There are 94 stories on Benchsite now, all of them featuring the most brilliant benches. However, a few people have said I have been remiss by not posting some of the more obvious subjects for the word Bench.
Miggy, my best imaginary friend: I'd have thought you would want to show some benchpressing.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14597297999/ |
I have to confess only a mediocre interest in this subject. I need a benchpress like a fish needs a bicycle.
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| Fish on a Bicycle, image from Cass Sculpture Park 2009 |
That's very negative of you, Seashell. I hope you're going to be a good sport and show us some great sporting benches. Including bench pressing.
Good.
Here is Rawl, our personal trainer here on Paradise Island.
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He knows how important it is to get the right bench to press.
Yes, a log bench will do the job.
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| http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Defense.gov |
I remember when I got benchpressed by accident.
Really? How so?
Well, I sat down on a bench and before I knew it, a benchvertising message was pressed into my legs.
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| http://www.superette.co.nz/ |
This isn't sport, Seashell. You're getting off the subject. Or are you just limbering up before we start?
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14580815429/ |
Frankly, Migs, I'd rather bench press my IQ.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/2419125525/ |
Yes, I have to admit that bench pressing does look like hard work.
This woman's benchpressing seems to have completely worn her out.
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| painting by Pablo Picasso 1904 |
Maybe she's pressing too hard?
This woman seems to have given up pressing benches and is pressing her ironing board instead.
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| image from http://craiglotter.co.za |
This guy isn't just pressing his bench: he's punching it.
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| image from http://epicfail.com |
Do you think we should condemn this action of destroying a bench?
No. The morality of bench punching is for the reader to decide.
But he's punching it!
I just present the evidence. I don't make moral judgements.
This discussion is getting too weighty. Can we lift it somehow?
We can try.
I'd like to say something about sports clothing.
Miggy: I love sport but I hate sport clothing. I'm more of a cupcake girl.
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In those shoes?
Getting the right shoe bench is very important for sport.
I think you ought to mention (ahem) the well-known urban clothing retailer.
By the way, this isn't a sentence so I've never understood why there is a fullstop at the end.
Miggy: I hope you're not going to start your Grammar Queen stuff. There's a capital letter at the start as well. Does that bother you?
No, a capital letter is correct for proper nouns.
You may know this company Bench dot as a provider of clothes for, and I quote, 'a Primal Dude living in the suburbs.'
I have little to say about this at the moment as, having looked at their website, I saw a hoodie called Lobotomy.
I didn't know you could get a lobotomy online. Do you think this hoodie would fit you?
You know how I look on my bike. I'll say no more.
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| One of Us On a Tricycle, image from Cass Sculpture Park |
Looks like you could do with some exercise. Tennis, anyone?
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| http://www.remyveenhuizen.nl |
Miggy: When I'm dating I stay away from tennis players. Love means nothing to them.
Also, tennis is a racquet.
I knew you'd say that. But a cheap pun is not going to be a smash.
I'll lob it back to you then, love.
What I'm saying is, benches are not just a spectator sport.
So I need to get off the bleachers and take part?
Yes. Be optimistic about what you can achieve.
You're right, Migs. I mustn't sit here on the bleachers like a pumpkin head.
I'm not sure which sport would suit me. Maybe ice fishing?
There's no bench here. Just saying.
OK, what about gymnastics? I always fancied the balance beam.
This whiff whaffing isn't going to ping the pong of your readers.
OK, then, here's my swimming bench.
Booooring. You've done swimming benches before.
This is me at five fathoms, swimming for the starfish bench.
This doesn't look very challenging. You need to dive into some training.
This is for swimmers who don't like getting wet.
Benchpress, swimming, tennis: I think we need a break from the court.
Maybe skateboarding then.
Or snowboards. You would never believe how many snowboard benches there are.
Apparently it's great fun to ride a skateboard on a bench.
I guess it makes you feel bright eyed and bushy tailed.
Once you get in the swing of it you can make a bench from almost anything.
For example, ice hockey sticks make a very good bench.
As do skiis.
Jacob Lederer makes benches from some of the 100,000 skis which are discarded in Austria every year.
You wouldn't want to try a backflip D-spin on this one.
It's taking a long time to show these sporty benches. We haven't even got to first base yet. Who's up next?
Well, I'm batty about baseball benches.
And heeeeeere's Johnny!
You're way out in left field here, Migs. Football is soooo much better than baseball.
By football I think you mean soccer. I've never understood English soccer. What exactly is the aim?
To beat Germany.
And to avoid being offside. Though no one really knows what that means.
Football, soccer, whatever. We're talking about benches here. And to be Benched in sport is not a good thing.
I'd love to hear what was said in that locker room.
It's a sport played by people with no fear of brain injury.
I'd sooner risk bike benching.
We've already done bikes here on Benchsite.
Yes, because lots of benches are made from bicycles.
Are bike benches really comfortable though?
This one is. It's a Couch Bench. And also, you'll notice, it's a bike.
I like the look of this. I could get a couch bike and kick back with a piece of cake. Especially if I could get somebody else to ride the bike.
What about water sports? Something posh, like water polo?
There's nothing nicer than a bench full of very fit men in swimming bonnets.
I agree. You should see all my lovely swimming benches.
Call me fussy but this one doesn't look too comfortable.
I'm going to vault over to some horse benches now.
Horse benches are great for a bit of giddy-up and go.
If you don't mind my saying, this horse isn't quite cricket.
Don't get me started on cricket. It goes on forever.
True. After four days of play you wonder who's going to win and it's still too early to tell.
Of course cricket is very big in England. What exactly is the aim?
To beat Australia. Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust.
You're getting on my wicket now, Migs.
I'm only trying to play fair as far as sporting benches are concerned.
Glad to hear it. But I think you ought to say something about sport here in Fribble-under-Par.
Fishing maybe.
I don't recommend it. When you see what comes out of the sea around here you won't want to eat your catch.
What about golf then?
In Fribble-under-Par we don't go in for golf. Being constantly reminded that you are under par isn't good for competitive spirit.
What about winter sports, like sledging?
Great Scott, no! Too much of a trek.
Sportswise, you and I are poles apart. Look, why don't you just highlight our very own local football team, the Fribble and Drizzly Mediocres.
Regular readers will know that Fribble-under-Par is a small town here on Paradise Island and Drizzly is a neighbouring hamlet which consists of a bus bench, a church and an old schoolhouse that has been turned into a llama shelter.
