trees, planted in the grounds of a lovely old house. It’s as much a large garden as it is a botanical collection. A great day out (and a good garden centre and restaurant into the bargain).

I published an article about a remarkably clever computer emulation of evolution.

< Oct 2021 – Dec 2021 >

November 2018

In November 2018 my sister, Cindy, launched a new book. Cindy is wearing the red hat in the photo; the new book was The Outrageous Fortune of Abel Morgan. You can find it in bookshops as well as on Google Play Books and Amazon.

I wrote about murmurations in November; if you don’t know what these are, you will be amazed. Play the video in the article for a grandstand view (with music).

< Oct 2018 – Dec 2018 >

November 2013

In November 2013 our kitchen was being modified. Walls had to come down to incorporate a corridor, pantry and old coal bunkers into the main space followed by the addition of a steel beam, replastering and installing a full new kitchen. For a while it was a real mess!

I posted an article on reusable rockets.

< Oct 2013 – Dec 2013 >

November 2008

In November 2008, Donna’s cat, Truffles, was getting on in years and had developed one white whisker, she looked lop-sided and it was very amusing. She developed more later, and looked far more dignified.

I wrote an article about how blessed we are, together and individually.

< Oct 2008 – Dec 2008 >

November 2003

In November 2003 Nominet confirmed that I held the registration for the internet domain name scilla.org.uk, Donna and I have been using it now for a little over twenty years.

< Oct 2003 – Dec 2003 >

November 1998

November 1998 saw us living in Tilly Cottage in the village of Tilbrook near Kimbolton. Donna went for a weekend visit to Eurodisney in Paris with a group of friends.

< Oct 1998 – Dec 1998 >

November 1993

In November 1993 we had a visit from our German friends Gunter and Heidi Klauss. Judy and I met Gunter when he was in Cirencester on a school exchange. He stayed with several families during his time at Cirencester Grammar School, including a spell with my parents; so he and I knew one another rather well.

< Oct 1993 – Dec 1993>

November 1988

In November 1988 we took the train to Weston-super-Mare to view the Bridgwater Carnival. It was cold but a lot of fun. I took some video of the various floats as they passed. These images of Judy, Debbie and Beth are stills from the video.

< Oct 1988 – Dec 1988 >

November 1983

In November 1983, discussions were ongoing about moving research on nursery stock from Long Ashton near Bristol to East Malling in Kent. Long Ashton was to focus on arable crop research and the team I was part of, working on fruit tree pollination, would be moved or closed down. With school age children, this was an anxious time.

< Oct 1983 – Dec 1983 >

November 1978

In November 1978 Debbie was three and Beth was just 6 months. We were living in Yatton, near Bristol; at the time both were within the county of Avon. We lived in a 1960s mid-terrace house with three bedrooms and a tiny kitchen.

< Oct 1978 – Dec 1978 >

November 1973

In November 1973, we were living in Belmont Road, Bristol. We had rented a first floor, unfurnished flat; this enabled us to buy some second hand furniture, save towards a house deposit, and raise a mortgage. The photo shows a sunset from our living room window.

< Oct 1973 – Dec 1973 >

November 1968

In November 1968 I was in my third year at the University of Bath, studying for a BSc in Horticulture; Judy was in her second year at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, studying Biochemistry. Naturally we wrote to one another frequently. In November we discussed a possible trip to see the 1970 Oberammergau Passion play, but as Judy rightly pointed out, we were already too late to find travel and accomodation for an event that is always massively oversubscribed.

< Oct 1968 – Dec 1968 >

November 1963

In November 1963 I was living in Victoria Road, Cirencester, and I was in the Fifth Form at Cirencester Grammar School, also in Victoria Road. There could be no excuse for late arrival at school!

< Oct 1963 – Dec 1963 >

November 1958

In November 1958 we were living in Queen Anne’s Road on Cirencester’s Beeches Estate; I was in my 6th and final year at Querns School. I achieved my toy master’s badge at Cubs.

< Oct 1958 – Dec 1958 >

November 1953

In November 1953 we had fireworks in the back garden. I don’t think there were big public displays in those days, families bought a few rockets, a Roman candle or two, and a Catherine wheel. I remember Bengal matches that burned in pretty colours, and sparklers to wave around to make light patterns. Jumping Jacks used to leap about on the ground and frighten people, they were banned when I was a bit older.

< Oct 1953 – Dec 1953 >

November 1948

At the end of November 1948 I was four months old. I would have been growing bigger and stronger, interacting more with Mum and Dad and other adults, beginning to vocalise more, and showing some interest in my surroundings.

< Oct 1948 – Dec 1948 >

November 1943

In November 1943 Dad went to the RAF Recruiting Office in Gloucester for a medical; everything was good except his eyesight, but they passed him for aircrew. The following day (1st December) he was to go to London for further tests and to face the Selection Board.

< Oct 1943 – Dec 1943 >

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Blast from the past… 11

We looked at Bayeux Cathedral inside and out and also took a look at the famous tapestry, then Omaha Beach. It was a great trip.

