I love my hobby. I love trains. I love painting, building, sanding, drilling and even ballasting. But, more than these things, I love my family.
Sometimes, things come along and help us to remember what’s important…
If you are one of the kind folk who visit this blog now and again you will have noticed that there haven’t been many updates to show my modelling activities in recent weeks.
This is because my mother has been very poorly in recent months. Dementia is a cruel, cruel thing that robs people of everything they hold precious and for those around them, it’s like losing a loved one over a long period of time. If I could give every penny I have to find a cure for this I would as trains aren’t really the most important thing when you are losing a mother right in front of you.
My mother never wanted to accept that she had Dementia and was fiercely independent. Unfortunately, this spirit of independence was eroded away to the extent that she was no longer able to do the things she loved.
After a short period of illness and a rapid decline, my wonderful mother who we love dearly passed away on Monday 23 July 2018 surrounded by family and friends. She left us quietly and with dignity and was free of pain.
I’m glad I have a faith, as I believe this isn’t the end of her story. She believed in another place and has gone to that happy place to be reunited with my father where there is no more suffering or pain and her spirit is 100% intact.
Of course, I am now left feeling the physical loss of my mother and I feel truly broken. This is where my hobby comes in because I needed something to do in the days after her passing, something to keep my mind active and something to fill the void. I have spent the last few days working on my long-term project.
My mother always took a keen interest in what I was doing and patiently listened to me talking at length about things that interested me. She would not want me to stop doing my hobby or attending any events that I had planned.
The exhibition season looms and the Southwold exhibition takes place this weekend. We will be there with an O gauge layout and I will be helping to operate this on the Saturday. I needed to complete the Re-railing train project so spent some quiet time doing what was needed to get the project finished. This included paint, gloss varnish, decals, matt varnish and now the weathering and glazing.
I shall put some more pics on the project page but for now I shall just leave you with picture of the coaches so far.
What ever you do, make time for those that you love too!
Princes Street Station 