Yet the Fribble and Drizzly football team has a noble sporting tradition.
The team is looked after by my lovely neighbours, the Paragons. Mr. Paragon looks after the pitch while Mrs. Paragon and her daughter Virtue do teas, sew shorts and darn socks as necessary.
After a slice of Mrs. Paragon's cake at half-time, no one wants to get back on the pitch.
True, the pitch is rather overgrown.
But thanks to Fribble and Drizzly Regeneration funding, the Mediocres have a brand new clubhouse.
As Mrs. Paragon is fond of saying, it puts an altogether new meaning on strawberry teas.
What has any of this got to do with benches?
I'm coming to that.
You might be interested in the way that Fribble and Drizzly have dealt with crowd control at matches. Mr. Paragon was adamant that fans from visiting teams must be separated from local ones.
Yes. Although fans from the different teams sit together, they face different directions, thus avoiding the eye contact that causes so much trouble in less forward-thinking clubs.
We are pleased to say that there has never been any unpleasant football violence in Fribble and/or Drizzly, either on or off the pitch.
Unless you count the time that Pudsey Parsons went away in a sulk after the Mediocres lost nine nil to the Mope Junction Gerbils.
As for the team, here is where players would sit if they were On The Bench. Due to low numbers though, this has never happened.
Mostly it's a place for people to soak up the sun against the warm brick wall.
So there you have it. Sport is alive and well, not only in Fribble but on benches all over the world. And here in Fribble, we may be under par but we're certainly Mediocre.
I'm going to have to call time here, Seashell.
Yes, we've had our innings. Are you off to play some sport?
No, I'm off to buy one of those Lobotomy hoodies. I going to rock up looking all urban cool for my shift at the llama shelter.
Well, thanks for your good sport benches and your skillful editing.
You've spelled skilful wrong.
Oh shut up.
Credits
I'd like to say that no bench was harmed in the making of this blog but I'm not at all sure if this is the case.
As the marvelous Internet Archive Book Images shows, bench pressing goes back a long way. https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14597297999/
The man bench pressing dates from 1916. It's an image from page 266 of "A manual of physical training and preparatory military instruction for schools of the United States; a modified Swiss system intended to provide for the strong common national defense of America. The man limbering up is also from this archive (1917) https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14580815429/
So you see, if you want to defend America, you'll need to get benchpressing.
Miggy is my best imaginary friend here on Paradise Island. She runs Miggy's Make A Wish, a cake shop cafe in Fribble-under-Par, serving a healthy selection of deliciousmeals cakes. She's a cupcake girl alright. But she's also a mean cyclist. For more about Miggy and other residents of Fribble and Drizzly see http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/whos-who-in-fribble-under-par.html
Every year Miggy and Mungo and I do a bench-finding trip and I don't always get a good service from Miggy and Mungo. Our trip to Greece was a bench mission impossible. In 2014 we got high on alpine benches in Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. We also managed to find some tasty Italian benches, though ice cream benches were just as much of a priority. In summer 2015 we were desperately seeking benches in Germany, Poland and the Netherlands.
The Big guy is not Miggy; he's called One of Us On a Tricycle. He and the Fish on a Bicycle are sculptures made by Stephen Gregory, photographed at Cass Sculpture Park in West Sussex in 2009. For more about bike benches and Miggy's bike trip down the Danube, see
Our benchpress trainer here on Paradise Island is Rawlings Benchleigh-Preston, who used to be a barrister in London. He also funded the witty Trainers benches in Fribble park, which appeared only last week and will take some time to break in. The park benchpressers are not what they seem. One guy is benchpressing. But Root, son of Lord Brassica, Fifth Earl of Frizzly, is not actually benchpressing; he got drunk the night before and passed out like this and is just trying to get up. Find out all in the ins and outs of bench law at
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Pararescuemen applicants were bench pressing a wooden log in a mud pit during a screening process held by the Air Force 306th Rescue Squadron in Tucson, Ariz. In this test the applicants do a timed 3-mile run, 1500- meter swim, calisthenics, and other various tasks. The photo was taken by Airman 1st Class Veronica Pierce, U.S. Air Force on April 21, 2006. This image is a work of a U.S. military or Department of Defense employee, taken or made as part of that person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Defense.gov
Superette is a retail company in New Zealand. In 2011 their agency was DDB New Zealand, whose advertising-on-the-back-of-legs campaign raised lots of smiles and some negative comments too. Did it raise lots of money for Superette? http://www.superette.co.nz/ Read all about the trade secrets of Benchvertising at http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/benchvertising.html
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Bench press your IQ is graffiti found by Duncan C back in 2007. Duncan C lives in London, travels a lot, and likes graffiti. He's got some great graffiti albums in his photostream at https://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/2419125525/
The first woman ironing is La Repasseuse, a painting by Pablo Picasso in Paris in 1904 at the end of his Blue Period, but in a lighter bleakishness of white and grey. It was a time when it was fashionable to paint people at work, showing their travail and tribulations, as well as the fatigue of physical work. It has been suggested that Picasso's Repasseuse is a metaphor for the misfortunes of the working poor.
The woman collapsed from the exhaustion of either ironing and/or bench pressing is from www.craiglotter.co.za Craig Lötter writes a personal blog about life, travel, parenting, programming and fanboy pursuits. In 2015 his website Dad and the Code won the Best Personal Blog category in the African Blogger Awards. Craig is a 35 year old South African software architect and developer at Touchwork. He's husband to a wedding cake baker and father to two little girls. Back in 2011 Craig's blog featured a joke about the double standards of Iron Man and Iron Woman. Two completely different things, as the photo of the exhausted Iron Woman shows. http://www.craiglotter.co.za/2011/04/08/the-double-standards-of-iron/
The guy punching a bench is from Epic Fail, a site which features pranks, weird stuff, shocking news, and a lot of humour which can win or fail. Humour/Bench/Punch was shown on 15 January 2013 and had 542 Fails and 88 Wins. It seems to have failed quite a lot but probably that's what it's supposed to do. http://epicfail.com
Re. the Bench dot logo, I wouldn't want you to get the idea that I am in any way sponsored by Bench dot or any other company. Far from it. I do buy Bench dot stuff from the Bench dot outlet store but none of them fit me and they are all the wrong colours. Never mind, they bear the Bench message and that's what's important from a Benchsite point of view. You can find out more about my bench shopping habits and a disastrous Black Bench Friday. And by the way, there are some perfectly punctuated benches for National Punctuation Day at http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/perfectly-punctuated-benches-for.html
The Tennis ball bench is by Tejo Remy and Rene Veenhuizen at http://www.remyveenhuizen.nl in Utrecht. The two designers studied together at Utrecht School of Art and at Department 3D-Design; they have worked together since 2000 and have a worldwide profile. 'By making everything our material, the world is our toolkit. We transform the familiar and incorporate the circumstances. By applying this as a kind of design rule, we create our own freedom.'