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Notes from bygone years – October..ctober..tober..ober…
Hint: Click on the thumbnails for larger images.

October 2022 (1 year before publishing this article)

In October 2022, I visited Cirencester’s Roman amphitheatre to see a display by the Ermine Street Guard, a reenactment and experimental archaeology group that builds and tests Roman Army equipment. They’re often in demand for events all over the UK. There was quite a crowd on this day, most of them sitting on the arena slopes and giving a good idea of the amphitheatre’s size in a way that’s not so clear when it’s empty. The military display was excellent too and the weather was kind.

< Sep 2022 – Nov 2022 >

October 2021 (2 years before publishing)

In October 2021 my Mammillaria cactus was in full flower. I bought it in the 1960s as a gift for my girlfriend, Judy, when we were both still at school. It lived on her bedroom windowsill until she went to university in 1967; and when we were married in 1970 it moved with us into our bedsit in Bristol. It’s still going strong after all those years and is now getting almost too large to manage with seven flowering arms.

< Sep 2021 – Nov 2021 >

October 2018 (5 years before)

In October 2018 Donna and I spent some time at Westonbirt Arboretum, strolling amongst the autumn colours and taking photos of some of the best views. We love this place; I’ve known it since childhood and it never disappoints – at any season.

< Sep 2018 – Nov 2018 >

October 2013 (10 years)

In October 2013 we were in Edinburgh. Some friends were getting married there and we’d been asked to help. It’s one of our favourite UK cities so we spent a few days there after the wedding before returning home to St Neots. One of the places we visited was HMY Britannia, now permanently moored and open to the public. The photo shows the state dining room.

< Sep 2013 – Nov 2013 >

October 2008 (15 years)

In October 2008 I was working for Unilever at their Colworth research lab north of Bedford. I worked four days a week at this time, and one of those was from home. You can see my work laptop at the left of this photo, in a quiet corner of our conservatory.

< Sep 2008 – Nov 2008 >

October 2003 (20 years)

In October 2003 I visited Bayeux with two friends from work, Tony and Phil. We drove to Portsmouth where we visited HMS Victory, the Mary Rose and HMS Warrior and then took my car across to Cherbourg on the ferry. We looked at Bayeux Cathedral inside and out and also took a look at the famous tapestry, then Omaha Beach. It was a great trip.

< Sep 2003 – Nov 2003>

October 1998 (25 years)

In October 1998 Donna and I had a week’s holiday on the south coast of Turkey, at Fethiye. We had a good break (apart from 24 hours with bad tummies) and we mixed days by the beach with visits to interesting places. One of these was the ruined Greek town of Kayaköy.

< Sep 1998 – Nov 1998>

October 1993 (30 years)

In October 1993 I was working at Long Ashton Research Station as the Microcomputing Manager and Judy was teaching Biology GCSE and A-level at Cotham Grammar School. Our daughters Debbie and Beth were both at Backwell Comprehensive school.

< Sep 1993 – Nov 1993>

October 1988 (35 years)

In October 1988 I’d just redecorated Beth’s bedroom and she had organised the furniture and put her belongings back. She did a brilliant job, still at Yatton Junior School at the time. The photo shows the result in part.

< Sep 1988 – Nov 1988>

October 1983 (40 years)

In October 1983 I was researching fruit pollination at Long Ashton Research Station, mostly on plums and apples. Debbie was eight and was at junior school, Beth was five and had started school too. Judy was probably teaching by this time.

< Sep 1983 – Nov 1983>

October 1978 (45 years)

In October 1978 Debbie was three and the new baby (Beth) was only 5 months old. We were living in Yatton, near Bristol; at the time both were within the county of Avon.

< Sep 1978 – Nov 1978>

October 1973 (50 years)

In October 1973, the old family business was still active, the image is from their price list.

< Sep 1973 – Nov 1973>

October 1968 (55 years)

In October 1968 I was in my third year at the University of Bath, studying for a BSc in Horticulture. I sent a tape letter to my girlfriend Judy, at university in Aberystwyth. (Tape letters were a thing in those days, you recorded a message on a small reel-to-reel tape and posted it in a cardboard case.)

< Sep 1968 – Nov 1968>

October 1963 (60 years)

In October 1963 I visited Chedworth Roman Villa on a school trip and took a photo of the museum building on the site.

< Sep 1963 – Nov 1963>

October 1958 (65 years)

In October 1958, my sister Cindy turned seven; NASA launched Pioneer 1 into space; and BOAC flew the first transatlantic jet service, beating PanAm by three weeks. I was in my sixth and final year at junior school (Miss Taylor’s class).

< Sep 1958 – Nov 1958>

October 1953 (70 years)

In October 1953 I had settled in to my first term at junior school. I think I was quite happy by this time, enjoying learning to form letters and doing simple arithmetic, making some new friends, and playing in the playground.

< Sep 1953 – Nov 1953>

October 1948 (75 years)

In October 1948 I was two to three months old; although I don’t remember anything, of course, I’m told my grandfather took a bit of a shine to me. We were living at my grandparents home in Cirencester while Mum and Dad saved up a little money and put their names down for a council house on the Beeches Estate. Mum’s parents lived in Northern Ireland.

