Whitstable, Our Fourth Bench Reveal of the Day 💙
September 27th 2026
Our fourth and final Bench unveiling of the day took us to beautiful Whitstable.
After everything we had already experienced that day, you could have forgiven us for being tired, but walking into the unveiling and seeing the number of local people who had given up their Sunday to come and support us gave us another lift.
The turnout was fantastic.
It means so much when people come along simply because they believe in what we are trying to do. They may not realise just how much their support means to us, but believe me, we notice every single person.
We were also very blessed to have Sheriff Steph with us, along with local Councillor and MP Chris Cornell, Fran from Whitstable Football Club and Matt from Head of the Game Charity.
It really was a wonderful group of people coming together for one reason, to help keep the conversation around mental health and suicide prevention going.
The speeches
The speeches, as always, were very special.
Sheriff Steph spoke first, followed by Chris Cornell and then Matt, with brief words from Maria and myself.
There was so much honesty and feeling in what was said. Nobody was there just to make a speech for the sake of it. You could feel that everyone understood why we were standing there and why these benches matter.
For me, that is what makes these occasions so powerful.
The unveiling
Then came the moment of the unveiling. It was just such a beautiful sight.
Seeing everyone gathered around the bench, waiting for the covering to come away, and then watching it being revealed was another one of those moments that is difficult to put into words.
You look at the bench and you know that it is going to sit there long after we have all gone home. It will be there long into the darkness of the night, but just like the stars, the darker it gets the brighter it will shine.💙🙏
Sheriff Steph, thank you so much for coming along and for the lovely words you shared with us. Your support and the way you spoke about the importance of what we are doing meant a great deal.
Chris Cornell local Councillor and MP, thank you for being there and for your lovely words, also for showing your support for Legend on the Bench and for the Whitstable community. Having local people who care about this subject makes such a difference.
Fran from Whitstable Football Club, thank you for coming along and supporting us. Football has such an incredible reach and it is fantastic to have people from the football community standing alongside us in this fight.
And Matt from Head of the Game Charity, thank you for your support and for the words you shared. It was lovely having you there and hearing your passion for helping people.
To every single person who came along on Sunday, thank you. You gave up part of your weekend to stand with us, and we honestly couldn’t ask for more.
And to everyone who donated towards this bench, helped raise the funds, supported the charity or shared our message, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Without you, none of this would be possible.
So Whitstable, thank you for welcoming us. Thank you for standing beside us. Thank you for believing in what we are trying to achieve. We leave Whitstable, very tired, very emotional and very proud, but most of all, very grateful.🙏
“We leave Kent with tired bodies, full hearts and a little more hope left behind than we found, because wherever we go, we don’t just leave a bench behind, we leave a message that someone, somewhere, is always listening💙🙏
You are not alone.💙
Maria Howden, Ray Berry and East Kent Spurs, we have done a seperate page to thank you for your support, 14 Benches, £28,000, absolutely you deserve your own page of thanks X💙🙏
