Perivale, London. A noisy memorial.

Benches are frequently made into memorials. There’s something nice about being able to sit and do your remembering, and know that that remembering is somehow officially sanctioned. Hence the roaring trade in small metal plaques for park benches (that, as I understand it, bring in a decent chunk of income for councils). However, some memorial benches go… beyond.

Look, l I’m just gonna come right out and say it… I think this is kinda naff. With the greatest of respect for Nicky Hopkins (Rock’s Greatest Session Man), I find it a little gaudy. That said, it IS nice to have some additional context for who is being remembered, and it was interesting to read a bit about his history.

The bench is situated in Perivale Park, and, the bench tells us, Perivale is where he was born. If a bench this brash was erected in memory of me in Menai Bridge where I grew up, I can tell you it would be furiously vandalised sharpish. But maybe the patrons of this park have more respect than your average Menai Bridge youth. Google tells me the bench was unveiled in 2018, 5 years ago, so either someone is scrupulously maintaining it (possible), or it is simply a kind park, in terms of both visitors and the elements.

It’s fair to see from the pictures in that blog that the wooden arms have aged a bit, but the rest of it is holding up surprisingly well. The last thing you want with a highly designed, printed project like this is for it to get faded and damaged, (another reason why I wouldn’t want a memorial like this), but the print does seem to be holding up well, other than a few minor scuffs. (I’ll be curious to see what it looks like in a decade though)

The view from the bench is gentle, mundane. A quiet cricket game taking place in the distance, across this wide, green park, somewhere on the outskirts of West London. I can think of worse places to sit and remember a friend, I guess.

Comfort of bench: 7/10
Capacity of bench: Based on the pictures in the linked blog, 3 looks plenty
View from bench: 6/10, bland but soothing park
Accessibility of bench: The bench sits on a paved surface but you do have to cross some grass to get to it. It’s not far from a path.
Adventure level: I felt like I was having an adventure getting out here! It’s a little walk from any station, but we’re still really very close to central London, and transport links are good. Low adventure level.