New paintings and regular art updates.
Trent and Mersey canal with a thin metal bench. It’s not the most picturesque view I’m afraid, but I’m a member of a bench appreciation group, so I keep an eye out for them. It’s sometimes nice to find a beautiful place with a comfortable bench, but more than likely it’s a seat in not a nice place.
We were thinking of replacing a garden bench with a new one. The seat has rotted through because we didn’t use wood preservatives and there were a few ones for sale at a garden centre we visited at the weekend. But I gasped when I saw the prices! This one was almost £500! I used to pay less than that for a few nights holiday accommodation, although I can’t see us having a holiday this year. Everything has got too expensive.
At least we have some money to spare, but only because of cutting back. It meant we could afford the vet bill today. I’d rather do that than buy clothes or shoes. Life is crazy, but I’m not going to complain, a lot of people have it far worse than us. I think we have to learn to be kinder to each other…. (and not buy benches…)
Bench at Westport lake last year. It was taken on a drizzly day like today. It’s good to see the weeping willow tree a bit further round the lake sweeping like a curtain across the side of the waters edge. It brings back memories of another one I knew….
I used to hide under a weeping willow when I was a child. It stood on its own in a park and I would sit with my back against it and imagine I was in a green tent or hiding behind a green waterfall. I had many adventurous thoughts sitting there in peace and quiet.
Relaxing on a bench is good when you have a view like this at Westport. After you have walked half a mile it’s nice to stop for a chat. Or a sandwich and a cup of tea. Refreshed and calm you can carry on with your walk. By the way there is a bench appreciation society page on Facebook for those that are interested….
On my walk this morning I found this forlorn bench. It was just on a path on a patch of grass. I didn’t take a photo of its view, because it overlooks a car park and then some old buildings.
I did notice a Magpie (hello Mr magpie, how’s your wife is a saying to dispel sorrow caused by a single Magpie) and a little pied wagtail nearer the fence. I wish the street furniture was a different colour. The bench, bin and fence look somber in black, although that matches the birds. Maybe a nice shade of blue or red? Who knows….
Deep green foliage, a gravel pathway and a bench. A calm place to rest and relax. Light streams through gaps in the planting. Bees hum and buzz. I wish I could go every day. Plants spread and cover the ground. The rhododendrons are in flower. This is the quarry at the Dorothy Clive garden in Staffordshire.
A peaceful place.
With singing birds
Aloft in the trees.
A shape of calm
Seated meditation
Floral and fluted
Music in mind
Not reality
Four legs stand firm
Support a bent back
Weeping in memory
Of one who has gone.
“We should be sitting on this!”
“But I need a table to pot on”
“Yes, but you have one”
“But it’s got my trains on”
“Well can you move them?”
“No, I’m making a layout, I got some ‘n’ gauge stock” “I want to build it up”.
Sigh, “OK but the plants can go in the garden, the bench needs varnish or something to protect it”.
I didn’t mention to hubby that the last bench was treated in the same way, the wood rotted and the bench collapsed. I bought new wooden slats, but ‘someone’ (hubby), nailed them on to something else….
Flowers in a wreath seen on a bench last year? Was it a memorial to someone who had passed. Remembering a share time together looking at a view…. I wonder.
The bench itself is in good condition, the wood is starting to go green and will need to be replaces one day. I had a bench and the slats rotted. I went out and bought new slats but never found someone to put it back together again. I guess benches and people are similar. If they aren’t looked after they have a tendency to fall apart!
There’s something about
An empty bench
That invites and repels too…
Shall I sit
Or shall I go?
The light is right
A figure would be good
But no one was around
No person to be found
To rest a while
Take off their weight
And cast it to the ground
Or the bench….
There is a bench appreciation group that I’ve recently joined. Showing some of the most interesting benches in the UK and around the world. I only joined because my friend invited me and has been posting some beautiful photos. When I looked back on my phone history I only found three pictures out of thousands! This one (which I’ve filtered to hide my hubby) always makes me laugh. There is a shiny wooden bench like a chaise longue? Not sure of spelling. At Trentham Gardens.. It’s hidden inside an arch of several trees. Hubby decided to try it out for size…
Mallaband-Brown