A cat lovers bench

I was wondering why Tilki didn't look very impressed with this bench so I looked a little closer.... a bench for Zoe Codd, Tunbridge Wells common

 

If you can't say anything nice...

In the shade of a beautiful horse chestnut tree, Tunbridge Wells common, this bench for Susan Potts

 

I'm sure there's a story behind this bench....

 I saw this yellow bench in Hastings over the weekend - couldn't miss it really - and I thought 'oh how jolly' before I looked at the inscription. This is why I love benches... all the jokes, memories and stories those little plaques contain. 

London's Covid Wall bench

 This bench in London is a special place for me. In March 2020 I was admitted to hospital with Covid 19 Pneumonia and was in there on oxygen and fighting for a week. I came out to a different world, one in lockdown. I was very lucky - so many of us admitted to hospital at that time then didn't make it, and the National Covid Memorial Wall along the south side of the River Thames always helps me put everything in perspective. 

So although the bench here looks as if it has its back to all the hearts drawn by families and loved ones of those who died of Covid, I can't tell you how many times I've sat here, looked out at the river and said a little prayer - not just of personal thanks but also of love for all those who didn't make it. 

Hedge bench

 

Sometimes we all need some natural protection and I love the way the people who cut the hedge round Leslie Barnett's bench here have taken so much care over it. I sat here and felt I was hiding in a little green warren. 

We're watching you bench....

 I saw this bench in Edinburgh, it was situated just opposite the flat where the couple lived. I'm sure there's a story here...

Benches of Love

 Found in the Cambridge Botanical Gardens... happy Valentines Day  xx

A bits and pieces bench

We found this one when we were walking in Cornwall. Still sittable though...

 

wood to wood benches

 This is obviously the start of a collection... there's something poignant about a wooden bench that hasn't forgotten where it came from! That third picture, in particular, looks as if the roots are coming to claim it back...

Bench with a view

 

Graffiti bench

 

Derek's bench by the river

 

This isn't a bench poem, but I think it should be!

 22

If you don't mind,

can I just sit here today?

Can I not be amusing please?

by Dionne Brand

An Exmoor bench - and why it's worth reading ALL the plaques....

 

Poetry on the Ripple bench

 A real honour for this bench-lover, to see my words engraved on James Tunnard's beautiful Ripple bench at Lullingstone Country Park. 

Listening benches

 

I love the idea of listening benches - somewhere strangers can sit to talk to each other.  This one above is in Grange Gardens in Lewes, and was installed after restoration work by Lewes FC Supporters. 

It's not the only football listening bench though, this one below was designed by George Best's son, Calum, who tweeted back in 2021, that  'I hope the design and idea welcomes people to sit down and share a convo or listen to someone else.'

A bench with a tender view

 

Guardian bench

 I loved this inscription on a bench found in Putney, London. 

                    IN LOVING MEMORY OF DEREK DUNCKLEY, 1931 TO 2001 

                     STILL WATCHING OVER HIS BELOVED RIVER THAMES. 

I don't always look up the people named on the benches. Sometimes it's nice just to sit and let the imagination flow but this time I did, and found this on the Vesta Rowing Club site... "It is with the deepest sadness that we must report the death of one of Vesta's most stalwart members. Derek Dunckley, our dearly regarded Bar Steward, vice president and ex-captain, died on Friday, 31 August at home. He will be greatly missed by all of his many friends within Vesta and along the Tideway and by those who knew him through his organisation for many years of the Vesta Veterans Head, or just through being the jovial, if occasionally grouchy, presence behind Vesta's bar."

Jovial, if occasionally, grouchy... it was a pleasure to sit on your bench, Derek.

The bench of serenity

 

Apparently this beautiful bench in the middle of the lavender fields at Castle Farm in Kent is apparently one of the most photographed benches on Instagram. To be honest, I can see why - to sit there feels like being in a beautiful dream! 

The perfect writing and thinking bench - Cambridge Botanical Gardens