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Steam Days
Micky and Heidi Blackburn are obsessed with steam trains...
In the middle of Kent, amidst fields and wild flowers, runs the Bluebell steam railway. Close by, is Micky and Heidi's house which used to be part of a railway station - an ideal location for the couple's enthusiasm for steam trains.
Heidi owns up to being the more enthusiastic of the two, "There are times when I say to Micky, 'would you like to know the difference between ordinary triple-valve, quick acting triple valve, and improved triple valve, and he says 'no', but I suppose you'll tell me anyway."
Micky explains his love for steam engines, "You only get out of them what you're prepared to put into them. You've got three or four hours preparation in the morning to get some steam going before you can do - it's the nearest thing to a human being!"
Their 10 year old daughter Clarrie isn't so keen on steam engines, "Other people may not think this, but when you live next door to a railway all your life, it can get a bit boring..." 13 year old Harry has a different attitude, "There's a sort of romance in it with all the different sorts you can get, and the enjoyment of having to keep an engine in steam. My friends think I'm strange, but I think they're strange 'cos they spend all their time indoors." Harry sees railways as a constant in his life, "I'll gradually work up to be a driver, and that'd be really good."
Are your friends or family obsessed with a particular hobby or interest?
What is it and how do you feel about it?
How does it affect your relationships?
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