The ‘Happy to Chat’ Bench.
Sit here if you don’t mind someone stopping to say ‘Hello’.
Allison Owen-Jones left this message on a bench in a park in Cardiff near where she lived. In May 2019 she had seen a frail old man on a park bench. She wondered (as we all have done in similar situations) whether he wanted company or to be left alone. To solve this dilemma Allison sat down at home later and wrote her message. She printed it, laminated it, and then tied copies to a few park benches in Cardiff. The message made it clear that anyone on the bench would welcome a chat with a stranger.
To her surprise, the message soon began appearing on benches throughout the UK and abroad. Now, thanks to a successful application by the Trebanos ward councillor, Rebeca Phillips, to the Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council Members Community Fund, the Swansea Canal Society has three such ‘Happy to Chat’ benches for the Swansea Canal towpath in Trebanos. We are very grateful to Rebeca for making her application on behalf of our society. Two of the benches are now in use, and the third ‘Happy to Chat’ bench will be erected next to Trebanos Lower Lock very soon.
Now that the lockdown in Wales is easing it is good to have these benches on the Swansea Canal. Allison Owen-Jones’ message to encourage companionship and conversation is even more welcome.
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2 comments
Owain Lewis says:
Jun 18, 2021
Syniad gwych! I gyd sy eisiau yw cwpanaid hefyd!!
Martin Davies says:
Jun 23, 2021
Ydw. gyda sgwrs, paned o de wneud popeth yn well!