What a racquet! The Bulldog tennis bench is at the Mississippi State University tennis courts in Starkville, photographed by Morgan Harrison in February 2010. https://www.flickr.com/photos/morganharrison/4399378741/
The spectators in glasses are watching the 2006 eclipse in Side, Turkey. https://www.flickr.com/photos/exploratorium/2700332734/ This brilliant photo is from The Exploratorium, a museum of science, art, and human perception located at Pier 15 in San Francisco, California. They believe that following your curiosity and asking questions can lead to amazing moments of discovery, learning, and awareness and can increase your confidence in your ability to understand how the world works. They also believe that being playful and having fun is an important part of the process for people of all ages.
www.exploratorium.edu
Sporting benches are often stadium seats or bleachers, which make terrific photographs. These green aluminium bleachers were photographed at the Belknap ice arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2009. The photographer is Steven Depolo. https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/3655878582/
The Baby Barbell Deadlift is a photo I saw on the website of Dai Manuel, who is a Cool Dad, Husband, Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker, Author, Blogger & Digital Influencer. He is achieving a "FUN"ctionally Fit Life through Encouragement, Education and Community. That's what his website says. http://www.daimanuel.com/2011/12/07/nothing-like-a-beat-down-to-perk-your-day-up/sony-dsc/
The pumpkins on benches look like serious sport spectators to me. They were photographed in 2008 by Valerie Everett, who has lots of lovely bench photos and has been on Benchsite before. Think autumn and then fall for some autumn benches. Valerie lives in Tuscumbia, USA. https://www.flickr.com/photos/valeriebb/2880721062/
The blue person face down on the ice is my friend Lynne Woodward, who lives in Kiruna in Sweden. And she really is ice fishing. That's her sitting on an ice bench. She also took the photo of the beautiful church in Kiruna, and the icy pews inside the Ice Church. Lynne and Rolf run a very friendly B&B and know a lot about local customs and events. http://www.68degrees.se/ Oh, that B&Bs were always like this! Lynne writes a lively blog at http://www.blog.68degrees.se/ It's Everything You Want to Know About Sweden and some gorgeous photos as well.
Simon James likes a bit of high jinx on Flickr Bench Mondays. He's the guy attempting a trackstand on a park bench (August 2010) and then feeling light as air after losing a pound on a diet in September. https://www.flickr.com/photos/bearpark/4940880381/ and
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bearpark/5007667579/ Simon lives in Gateshead UK with his lovely wife Claire and his dog Alfie. He mostly works from home (research and consultancy) which means he can listen to music all day long and also make forays out to photograph benches.
My Swimming Bench is well documented on the post in this blog called, not surprisingly, My Swimming Bench. You've seen the bench, you've heard the story, now read the poem. It's at http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/my-swimming-bench.html The lovely starfish bench appears throughout Benchsite because there are lots of sea stories here. Try Mikey's Marine Boat Benches (they rock!) or his naughty, much-loved Sea benches for World Oceans Day, always a Benchsite favourite.
The Vasa Trainer Pro machine is used by Olympic gold medalists, professionals, and champion swimmers for their dry-land workouts. Developed in 1990, it provides 200 functional exercise choices which help people get fit for swimming and other physical activities. The Vasa Trainer costs $899 and is available http://vasatrainer.com/vasa-trainer.html Based in Vermont, the company's products include training machines, accessories, upgrade kits, replacement parts, apparel and training materials.
Do It Tennis make tennis court equipment, including benches and chairs. Of course you need a bench on a tennis court because you'll need a break from the court. www.doittennis.com/courtequipment/benches-chairs.php https://www.flickr.com/photos/doittennis/8388981960/
Recycled skateboard benches are everywhere. Lollefee photographed this one in Wellington, New Zealand in 2008. https://www.flickr.com/photos/lollefee/3610305389/ Lollefee must live nearby, judging from the albums of New Zealand people, cities, and food.
Maddy took the photo of the snowboard bench outside the Totally Board shop in Truckee, California. That was in 2011, when Maddy said she's a total beginner with photography. In the meantime, she's a dinosaur tamer and originates from Noneya. I wonder if she means Narnia? Maybe I've got the wrong lion, witch, wardrobe. https://www.flickr.com/photos/holzapple/5749519480
Bugsy Sailor is a web geek in Lansing, Michigan. He photographs stuff for his Flickr photostream hometowninvasion. This includes lots of skateboards and the farflung travels of Rice the squirrel. In 2007 it was Rice on a skateboard in New Mexico looking bright eyed and bushy tailed. https://www.flickr.com/photos/hometowninvasion/364218403/
I am unable to trace the source for the image of the swing bench.
Nedra is a reading teacher who lives in Utica. She is a proud mom of two; she and her son saw the hockey stick bench outside a shop. Now that the kids are grown, Nedra has got herself a good digital camera and is back to taking nature photos. And hockey stick benches too. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nedrai/4216031343
Kelly Riley is an artist and musician in Bend, Oregon. She took the photo of the bench made from skiis. She's a keen cross-country skiier and often skiis in the Seven Sisters mountains near Bend. Kelly makes delightful wool sculptures from her own wool - well, I mean wool belonging to her own sheep. Nora featured earlier in The Year of the Goat Bench and Baaaaaad Sheep Benches.
What to do with the 100,000 pairs of skis which are thrown away each season in Austria? Designer Jakob Lederer made a garden bench and then it, er, snowballed from there. The wide range of ski-based furniture, including benches, is at Planet Ski, which aims to entertain and inform skiers and boarders about life in the mountains. It's about real life in the Alps and about love for everything to do with skiing and boarding. http://www.planetski.eu/news/3319
The baseball bat bench is the suitably named Johnny Bench baseball bench. It's in Cincinnati and was photographed by Tuscola Joe way back in 2003 and made available on the Flickr Creative Commons. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dziadzia/ For reasons which aren't entirely clear, it also appears in Noah's Ark Animal Benches.
