The Benches will all remain in place until September 2023, so there is still time to go and see/enjoy them, before they are returned to each individual School.
On 21st June, I was invited, by both the Tower of London and Miss Hearne (Teacher of HB2 Class at Loughton School) to visit the Bench with the children on their VIP day!
Well…….I felt I *had* to go and……SURPRISE them!
So…… we all kept my visit a huge secret!
On the day, I hid behind a tree near to the Bench and jumped out for the ‘official photos’…….(we’ve yet to see if anyone ‘managed’ to take that shot!)- needless to say the children were initially a bit shocked, then were absolutely delighted……..it was such a special way to spend part of the day with them!
Here are some of the photos from the day (one of the photos is with the very kind permission of the School).
Footnote: After spending some time with the children, I met and “quick sketched” one of the Beefeaters at the Tower. This introduction proved to be incredibly fortuitous, as he invited myself and my partner to a special event called the “Ceremony of the Keys” as his guests. This wonderful event takes place every evening (and has done for the last 750 years, I believe) as the Tower is locked up for the night. It was incredible to feel we had participated in a ‘little part of history’ and is certainly an experience we’ll never forget.
