PCB Benches

Postcard-book with 30 Cards to pick out.

Benches
Whether the seat is safe is something the photographers of the present collection of benches probably tested for themselves! My own garden bench under the russed-apple tree dates from the thirties, the bench from the fifties – is a solid construction of metal and wood. It is true that a couple of slats have been replaced over the years, and a few spots of rust removed, but it continues to serve me faithfully all the same. My earliest memories of it are yellow, then a newly fashionable white. Now, in its advancing years, it is a dignified matt brown. It is naturally sited in a strategic position, camouflaged by its colour, half concealed yet offering the sitter a view of the garden gate.
When we are alone on a bench, wherever in the world it may stand, it becomes the place where we may sleep, wait with philosophical expectancy, or quietly absorb distant sounds and passing smells. It is the catalyst, so to speak, of a way of living oriented to the mind and the senses. But we can also sink exhausted onto a bench – our souls filled with contempt for the world and our hearts with thoughts of death. Nevertheless, when – as bench occupants - we can invite others to „Come and sit next to me“, the bench reveals its kinship to the fireside chair. Alongside discussions about God and the world, it becomes the setting for passionate declarations of love. Or, more profanely, it may simply provide a table for bread and sausage and two bottles of beer for those who have chosen it as their permanent seat of residence.
Whether made of stone, wood or plastic: whoever shelves everything till tomorrow will always remain a backbencher, and the only way to find out which benches in life are safe to sit on is to try them for yourself.