The Johnny Bench baseball card is from 1976, one of Ed McDonald's most favorite baseball cards. It's pretty beat up because he used to carry it around with him as a kid.In case you've been in outer field all your life and don't know who he is, Johnny Bench is an All Star Cincinnati Reds catcher. Ed is a librarian in Charlotte, USA. https://www.flickr.com/photos/zzazazz/3566122557/
The miserable-looking football team is the Chertsey bench as their opponents, Mole Valley, go 3-1 up, and put a huge dent in Chertsey's title ambitions.The match was played back in March 2011 and photographed by Chris Turner from London. https://www.flickr.com/photos/photoplod/5597780602/
A bench on an outdoor table tennis table? Why? I saw loads of these when we were travelling in eastern Germany this summer. This one was in Lippstadt, photographed by Andreas Levers back in 2008. Andreas lives in Potsdam where I was lucky enough to be staying this summer. https://www.flickr.com/photos/96dpi/2289135304/
Jeremy Petrus (born 1973) is from Montreal. His MishMash bench was made in collaboration with Italian bike saddle maker Selle Royal ('selle' is Italian for saddle). The designer explains that "Mishmash is the result of the combination of two designs: Nelson's 'marshmallow' sofa and Castiglioni's 'sella' stool . . . Mishmash is more of a functional sculpture than a comfortable sofa. My goal was to study and apply basic principals through a classic exercise, and of course, to pay tribute to some of the greatest." His website shows the wide range of his work: objects, interiors, graphics, performance art, moving images, etc. http://jeremypetrus.com/
The Bicycle Forest in Ontario aims to promote bicycles and other human powered vehicles as a viable form of transportation. Through renting out a large diversity of well maintained human powered vehicles from manufacturers all over the world, Bike Forest hopes to give people a taste of the various options currently available. Brent Curry and Eivind rode the Couch Bike through Maritime Canada in 2002. It's a handmade bike with a frame built around an old leatherette love seat. It's steered with a tiller linked to the two front wheels on either side of the couch. http://www.bikeforest.com/
Mark Stosberg from Richmond, Indiana seems to work a lot with bikes. Most of his photos on Flickr are about the topic of bikes-as-transportation, especially the Yuba Mundo, Big Dummy, bakfiets and the bikes-at-work trailer. Bike guys will no doubt know what this means. In the story Mark is pulling the girl and the couch. This trailer can apparently pull up to 300 pounds so might be suitable for hauling Miggy to the cake shop. It was photographed in 2009 and appears on Mark's Flickr photostream at
https://www.flickr.com/photos/markstos/3802117476
Kate Robertson from Idaho Falls is the Queen of Creativity. She describes herself as a painter, mixed media artist, weaver, spinner and writer. Besides that, she photographs all kinds of stuff wherever she goes on her creative pursuits, including the lovely pennyfarthing bike bench shown in the story. On World Animal Day, her horse and dog benches were saved on Noah's Ark. She is a Kaizen-Muse creativity coach and she has loads of ideas on how to get your creative mojo working. She has various blogs; I first saw her at http://thequeenofcreativity.blogspot.com
In 2006 Sebastian Adel took a brilliant photo of the Croatian Team reserves on the bench at the Junior Water Polo Championships in Velenta, Bihor. That's in Romania, where Sebastian is a marketing manager. The Croatian team didn't win that day though; the Hungarians won. https://www.flickr.com/photos/sebishor/368027532/
The woman sitting on the stump is modelling a two piece swimsuit in 1946 in Tampa, Flordia. The photograph comes from the State Archives of Florida, available at http://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/66749
Aloha Stickers in Hawaii makes all kinds of decals; animals, sci-fi, fantasy, religious, place names, etc. There are lots of sports decals and the gymnastics guy vaulting over the horse just had to be in this story. www.etsy.com/shop/alohastickers It's also, of course, in the Year of the Horse Bench story.
The man riding a horse bench is Bimble, who lives in Swansea. On this occasion he is bimbling along in the North Yorkshire Moors where maybe such things are common. Judging from his photostream, Bimble is keen on archery and he seems to have attended rather a lot of London's Olympic and Paralympic events. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bimbling_along/
Books About Town book benches appeared all around London in the summer of 2014 www.booksabouttown.org.uk and also in my World Book Day story about benchy librarians. Maureen Barlin photographed many of them, including the Wisden Cricketers' Almanac, and the Scott of the Anaractic bench.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/maureen_barlin/14822428859 Maureen lives in Richmond near London and gets out and about throughout the UK with her camera. She has glorious albums of all kinds of art, culture and fun events. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is known as the Bible of Cricket. Published annually since 1864, it is considered the world's most famous sports reference book and the longest running sports annual in history. The splendid book bench was at London Wall.The artist is Trevor Skempton
The bench fished out of the river was the river Mystic in Connecticut. The photograph, taken in March 2014, is by Eric Heupel at https://www.flickr.com/photos/eclectic-echoes/13674124245 Eric likes photographing wildlife and birds and other living creatures at http://other95.blogspot.com/
Derek A saw some abandoned golf clubs, bag and all, on a bench in Akishima-shi, Tokyo in 2007. Hmm. Makes you wonder. Maybe some golfer gotp'eed t'eed off with the whole thing and left them there. https://www.flickr.com/photos/sfj/639531865/
The Frozen in Time book bench is for the diary of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, better known as Scott of the Antarctic. Born in 1868, Scott was a Royal Navy officer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition which claimed his life in 1912. Scott's diary has been in print since it was first published in 1913 and has sold almost 250,000 copies. The bench artist is Charles Bezzina and it was photographed by Maureen Barlin, as above. https://www.flickr.com/photos/maureen_barlin/14874915360 Speaking of Frozen, we've had some very cold benches from Snowvenia this winter.
Over-indulging in Mrs. Paragon's cake is a hazard at all ages. The little cake eater was photographed in 2008 after eating too much birthday cake. Thanks to Scott Whigham for the photo. Other photos of Whigam family activities can be seen at www.whigham.org
I am sorry to say that the Strawberry House is not really our clubhouse. It is a bus stop in Japan, one of a series of sixteen fruit and vegetable bus stops in Isahaya City, Japan. The photo is Toxels 15 Unusual and Creative Bus Stops 2009. http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2009/05/01/15-unusual-and-creative-bus-stops/ For more benches from Japan see
The more observant of you will have realised that Virtue's goalie gear is for hockey rather than football. This is Blackhawk goalie Murray Bannerman in the goalie mask Hall of Fame on 13 Apr 2012 http://www.totalprosports.com/2011/11/01/12-scariest-hockey-masks/
The tradition of scary hockey masks began in 1959 when legendary Montreal Canadiens netminder Jacques Plante became the first goalie in the NHL to wear a mask that entirely covered his face. Since then NHL goalies have used mask designs as a way of intimidating opponents.
