The King of our village, Stoke Gifford, was, is and always will be Ben Hiscox. After he left us last year, someone had a wonderful idea. Let’s have a bench in his honour on the village green. As ideas go, it was one of the better ones.
The point of a bench is for people to sit on it. Some to celebrate on a life well-lived, some to simply remember a much loved person or, as some say, “the maddest man in the village” (and believe me, there is huge competition for that position in our village) and some to simply be with him in spirit.
To go almost anywhere, I pass Ben’s bench. This can be at pretty any time of the day, from early morning to the early hours of the following morning. For so much of the time, there are people sitting on it. Let me give you some examples:
– In the early hours, there are often young people, gathering, harmlessly, to socialise, to smoke a cigarette, to sup on a can, to generally pass the time of night. I think I know who would approve.
– People eating their fish and chips.
– Senior citizens passing the time of day.
– A large party was held in the Old School Rooms, attended mainly by an African (Ghanian? Nigerian? Who cares?) They were great fun, and many of the guests, the men in smart suits and the ladies in glamorous dresses, passed by, some sitting on THE bench and, best of all reading “I’ll see you in my dreams” carved into the wood, quite possibly not having the faintest idea of where the line came from but understanding the sentiment anyway.
– Me, looking across to my local where the King of the Village spent many happy hours with his vast array of friends
At night, with the small tree illuminated behind the bench it becomes an even more special place, almost magical. And there are always beautiful flowers, resting by the tree which stands upon the ashes.
I love the idea of benches in respect of the now departed and I love the idea of a new tree, representing new life and growth.
I never think “That’s just another bench, that’s just another tree”. I always think whose bench and whose tree it is and it gives me a warm, comforting feeling and it makes me smile.
Long live the King of the Village.
