Restored memorial bench leaves family over the moon

A memorial bench, of great sentimental value to a family, has been given a new lease of life and returned to gardens at Lynn.The original bench, dedicated to Archie and Dorothy Adams, had been in Tower Gardens for almost 19 years when a family member noticed it was looking a little worse for wear.Louise Ramasso, granddaughter of Archie and Dorothy, contacted West Norfolk Council and the authority enlisted the help of the town’s Men’s Shed whose members have restored the bench to its former glory.

Louise said: “This bench means a lot and is a lasting memory of my family’s parents and grandparents in a beautiful location in the heart of King’s Lynn. Although I’m pleased that people regularly use it, it had seen better days and needed to be repaired.“I contacted the borough council who, in turn, got in touch with men’s shed for me. I’m grateful for the time and effort they put in restoring it back to its glory and we were very pleased to donate some money in thanks of all they’ve done.”Cllr Simon Ring, deputy leader and cabinet member for business, said: “It’s wonderful that we have lasting memorials to residents in many of our public open spaces and I’m grateful to Louise for coming to us when she felt that her families bench needed some attention.

“King’s Lynn Men’s Shed is a fantastic organisation who contribute so much to our area, and I too thank them for what they’ve done. The bench now looks brand new and fits in nicely at Tower Gardens.” Cllr Deborah Heneghan, ward member for St Margaret’s with St Nicholas, said: “We’re lucky to have Tower Gardens in our town. The Public Open Space team do an incredible job looking after it throughout the year.“I’m pleased that Louise pointed out that this bench needed a repair and what a fantastic solution to work with the men’s shed. I thank our public open space team for their work and quick thinking, alongside the men’s shed for the restoration work they carried out.”