The pretty white bench is a love seat photographed by Andy Roberts, who lives in East London. https://www.flickr.com/photos/aroberts/2416395374/ Andy works with online communities, research and technology and runs a blog at www.distributedresearch.net/blog
Speaking of love seats, there are plenty of romantic benches at
Pudsey Parsons did not go off in a sulk. The planker (that's a p, folks, not a w) is the man face down on the bench, who is one of the incredibly talented sports men, women and indeed children, from www.iplanking.com/awkward/planking
Next time on Benchsite
It's Grammar and Punctuation Day soon so I'll finally get to dig out my speciallly selected grammar and punctuation benches. You'll be surprised how much you can learn from a properly punctuated bench!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/morganharrison/4399378741/ |
I knew you'd say that. But a cheap pun is not going to be a smash.
I'll lob it back to you then, love.
What I'm saying is, benches are not just a spectator sport.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/exploratorium/2700332734/ |
So I need to get off the bleachers and take part?
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/3655878582/ |
Yes. Be optimistic about what you can achieve.
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| http://www.daimanuel.com |
You're right, Migs. I mustn't sit here on the bleachers like a pumpkin head.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/valeriebb/2880721062/ |
I'm not sure which sport would suit me. Maybe ice fishing?
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| photo by Lynne Woodward |
There's no bench here. Just saying.
OK, what about gymnastics? I always fancied the balance beam.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/bearpark/4940880381/ |
This whiff whaffing isn't going to ping the pong of your readers.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/96dpi/2289135304/ |
OK, then, here's my swimming bench.
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Booooring. You've done swimming benches before.
This is me at five fathoms, swimming for the starfish bench.
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This doesn't look very challenging. You need to dive into some training.
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| http://vasatrainer.com/vasa-trainer.html |
This is for swimmers who don't like getting wet.
Benchpress, swimming, tennis: I think we need a break from the court.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/doittennis/8388981960/ |
Maybe skateboarding then.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/lollefee/3610305389/ |
Or snowboards. You would never believe how many snowboard benches there are.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/holzapple/5749519480 |
Apparently it's great fun to ride a skateboard on a bench.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/hometowninvasion/364218403/ |
I guess it makes you feel bright eyed and bushy tailed.
Once you get in the swing of it you can make a bench from almost anything.
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| image source unknown |
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/nedrai/4216031343 |
.JPG) |
| image from Kelly Riley |
Jacob Lederer makes benches from some of the 100,000 skis which are discarded in Austria every year.
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| image from http://planetski.eu |
You wouldn't want to try a backflip D-spin on this one.
It's taking a long time to show these sporty benches. We haven't even got to first base yet. Who's up next?
Well, I'm batty about baseball benches.
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| http://www.flickr.com/photos/dziadzia/ |
And heeeeeere's Johnny!
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/zzazazz/3566122557/ |
You're way out in left field here, Migs. Football is soooo much better than baseball.
By football I think you mean soccer. I've never understood English soccer. What exactly is the aim?
To beat Germany.
And to avoid being offside. Though no one really knows what that means.
Football, soccer, whatever. We're talking about benches here. And to be Benched in sport is not a good thing.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/zzazazz/3566122557/ |
I'd love to hear what was said in that locker room.
What about rugby? Some of those rugby guys are scrummy looking.
It's a sport played by people with no fear of brain injury.
I'd sooner risk bike benching.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/bearpark/5007667579/ |
We've already done bikes here on Benchsite.
Yes, because lots of benches are made from bicycles.
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| http://jeremypetrus.com/ |
Are bike benches really comfortable though?
This one is. It's a Couch Bench. And also, you'll notice, it's a bike.
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| http://www.bikeforest.com/ |
I like the look of this. I could get a couch bike and kick back with a piece of cake. Especially if I could get somebody else to ride the bike.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/markstos/3802117476 |
There's nothing nicer than a bench full of very fit men in swimming bonnets.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/sebishor/368027532/ |
I agree. You should see all my lovely swimming benches.
Call me fussy but this one doesn't look too comfortable.
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| http://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/66749 |
I'm going to vault over to some horse benches now.
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| www.etsy.com/shop/alohastickers |
Horse benches are great for a bit of giddy-up and go.
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| http://www.flickr.com/photos/bimbling_along/ |
If you don't mind my saying, this horse isn't quite cricket.
Don't get me started on cricket. It goes on forever.
True. After four days of play you wonder who's going to win and it's still too early to tell.
Of course cricket is very big in England. What exactly is the aim?
To beat Australia. Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust.
You're getting on my wicket now, Migs.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/maureen_barlin/14822428859 |
I'm only trying to play fair as far as sporting benches are concerned.
Glad to hear it. But I think you ought to say something about sport here in Fribble-under-Par.
Fishing maybe.
I don't recommend it. When you see what comes out of the sea around here you won't want to eat your catch.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/eclectic-echoes/13674124245 |
What about golf then?
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/sfj/639531865/ |
In Fribble-under-Par we don't go in for golf. Being constantly reminded that you are under par isn't good for competitive spirit.
What about winter sports, like sledging?
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/maureen_barlin/14874915360 |
Great Scott, no! Too much of a trek.
Sportswise, you and I are poles apart. Look, why don't you just highlight our very own local football team, the Fribble and Drizzly Mediocres.
Regular readers will know that Fribble-under-Par is a small town here on Paradise Island and Drizzly is a neighbouring hamlet which consists of a bus bench, a church and an old schoolhouse that has been turned into a llama shelter.
Yet the Fribble and Drizzly football team has a noble sporting tradition.
The team is looked after by my lovely neighbours, the Paragons. Mr. Paragon looks after the pitch while Mrs. Paragon and her daughter Virtue do teas, sew shorts and darn socks as necessary.
After a slice of Mrs. Paragon's cake at half-time, no one wants to get back on the pitch.
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| image from http://whigham.org |
True, the pitch is rather overgrown.
