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I thought memorial benches in general was very British; haven’t noticed them on my travels elsewhere. Eating fish and chips (and getting sunburnt) on a memorial bench by the sea is about as English as you can get!
None in Ireland, Phoebe?
I’d forgotten about Ireland! I suppose there must be.
It’s small subjects like this that make GFG so compulsive and thought-provoking. There are memorial benches in many places from Paris parks to Washington boulevards but the seaside bench may well be distinctly English. However, I doubt it’s an exclusive phenomenon. I think Canada has a few, for example.
I love them: simple and functional things deliberately placed to enjoy a view, and yet reminding all of private individuals who went before, and the love bestowed on them by those close to them.
Such intimate gestures tell a story of ‘little’ lives just as much as public memorials such as the brass plaques, unveiled in Belfast this year, listing in alphabetical order all the first, second and third class passengers and crew who perished on the Titanic, built in Belfast 100 years ago.
I’m clearly not as observant as I thought I
…was!
I saw a wonderful memorial avenue of trees in Kings Park, looking over the Swan River, Perth, Australia – each dedicated to soldiers lost in battle. You could sit under them if not on them!
I was walking in my local forest the other day and came upon a memorial bench to a beloved lady. It was lovely to sit down and think about her, and who she may have been and what she may have done, and the husband who had placed it at the crossroads. Connections to the past, present and future, encouraging us to stop for a moment and share the crossing place.
Avenue of trees is a lovely idea.
Communing with the dead in the present has definitely got to be an emotionally healthy thing to do.