Christ Church, Ebbw Vale

“I got into science fiction by being interested in astronomy first.”
Terry Pratchett
Maybe I’m fair game, out getting photos in public, but it sort of surprised me to be stopped a few times today. The usual, people wanted to know what I was up to, then engaged for a few minutes chat before moving on. First guy asked if I was media, he was out walking with his three young children; a Sri Lankan so plenty to talk about as I was married there thirty-three years ago. He was more interested in telling me about the railways that were still running there, on rails from the valleys! Second guy thought I was photographing a house with a view to buying it. That it was fenced off and signposted as dangerous as a result of subsidence didn’t seem to matter. Ended up giving me lots of historical anecdotes (we were on gin-shop hill, opposite the undertakers where the horses were stabled in the cellars…) which was brilliant, because I was there in connection with family history research for a journal story. Then he passed me on to one of the residents…
By that time it had been a busy morning; I’d started the day at a meeting to discuss an Astronomical Society event in October, collecting leaflets to spread around to advertise and encourage visitors, so I was overdue for a late meditation. Afterwards I thought I’d try and squeeze in a few shots at Parc Cwm Darran, suggested earlier at the coffee meeting. Punched in the postcode and let the Sat Nav take me…the wrong way? Ended up in Deri so when I eventually got home I decided to check for a future trip – I’d misread a nine for an eight, should’ve gone to Specsavers.