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But thanks to Fribble and Drizzly Regeneration funding, the Mediocres have a brand new clubhouse.
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| http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2009/05/01/15-unusual-and-creative-bus-stops/ |
As Mrs. Paragon is fond of saying, it puts an altogether new meaning on strawberry teas.
What has any of this got to do with benches?
I'm coming to that.
It has to be said that the Fribble and Drizzly Mediocres are not in the premier league. On a normal practice night there are not always enough players for five-a-side, in which case there might be four-a-side or even four on one side and three on the other. To even things up, Virtue sometimes steps in as goalie.
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| http://www.totalprosports.com |
Virtue, darling, you're a little scary. But nothing compared to your dad.
At Away games Mr. Paragon takes on the role of cheerleader.
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| http://www.chilloutpoint.com/funny/the-ugliest-cheerleaders-show-top-15.html |
Yes. Although fans from the different teams sit together, they face different directions, thus avoiding the eye contact that causes so much trouble in less forward-thinking clubs.
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/aroberts/2416395374/ |
We are pleased to say that there has never been any unpleasant football violence in Fribble and/or Drizzly, either on or off the pitch.
Unless you count the time that Pudsey Parsons went away in a sulk after the Mediocres lost nine nil to the Mope Junction Gerbils.
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| image from http://iplanking.com |
As for the team, here is where players would sit if they were On The Bench. Due to low numbers though, this has never happened.
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Mostly it's a place for people to soak up the sun against the warm brick wall.
So there you have it. Sport is alive and well, not only in Fribble but on benches all over the world. And here in Fribble, we may be under par but we're certainly Mediocre.
I'm going to have to call time here, Seashell.
Yes, we've had our innings. Are you off to play some sport?
No, I'm off to buy one of those Lobotomy hoodies. I going to rock up looking all urban cool for my shift at the llama shelter.
Well, thanks for your good sport benches and your skillful editing.
You've spelled skilful wrong.
Oh shut up.
Credits
I'd like to say that no bench was harmed in the making of this blog but I'm not at all sure if this is the case.
As the marvelous Internet Archive Book Images shows, bench pressing goes back a long way. https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14597297999/
The man bench pressing dates from 1916. It's an image from page 266 of "A manual of physical training and preparatory military instruction for schools of the United States; a modified Swiss system intended to provide for the strong common national defense of America. The man limbering up is also from this archive (1917) https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14580815429/
So you see, if you want to defend America, you'll need to get benchpressing.
Miggy is my best imaginary friend here on Paradise Island. She runs Miggy's Make A Wish, a cake shop cafe in Fribble-under-Par, serving a healthy selection of delicious
Every year Miggy and Mungo and I do a bench-finding trip and I don't always get a good service from Miggy and Mungo. Our trip to Greece was a bench mission impossible. In 2014 we got high on alpine benches in Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. We also managed to find some tasty Italian benches, though ice cream benches were just as much of a priority. In summer 2015 we were desperately seeking benches in Germany, Poland and the Netherlands.
The Big guy is not Miggy; he's called One of Us On a Tricycle. He and the Fish on a Bicycle are sculptures made by Stephen Gregory, photographed at Cass Sculpture Park in West Sussex in 2009. For more about bike benches and Miggy's bike trip down the Danube, see
Our benchpress trainer here on Paradise Island is Rawlings Benchleigh-Preston, who used to be a barrister in London. He also funded the witty Trainers benches in Fribble park, which appeared only last week and will take some time to break in. The park benchpressers are not what they seem. One guy is benchpressing. But Root, son of Lord Brassica, Fifth Earl of Frizzly, is not actually benchpressing; he got drunk the night before and passed out like this and is just trying to get up. Find out all in the ins and outs of bench law at
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Superette is a retail company in New Zealand. In 2011 their agency was DDB New Zealand, whose advertising-on-the-back-of-legs campaign raised lots of smiles and some negative comments too. Did it raise lots of money for Superette? http://www.superette.co.nz/ Read all about the trade secrets of Benchvertising at http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/benchvertising.html
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Bench press your IQ is graffiti found by Duncan C back in 2007. Duncan C lives in London, travels a lot, and likes graffiti. He's got some great graffiti albums in his photostream at https://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/2419125525/
The first woman ironing is La Repasseuse, a painting by Pablo Picasso in Paris in 1904 at the end of his Blue Period, but in a lighter bleakishness of white and grey. It was a time when it was fashionable to paint people at work, showing their travail and tribulations, as well as the fatigue of physical work. It has been suggested that Picasso's Repasseuse is a metaphor for the misfortunes of the working poor.
The woman collapsed from the exhaustion of either ironing and/or bench pressing is from www.craiglotter.co.za Craig Lötter writes a personal blog about life, travel, parenting, programming and fanboy pursuits. In 2015 his website Dad and the Code won the Best Personal Blog category in the African Blogger Awards. Craig is a 35 year old South African software architect and developer at Touchwork. He's husband to a wedding cake baker and father to two little girls. Back in 2011 Craig's blog featured a joke about the double standards of Iron Man and Iron Woman. Two completely different things, as the photo of the exhausted Iron Woman shows. http://www.craiglotter.co.za/2011/04/08/the-double-standards-of-iron/
The guy punching a bench is from Epic Fail, a site which features pranks, weird stuff, shocking news, and a lot of humour which can win or fail. Humour/Bench/Punch was shown on 15 January 2013 and had 542 Fails and 88 Wins. It seems to have failed quite a lot but probably that's what it's supposed to do. http://epicfail.com
Re. the Bench dot logo, I wouldn't want you to get the idea that I am in any way sponsored by Bench dot or any other company. Far from it. I do buy Bench dot stuff from the Bench dot outlet store but none of them fit me and they are all the wrong colours. Never mind, they bear the Bench message and that's what's important from a Benchsite point of view. You can find out more about my bench shopping habits and a disastrous Black Bench Friday. And by the way, there are some perfectly punctuated benches for National Punctuation Day at http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/perfectly-punctuated-benches-for.html
The Tennis ball bench is by Tejo Remy and Rene Veenhuizen at http://www.remyveenhuizen.nl in Utrecht. The two designers studied together at Utrecht School of Art and at Department 3D-Design; they have worked together since 2000 and have a worldwide profile. 'By making everything our material, the world is our toolkit. We transform the familiar and incorporate the circumstances. By applying this as a kind of design rule, we create our own freedom.'
