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Canal couple to renew vows after tumour diagnosis

BBC A woman wearing a colourful stripy jumper and her husband, in a blue cardigan, stand inside a living room. There are two lamps behind them, one closer to the lens, with a multi-coloured glass lampshade and pictures on the wall with an armchair visible behind them.BBC
Tim Jenkins and his wife Nannw decided to leave their Welsh cottage after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour

A brain tumour diagnosis led Tim Jenkins and wife Nannw to sell their house and live on a canal boat, touring the waterways.

The pair also plan to renew their vows this Valentine's Day, along with other couples, in a mass renewal at Coventry Cathedral.

Mr Jenkins said they applied to take part after he was given the all clear by doctors and he wanted to say thank you to his "incredible" wife.

"I'll be holding my darling, that's all I want to do and say we did it - we did 25 years of it."

The couple were living in their riverside cottage in Llansteffan in Carmarthenshire, Wales, when Mr Jenkins began falling over and dropping cups of tea.

An eye test found he was suffering a bleed on the brain before further examinations detected a mass on his brain.

"I didn't think the prognosis was very good nor did they," he said.

"So there we were, our children had grown up and we decided to, instead of just dreaming about these dreams, 'let's do them'.

"It tipped us into getting on and actually changing our lives."

Getty Images The old Coventry Cathedral, a partially demolished 14th Century building made from red sandstone, next to the new building made from light brick and glass.Getty Images
The couple will renew their vows at Coventry Cathedral on Valentine's Day

The mass has since stabilised and, with doctors giving Mr Jenkins the all clear, the couple bought a boat with plans to tour the canals of the UK.

While they did set off on their narrowboat, the couple ended up settling in Warwickshire - although they still take trips to various parts of the country in a bid to complete their tour.

"For me, when I had a diagnosis like that, I started to pay off the car and pay off any little loans," Mr Jenkins said.

"But Nannw just said to me, 'why don't we sell the house and buy the camper-van and a boat we've always wanted to have'.

"And that's what we did.

"I think renewing our vows will just bring back the memory of when we married 25 years ago.

"I know that, because that cathedral has such warmth, that it'll be brilliant."

Those who want to join Mr and Mrs Jenkins in renewing their vows on Valentine's Day can read full details and apply on the BBC CWR website.

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