Monthly Letter
Hidden Helpers
July 2026
I have always been fascinated by railways. As a child, it was a great treat to travel by train from Okehampton to Plymouth by train – initially by steam and later in a diesel railcar. I wanted to be an engine driver. A steam engine driver. The sight, smell and sound raised emotion (and still does). I wanted a part of it. The desire was perhaps further cemented when we moved house to a property previously owned by one of the last steam locomotive designers and I found a railway button in the garden.
Later, my wishes were partially granted. I got a job with British Rail – and stayed with them (and their successors) until retirement. Later still, another desire was fulfilled when my children bought me a driving experience at Wirksworth and I spent a morning driving a steam engine. I was in heaven. Perhaps I could volunteer and do this more often.
Then I learned that to be an engine driver, you first need to be a fireman. Getting up early in the morning and cleaning out the firebox, laying the coals, lighting the fire and tending it until the loco is ready for steam. Tasks that take around 3 hours of hard, dirty and often uncomfortable work. My desire dropped a little (actually a lot !!)
It left me thinking – how many of us do things, or want to do things, without considering the tasks that others have to do in order to make that possible. We like the visible jobs that others see. We maybe don’t like the hidden, undervalued work that others do. Spare a thought for all those who undertake these jobs. They rarely get a mention. Rarely get thanked. Often are not well rewarded for their efforts.
How do you think they feel?
So how about when you are out and about, say a word of thanks for the cleaner who cleaned the toilet before you got there. The mechanic who made sure the bus was working. The milkman who delivered milk at some God-forsaken hour of the morning. The road sweeper, grass cutter, hedge trimmer. The unsung people who make our lives more pleasant. If you are one of these – then Thank You. And maybe there are some things you could do that will make someone else’s life more pleasant – even if it’s making a cup of tea or popping round for a chat. Our world is so much better when we give and receive these acts of kindness.
Oh, and I might be driving a steam engine again – this time at Morley on those little railway tracks hidden behind the wall along the A608. Giving thanks to the men (and women) who built, maintained and prepared those miniature trains for me to enjoy.
Chris Prior, Lay Minister