What a racquet! The Bulldog tennis bench is at the Mississippi State University tennis courts in Starkville, photographed by Morgan Harrison in February 2010. https://www.flickr.com/photos/morganharrison/4399378741/
www.exploratorium.edu
Sporting benches are often stadium seats or bleachers, which make terrific photographs. These green aluminium bleachers were photographed at the Belknap ice arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2009. The photographer is Steven Depolo. https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/3655878582/
The Baby Barbell Deadlift is a photo I saw on the website of Dai Manuel, who is a Cool Dad, Husband, Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker, Author, Blogger & Digital Influencer. He is achieving a "FUN"ctionally Fit Life through Encouragement, Education and Community. That's what his website says. http://www.daimanuel.com/2011/12/07/nothing-like-a-beat-down-to-perk-your-day-up/sony-dsc/
The pumpkins on benches look like serious sport spectators to me. They were photographed in 2008 by Valerie Everett, who has lots of lovely bench photos and has been on Benchsite before. Think autumn and then fall for some autumn benches. Valerie lives in Tuscumbia, USA. https://www.flickr.com/photos/valeriebb/2880721062/
The blue person face down on the ice is my friend Lynne Woodward, who lives in Kiruna in Sweden. And she really is ice fishing. That's her sitting on an ice bench. She also took the photo of the beautiful church in Kiruna, and the icy pews inside the Ice Church. Lynne and Rolf run a very friendly B&B and know a lot about local customs and events. http://www.68degrees.se/ Oh, that B&Bs were always like this! Lynne writes a lively blog at http://www.blog.68degrees.se/ It's Everything You Want to Know About Sweden and some gorgeous photos as well.
Simon James likes a bit of high jinx on Flickr Bench Mondays. He's the guy attempting a trackstand on a park bench (August 2010) and then feeling light as air after losing a pound on a diet in September. https://www.flickr.com/photos/bearpark/4940880381/ and
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bearpark/5007667579/ Simon lives in Gateshead UK with his lovely wife Claire and his dog Alfie. He mostly works from home (research and consultancy) which means he can listen to music all day long and also make forays out to photograph benches.
My Swimming Bench is well documented on the post in this blog called, not surprisingly, My Swimming Bench. You've seen the bench, you've heard the story, now read the poem. It's at http://benchsite.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/my-swimming-bench.html The lovely starfish bench appears throughout Benchsite because there are lots of sea stories here. Try Mikey's Marine Boat Benches (they rock!) or his naughty, much-loved Sea benches for World Oceans Day, always a Benchsite favourite.
The Vasa Trainer Pro machine is used by Olympic gold medalists, professionals, and champion swimmers for their dry-land workouts. Developed in 1990, it provides 200 functional exercise choices which help people get fit for swimming and other physical activities. The Vasa Trainer costs $899 and is available http://vasatrainer.com/vasa-trainer.html Based in Vermont, the company's products include training machines, accessories, upgrade kits, replacement parts, apparel and training materials.
Do It Tennis make tennis court equipment, including benches and chairs. Of course you need a bench on a tennis court because you'll need a break from the court. www.doittennis.com/courtequipment/benches-chairs.php https://www.flickr.com/photos/doittennis/8388981960/
Recycled skateboard benches are everywhere. Lollefee photographed this one in Wellington, New Zealand in 2008. https://www.flickr.com/photos/lollefee/3610305389/ Lollefee must live nearby, judging from the albums of New Zealand people, cities, and food.
Maddy took the photo of the snowboard bench outside the Totally Board shop in Truckee, California. That was in 2011, when Maddy said she's a total beginner with photography. In the meantime, she's a dinosaur tamer and originates from Noneya. I wonder if she means Narnia? Maybe I've got the wrong lion, witch, wardrobe. https://www.flickr.com/photos/holzapple/5749519480
Bugsy Sailor is a web geek in Lansing, Michigan. He photographs stuff for his Flickr photostream hometowninvasion. This includes lots of skateboards and the farflung travels of Rice the squirrel. In 2007 it was Rice on a skateboard in New Mexico looking bright eyed and bushy tailed. https://www.flickr.com/photos/hometowninvasion/364218403/
I am unable to trace the source for the image of the swing bench.
Nedra is a reading teacher who lives in Utica. She is a proud mom of two; she and her son saw the hockey stick bench outside a shop. Now that the kids are grown, Nedra has got herself a good digital camera and is back to taking nature photos. And hockey stick benches too. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nedrai/4216031343
What to do with the 100,000 pairs of skis which are thrown away each season in Austria? Designer Jakob Lederer made a garden bench and then it, er, snowballed from there. The wide range of ski-based furniture, including benches, is at Planet Ski, which aims to entertain and inform skiers and boarders about life in the mountains. It's about real life in the Alps and about love for everything to do with skiing and boarding. http://www.planetski.eu/news/3319
The baseball bat bench is the suitably named Johnny Bench baseball bench. It's in Cincinnati and was photographed by Tuscola Joe way back in 2003 and made available on the Flickr Creative Commons. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dziadzia/ For reasons which aren't entirely clear, it also appears in Noah's Ark Animal Benches.