< Sep 1948 – Nov 1948>

October 1943 (80 years)

In October 1943, Dad joined Cirencester’s Air Training Corps (ATC), he’d long been interested in aircraft and was a keen model builder and flier as well as joining the ATC at school. I think that he was already intending to join the RAF as soon as he was old enough.

< Sep 1943 – Nov 1943>

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Blast from the past… 6

In May 1993 we made some very large bubbles in the back garden.

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Notes from bygone years – May without limits

A year ago

In May 2022 we visited St Neots in Cambridgeshire, our home town before moving to Cirencester where we live today. We were visiting friends for a big party in their local village hall.

The whole thing was themed for a Caribbean feel, and we all had our photos taken against a backdrop of palm fronds, a golden beach, and sparkling sea dotted with distant islands.

Two years ago

In May 2021 I took a photo of this plaque in Black Jack Street, Cirencester. It commemorates 1900 years of the town’s existence, founded by the Roman invaders in 75 AD. I wonder what they’d make of it now?

The phoenix rising from the ashes has long been Cirencester’s emblem. Corinium, as the Romans called it, was a frontier settlement in 75 AD and the years immediately following, but it grew to become the regional capital of south western Britain – the province of Britannia Prima.

Wikipedia has a good article about Corinium.

Five years ago

In May 2018 I wrote about the work going on in our new house. The builders had done much of the work on the new extensions, but nothing was finished yet and a lot of our possessions were inaccessible – including our summer clothes. And the weather was getting warmer and warmer!

If you’d like to know more, read the original article.

Ten years ago

In May 2013 I was reading ‘The Shaping of Things to Come’, an excellent book by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch. Amongst other things, they remark on the fact that Jesus was a Jew, the New Testament was written almost entirely by Jewish authors (the exception being Luke), and the earliest church (in Jerusalem) was Jewish in nature too. If we are to understand Jesus, the New Testament, and the church, we have to pay attention to their Jewishness. Read the original post.

Fifteen years ago

May 2008 – We had a holiday in Catalonia and visited Barcelona where we took a look at the famous Sagrada Familia with its amazing ‘biological’ shapes. What an astonishing place it is!

To learn more about this wonderful feat of design and engineering by the architect Antoni Gaudi, read the Wikipedia article.

Twenty years ago

In May 2003 I was reminded about the significance of rivers and their behaviour and about the river in the books of Ezekiel and Revelation. Life is not about the mundane things we do from day to day, and we don’t get far by our own abilities. Real life has an essentially spiritual focus. I wrote a blog post about a meeting that helped me see these things more clearly.

Twenty-five years ago

May 1998 saw me designing an automated news website for internal use by research teams at Unilever. I’d only been in the job for a month, and I already had an overall mechanism in mind and was working on the programming required.

Thirty years ago

In May 1993 we made some very large bubbles in the back garden. We had a special bubble-making kit with a large fabric loop on the end of a wand. It was an amazing process! The picture shows my daughter Beth and nephew Tom experimenting with a bubble.

Thirty-five years ago

In May 1988 I was working at Long Ashton Research Station near Bristol, developing techniques for imaging water droplets on waxy leaves by rapid freezing and scanning electron microscopy. This led to a paper on the topic.

Forty years ago

It’s May 1983 and time for the annual school fete; my daughter Beth and her friend Vicky were in fancy dress, walking with their teacher.

How time flies – my grandchildren are older now than my children were then.

Forty-five years ago

In May 1978 I borrowed a friend’s car (we didn’t have a car at the time) and drove with a very excited daughter to visit her baby sister at Bristol Maternity Hospital.

Fifty years ago

In May 1973 Mum and Dad visited us for the day and we spent some time in Clevedon. Here’s Dad taking photos on the rocky shoreline.

Fifty-five years ago

In May 1968 I was in lodgings in Pershore, working on a fruit and vegetable farm nearby as part of my undergraduate degree at Bath University. It was a sandwich course in horticulture, and the summers were the industrial experience part of the course.

Sixty years ago

May 1963 and I was in my fifth year at Cirencester Grammar School.

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Blast from the past… 2

In January 2013 there was a hard frost in St Neots

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Here’s another blast from the past. What can we find as we look through earlier January posts?

Five years ago

In January 2018 I wrote about eating together and how the early church had no ceremony like our communion service. And I quoted from Victor Choudherie who urges us to ‘promote breaking of bread with simple Agape meals (love feasts) from house to house, that believers take with glad hearts’.

Read the old post – Eat together

Ten years ago

In January 2013 there was a hard frost in St Neots where I lived at the time. Within four days, the ice and snow had gone and early hints of the coming spring had appeared. How fast things can change!

Read the old post – Icy pond in St Neots – IMAGE

Twenty years ago

In January 2003 I described the essence of a meeting at my home in which we were reminded that we are just to love, not to manipulate.

Read the old post – Eaton Ford – Walk with the King

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