This afternoon, Jane and I took a little drive out into the countryside although with a couple of shopping destinations in mind rather than scenic ones. The first stop was Brinvale Bird Foods (near Long Clawson) to pick up a few more supplies for our feathered friends. We’ve been there before and, although our purchase was enough to qualify for free delivery, popping in seemed a better choice than having to wait in.

Stop two was LeisureBench, which has a small shop on the site of David Musson Fencing, not too far from Melton Mowbray. We’ve driven past it a few times but never popped in but it came to mind when we decided that it was time to buy a garden bench. I had made a start on one using pallet wood but it is a challenge to get enough decent pieces to work with and we decided the hours of time it would take would put a question mark on whether a DIY one could truly be called free.

LeisureBench don’t have a massive stock in but have a representative sample from across their ranges. That meant we could see the fit and finish and try sitting on a few different models. I think they focus more on mail order and trade customers but there were no problems dealing with them as in-person, individual enquirers. In the end, we came away with a “Boston Comfy” bench, already on sale and, as the last one in stock, with an extra discount for taking the display model away. Hurrah for our estate car, which swallowed the bench up easily for transporting it home!

Now I can focus on building a pallet wood box to go under the bench for storage. That will still take some work but, without the need to stand up to people sitting on it, the stakes are a lot lower.