Update on my injury. The sling is in the bin and after six weeks of living with the sling I am so pleased we have parted company. The day I went to the hospital for my six week check after the operation I said to the physio I am so pleased to see the back of the sling. Her reply was, now the slings off the pain starts because all those muscles need to wake up and start to repair themselves. She was 100% right it’s still painful but the pain is nowhere as bad as it was. It’s going to be a long haul and the next three months are critical to my recovery with daily exercise and weekly physio sessions.

A nice day in Chirk and with Nikki now finished work we decided on a walk along the back roads and then come back via the canal. A walk of about five miles.

I love the canal walks and seeing the barges, some with their wood burners going and the slow pace of life as they chug along the canal. The owners are always pleasant and say hello.

The walk included going through a tunnel which I forgot to tell Nikki although she has been through it before but she doesn’t like it. She wanted to go in front so she could get through faster because I wanted to get some photos. The ghostly figure in the photo is Nikki getting to the light at the end of the tunnel.

As you know by now I like my photography and there are certain photos I want to get. One being a steam train going over a bridge or where we are now the viaduct. Nikki was looking on Facebook and found out that not one but two steam trains were going to be coming through Chirk on the same day. I had two weeks to plan and research the times and place to get the photo.

I must say I am no photographer but just enjoy it. I don’t have a huge big bag of lenses and zoom lenses a foot long. All I have is my phone. It does have a good camera though and I also believe you can make phone calls from it.

So I spent a couple of hours working out where I was going to get my photos on the day, after working out roughly when the train would be coming through. One would be early morning and it would be dark so I opted to get one at the station as it’s light and the other one had to be going over the viaduct.

My day was planned, up at 6am, a ten minute walk to the station and get my spot. Expecting the train at 7am ish. From Chester direction. I expected there to be a lot of people down at the station as it’s not everyday a steam train comes through.

I got there early and got my spot and no one else was there, had I got the wrong day, the wrong time etc. All these thought were going through my head. And then a lady came down the stairs to the station with her son, and then another guy who looked like a proper train spotter. We all had different spots which I was so glad for because it’s a one chance moment to get the photo. The train doesn’t stand still and pose for a photo.

So camera ready and watching the bend in the track and listening for any signs of the train. And here it comes, click, click, click three photos taken very quickly and the train was gone. I could not believe how fast it was going. But I got a photo I wanted.

That made my morning, the sound, the smell, the fact I got a photo I like. I then went back to base and had my breakfast and got ready for my next adventure. So the next steam train was going to be coming from Bristol which is the other direction and would actually be stopping at Chirk station to fill up with water.

So I could get a picture at the station but I wanted a photo of the train going over the viaduct and had already found a good spot with only space for one person and that was going to be me hopefully. The time again was an estimate. So off I went to get my spot before anyone hijacked it. I expected there to be more people about this time.

Now this photo was going to be even harder to get because of the distance and the layout as the train would just appear and cross the viaduct, so again only one opportunity to get the shot. One good thing was that it would not be going as fast as the one that went through the station because it would be stopping at the station to fill with water and the distance from the viaduct to the station is not very far.

As I stood there waiting a guy with a big bag of camera gear came down and chatted saying the train was running late and would be an hour later than expected. Now was he just saying that so I moved off and he could get my spot or was he being helpfull . I thanked him as he wandered off but decided to stay in my spot. And the waiting continued until another guy wandered down to me with all his gear and told me the same. I asked him how he knew and he told me about an app that has all the times etc on.

Again I thanked him and stood my ground and he stopped about a metre from me. Then he said did I just hear the train. So camera again ready and eyes focused on the spot the train would emerge to go over the viaduct. Here it is I shouted as it came into veiw. Click, click, click another three photos taken quickly. I looked at the photos and I could have cried. Tears of joy that is because I got a photo I had always wanted and I was so happy. It won’t mean a lot to other peaple but I can not explain how happy that photo made me.

As i started walking back up the road there were people everywhere who had been at different locations to get their photos and they were all running up the road towards the station where the train would be stopped filling up with water. Now I didn’t plan to go to the station but I was caught up in the excitement so I also started running towards the station which was only five minute walk away.

As I got to the station the train was still there filling up with water, steam everywhere and the smell of steam and burning coal. There was a lot of people about so I found a spot quickly and started taking photos knowing at any time it would be leaving on its journey to Chester.

With a blow of the whistle and a hissing of steam and clouds of steam it started to leave the station. I watched it leave until it was out of sight and as all the people dispersed I wandered home to check out my photos with a big grin on my face.

What a morning it had been and so much planning and research etc but it all panned out well. I had got my photos plus some bonus ones like train in full steam below leaving the station. Happy days.

Now we are back in Devon for our annual trip to get the vehicles all serviced and mot etc and to see Nikki’s mum who is in a care home up the road. The drive down was good with me driving mostly with one hand because of my injury but it was mostly motorway so really all I had to do was aim it towards Devon and go. We got here in good time and set up.

It’s been an expensive trip to Devon this time with the dentist and car and camper. The camper needed a new clutch which was a all day job but they run into complications so we had to book into a travel lodge for a night and then a second night because the problem part didn’t arrive until the next afternoon. But it’s all done now and hopefully all ok as we have a lot of miles to cover.

We leave here on Monday to go to Malvern to visit friends and then back to Chirk so I can get my physio every week at the same place. That way they can see the progress and then adjust physio to suit. But I know one thing it’s going to hurt whatever they do, but as they say no gain no pain.

So that’s us up to date. The last photo is the river mole which runs through the site we are on. I love the glow and warmth of the sun kissed leaves and the sparkling cold water. Take care.