Chris Jefferies

Coffee at Jacks with Donna.

I've hit a new record in my TIA recovery - it's now more than a week since I last had any symptoms. The TIA was on 16th October in the afternoon. Symptom counts were 3 on 16th, then 3, 3 or 4 most days for a while, 2 on 23rd , 1 on 26th, 1 on 29th, and the most recent at 11:00 am on 31st. Yay! 🙂

Fallen leaves of Ginkgo biloba spread across the pavement.

These autumn leaves are from a Ginkgo biloba 'living fossil' tree in West Way, Cirencester, just where it joins Cricklade Street.

Today is 7th November, my most recent symptoms following my TIA were very mild and were on 1st November. At first they were much more noticeable and were happening up to four times a day, so that's very welcome progress.

Of course it's generated by AI, but it's based on real photos taken over many years and from many angles. AI has been cleverly used to build a video from a single viewpoint for each glacier. In my opinion it's exactly the RIGHT way to use AI constructively. Good job in my view. 👍

An extraordinary video, well worth a look

OTKC 28 – Take Up Your Cross Following Jesus was never meant to be a comfortable life decision to improve our happiness or reputation. It was — and still is — a call to surrender our lives completely to Him. Jesus does not sof…

I highly recommend this article by my friend and fellow blogger, Christopher Dryden. Do take a look:

damancd.wordpress.com/2025/11/02/o...

Life, death, resurrection Unlike life, death is stable. It’s not often that you see a dead body come alive again. That would be resurrection, it’s not something that we expect to see happening regularly (or at all)!

Life, death, resurrection - the latest post on JHM where I write about the #obvious and the more #obscure, the #measurable and #unmeasurable.

jhm.scilla.org.uk/2025/11/02/l...

Update on my medical condition - After a recent week in hospital with a minor bleed on the surface of my brain, the symptoms of weakness and numbness on my left side have reduced from 3 or 4 times a day to weak signs once every 2 to 3 days. And otherwise I'm feeling completely fit and well now.

Coppery autumn beech leaves in St Neots.

Another view of autumn beech leaves in St Neots

Looking through some old #photos to use on 'Journeys of heart and mind', I spotted these glorious, #autumn, #beech leaves, taken in #November 2010 in #StNeots.

My symptoms from the small bleed I had between my skull and brain have faded away very dramatically now. Nothing so far today, and nothing yesterday or the day before either. On 26th October I had numbness (but no muscle weakness) just before bedtime. This is very encouraging.

What a difference it makes when different wavelengths are chosen to form an image!

Trump Says He’s Increasing Canada Tariff by 10% After Ontario Ad President Donald Trump said he’s increasing US tariffs on Canada by 10% in response to an anti-tariff advertisement by sponsored the state of Ontario that has roiled one of the world’s biggest bilateral trade relationships.

Correction: President Trump said he’s increasing US tariffs on Canada by 10% in response to an anti-tariff advertisement by the province of Ontario

He still doesn't get it, does he? This does not hurt Ontario, it does not hurt Canada, it's a 10% tax increase on American consumers.

Today was a special day. The minor symptoms of my microstroke have improved, my daughter Beth and her family are here, and a train has appeared in Cirencester Town Station, closed in 1964. I remember travelling in a diesel railcar like this one, it ran several times a day to the main line at Kemble.

Hoping to have my daughter Beth, her husband Paz, and grandaughter Fern with us soon. It'll be great to have them here for a day or two.

It seems unreasonable, but those are the rules and I will, of course, follow them. I've started a course of Levetiracetam tablets that may control the symptoms - here's hoping because being able to drive again would be transformative for me.

I can't drive, I know I could do so physically as I only need my right leg and that is completely unaffected. But legally I can't drive because I'm having the weakness and numbness. These count as epileptic seizures and that's enough for the driving ban. /2

I'm back at home now, and it seems I've had at least three very small bleeds between my skull and brain, but I'm having recurring effects where my left leg loses muscle control and becomes limp, followed by numbness in several parts of my left leg and head. /1

Huge thanks to the kind and long-suffering staff here who work so hard and with great kindness towards all their patients. They treat us with care and dignity, even when we are difficult or stubborn (which seems to be quite often).

a tiny bleed (we already know it's very small) they won't know whether to prescribe aspirin (good for clots, bad for bleeds) or something else. I plan to write a short article on JHM with more detail. I'll place news here as always. /2

I'm spending a few days in hospital, I've had a series of mini-stokes, two at home and a third here in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. I've had an inconclusive CT scan and I'm waiting for an MRI that should provide more detail. Until the medics can identify whether I have a tiny clot or /1

@petekeeley.bsky.social Hi Pete, tomorrow looks dull but dry. I'll settle for that. 🙂

But the US Goverment thinks the R&D goose is a fraud and is refusing to feed it. Until they change their mind, there will be no further golden eggs for the USA. /2

Every nation on this planet has a goose that lays golden eggs, it' called R&D. In countries with small economies, the R&D goose is not well fed and only manages to lay an egg occasionally, wealthy nations feed the R&D goose all it can eat and it lays eggs frequently. /1

Stone-built town houses in Cirencester.

Looking north along Cirencester's Gloucester Street.

Old town houses in Gloucester Street, #Cirencester. Wisteria on the front wall, and it's easy to imagine a horse and carriage coming out from the passageway behind the large door. Times past, how the reasonably well-off lived in early Victorian times.

Mop came to town, reminding me of Mop fairs from childhood, rolling big, old pennies down the slot to try for a prize and winning a budgie in a cage one year! I remember the motorcycle 'Wall of Death', dodgems, and the smell of diesel, fried onion and candy floss.

#Mop #Fair #Cirencester

Watermoor Nursery Entering the long gone wooden gate you would have seen the potting shed on the left and beds edged with lightweight breeze blocks and filled with crushed clinker on the right. This was the standing…

It's 14th October, For JouneysHM that can mean only one thing - it's time for another Blast from the past - number 35! The highlighted topic is 'Watermoor Nursery' where the family business produced herbaceous and alpine plants for sale.

#History #Cirencester

jhm.scilla.org.uk/2025/10/14/w...

A constitution for the church A good start would be to state that church is defined by everything that Jesus is and does and teaches and by nothing beyond that.

A constitution for the church! Why? I felt the need to begin putting some words on paper to better define what we mean by church. Here's a start...

#church #Jesus #constitution #definition

jhm.scilla.org.uk/2025/10/12/a...

Glorious patches of autumn colour

Red autumn leaves

Deep red on this tree.

A patch of colour peeping through green conifer foliage

Enjoying the autumn colours at Westonbirt Arboretum.