Dad Memorial Bench
Why
My dad died in September of 2009 at just 61. Even in the last few days before he died, I’d had the idea to do this and had hoped to tell him that I was going to do it. I never got to though. I thought it would be nice to completely restore this derelict useless bench and put a small plaque on it in his memory. It’s not like he ever used the bench because I don’t think it had been usable in the 18 years he lived in the area. However, he did walk past it most nights when he was taking his dog out. So even a tenuous connection seemed to make it even more worthwhile.
When
December 2009
Materials / Media
Paint, Timber, wood stain, nuts and bolts, brass plaque.
Production
Preparing the timber was probably the most lengthy process. There was also some cheating going on with the way in which the beams were attached to the supports. The original bolt were still in place and I didn’t feel brazen enough to go down with a hacksaw and spend noisy time cutting off the old stuff. Instead, I screwed the new seat beams to the wooden bits that were bolted to the concrete, but glued on bolt end into a recess that made it seems like the whole lot was bolted together as it originally would have been. apart from the wood and concrete bits, I had to clear years worth of soil and weeds from the base section. The back rest had been in tact but was worn and damaged, so I replaced all three wood sections. I kept the original knackered back rest and would use it 9 years later when coming to renovate the whole thing again. When I was painting the concrete parts, it was late at night and dark because I never want to bring attention to myself doing these things. As it happened, the police walked by in an unusual patrol. Of course, they crossed the road to see what I was doing. It must have been odd for them to speak to someone that was doing some reverse vandalism and actually repairing and improving something in the area. I explained why I was doing it, and they said something along the lines of I was doing a great job and to carry on. In fact, let’s look at my journal entry about it:
Execution
So, I was just out, Ninja style with some masonry paint, waiting in the dark until there were no cars or people about so I could paint some concrete supports for an old ruined Council owned bench. Eventually I got painting. A few minutes later I’d failed to notice a PC and a PCSO walking in my direction. I couldn’t run, so I just waited for the inevitable questioning.
Okay, so whilst I wasn’t vandalising something, could it still be criminal damage if I’m painting something that isn’t mine? Well fortunately they were happy or even impressed that I would do something positive for the area, even if I was doing it in the dark, looking like a confused vandal in reverse. They left me to it after a pleasant conversation and we wished each other a good night. I told them to watch out for the bench in the next couple of days as I’d be finishing it by bolting replacement beams onto it.
It all seemed a bit strange. I was more bothered about my fly being undone because I was wearing my DIY jeans that I’m too fat to do up properly.
Just a normal Friday night for me then.
Notes
It was very pleasing to have a bench that was utterly useless and ugly to one that was pristine and nice to sit on. I really wanted it to be for everyone to enjoy, even though I knew that wouldn’t last because kids are dumb senseless vandals.
Duration & Fate
Kids unscrewed the plaque but it was recessed and glued on as well, so remained in place. Kids also used the seat as a trampoline and snapped it. The timber I used was just normal softwood, so it wasn’t as resilient as council grade hardwood. B&Q don’t sell that and it would have been far more expensive. I attempted a repair, but it was never going to work. One of the two planks stayed in tact I think. I kept up to weeding the area and also gave the concrete a lick of paint a couple of times but eventually it needed a complete overhaul. around the time of making the entirely New Bench.
Inevitably, it got broken again, and from September 2021 it only one seat beam. By spring of 2022 it had no seating.
On the hottest day on UK record in July 2022, I spent all of it outdoors weeding, sawing, wood staining, painting, drilling, bolting, cement mixing and brick laying. The brickwork is not for direct support, but to prevent breakage from kids jumping on it.