The Johnny Bench baseball card is from 1976, one of Ed McDonald's most favorite baseball cards. It's pretty beat up because he used to carry it around with him as a kid.In case you've been in outer field all your life and don't know who he is, Johnny Bench is an All Star Cincinnati Reds catcher. Ed is a librarian in Charlotte, USA. https://www.flickr.com/photos/zzazazz/3566122557/
The miserable-looking football team is the Chertsey bench as their opponents, Mole Valley, go 3-1 up, and put a huge dent in Chertsey's title ambitions.The match was played back in March 2011 and photographed by Chris Turner from London. https://www.flickr.com/photos/photoplod/5597780602/
A bench on an outdoor table tennis table? Why? I saw loads of these when we were travelling in eastern Germany this summer. This one was in Lippstadt, photographed by Andreas Levers back in 2008. Andreas lives in Potsdam where I was lucky enough to be staying this summer. https://www.flickr.com/photos/96dpi/2289135304/
Jeremy Petrus (born 1973) is from Montreal. His MishMash bench was made in collaboration with Italian bike saddle maker Selle Royal ('selle' is Italian for saddle). The designer explains that "Mishmash is the result of the combination of two designs: Nelson's 'marshmallow' sofa and Castiglioni's 'sella' stool . . . Mishmash is more of a functional sculpture than a comfortable sofa. My goal was to study and apply basic principals through a classic exercise, and of course, to pay tribute to some of the greatest." His website shows the wide range of his work: objects, interiors, graphics, performance art, moving images, etc. http://jeremypetrus.com/
The Bicycle Forest in Ontario aims to promote bicycles and other human powered vehicles as a viable form of transportation. Through renting out a large diversity of well maintained human powered vehicles from manufacturers all over the world, Bike Forest hopes to give people a taste of the various options currently available. Brent Curry and Eivind rode the Couch Bike through Maritime Canada in 2002. It's a handmade bike with a frame built around an old leatherette love seat. It's steered with a tiller linked to the two front wheels on either side of the couch. http://www.bikeforest.com/
Mark Stosberg from Richmond, Indiana seems to work a lot with bikes. Most of his photos on Flickr are about the topic of bikes-as-transportation, especially the Yuba Mundo, Big Dummy, bakfiets and the bikes-at-work trailer. Bike guys will no doubt know what this means. In the story Mark is pulling the girl and the couch. This trailer can apparently pull up to 300 pounds so might be suitable for hauling Miggy to the cake shop. It was photographed in 2009 and appears on Mark's Flickr photostream at
https://www.flickr.com/photos/markstos/3802117476
Kate Robertson from Idaho Falls is the Queen of Creativity. She describes herself as a painter, mixed media artist, weaver, spinner and writer. Besides that, she photographs all kinds of stuff wherever she goes on her creative pursuits, including the lovely pennyfarthing bike bench shown in the story. On World Animal Day, her horse and dog benches were saved on Noah's Ark. She is a Kaizen-Muse creativity coach and she has loads of ideas on how to get your creative mojo working. She has various blogs; I first saw her at http://thequeenofcreativity.blogspot.com
In 2006 Sebastian Adel took a brilliant photo of the Croatian Team reserves on the bench at the Junior Water Polo Championships in Velenta, Bihor. That's in Romania, where Sebastian is a marketing manager. The Croatian team didn't win that day though; the Hungarians won. https://www.flickr.com/photos/sebishor/368027532/
The woman sitting on the stump is modelling a two piece swimsuit in 1946 in Tampa, Flordia. The photograph comes from the State Archives of Florida, available at http://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/66749
Aloha Stickers in Hawaii makes all kinds of decals; animals, sci-fi, fantasy, religious, place names, etc. There are lots of sports decals and the gymnastics guy vaulting over the horse just had to be in this story. www.etsy.com/shop/alohastickers It's also, of course, in the Year of the Horse Bench story.
The man riding a horse bench is Bimble, who lives in Swansea. On this occasion he is bimbling along in the North Yorkshire Moors where maybe such things are common. Judging from his photostream, Bimble is keen on archery and he seems to have attended rather a lot of London's Olympic and Paralympic events. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bimbling_along/
Books About Town book benches appeared all around London in the summer of 2014 www.booksabouttown.org.uk and also in my World Book Day story about benchy librarians. Maureen Barlin photographed many of them, including the Wisden Cricketers' Almanac, and the Scott of the Anaractic bench.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/maureen_barlin/14822428859 Maureen lives in Richmond near London and gets out and about throughout the UK with her camera. She has glorious albums of all kinds of art, culture and fun events. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is known as the Bible of Cricket. Published annually since 1864, it is considered the world's most famous sports reference book and the longest running sports annual in history. The splendid book bench was at London Wall.The artist is Trevor Skempton
The bench fished out of the river was the river Mystic in Connecticut. The photograph, taken in March 2014, is by Eric Heupel at https://www.flickr.com/photos/eclectic-echoes/13674124245 Eric likes photographing wildlife and birds and other living creatures at http://other95.blogspot.com/
Derek A saw some abandoned golf clubs, bag and all, on a bench in Akishima-shi, Tokyo in 2007. Hmm. Makes you wonder. Maybe some golfer got
The Frozen in Time book bench is for the diary of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, better known as Scott of the Antarctic. Born in 1868, Scott was a Royal Navy officer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition which claimed his life in 1912. Scott's diary has been in print since it was first published in 1913 and has sold almost 250,000 copies. The bench artist is Charles Bezzina and it was photographed by Maureen Barlin, as above. https://www.flickr.com/photos/maureen_barlin/14874915360 Speaking of Frozen, we've had some very cold benches from Snowvenia this winter.
Over-indulging in Mrs. Paragon's cake is a hazard at all ages. The little cake eater was photographed in 2008 after eating too much birthday cake. Thanks to Scott Whigham for the photo. Other photos of Whigam family activities can be seen at www.whigham.org
I am sorry to say that the Strawberry House is not really our clubhouse. It is a bus stop in Japan, one of a series of sixteen fruit and vegetable bus stops in Isahaya City, Japan. The photo is Toxels 15 Unusual and Creative Bus Stops 2009. http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2009/05/01/15-unusual-and-creative-bus-stops/ For more benches from Japan see
The more observant of you will have realised that Virtue's goalie gear is for hockey rather than football. This is Blackhawk goalie Murray Bannerman in the goalie mask Hall of Fame on 13 Apr 2012 http://www.totalprosports.com/2011/11/01/12-scariest-hockey-masks/
The tradition of scary hockey masks began in 1959 when legendary Montreal Canadiens netminder Jacques Plante became the first goalie in the NHL to wear a mask that entirely covered his face. Since then NHL goalies have used mask designs as a way of intimidating opponents.
The male cheerleader is not Mr. Paragon. It's someone on Chillout Point's list of the 15 ugliest cheerleaders. http://www.chilloutpoint.com/funny/the-ugliest-cheerleaders-show-top-15.html Miggy said she thinks he looks quite cute.
The pretty white bench is a love seat photographed by Andy Roberts, who lives in East London. https://www.flickr.com/photos/aroberts/2416395374/ Andy works with online communities, research and technology and runs a blog at www.distributedresearch.net/blog
Speaking of love seats, there are plenty of romantic benches at
Pudsey Parsons did not go off in a sulk. The planker (that's a p, folks, not a w) is the man face down on the bench, who is one of the incredibly talented sports men, women and indeed children, from www.iplanking.com/awkward/planking
I've had this link for several years and it appears that iplanking may be for sale, so I can't vouch for it.
Next time on Benchsite
It's Grammar and Punctuation Day soon so I'll finally get to dig out my speciallly selected grammar and punctuation benches. You'll be surprised how much you can learn from a properly punctuated bench!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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