Editing Richmond Park (section)

====Ian Dury====

In 2002 a "musical bench", designed by Mil Stricevic,<ref name="Stricevic">{{cite web | website= Milish|title=Reasons to be Cheerful 2000| url=https://www.milish.studio/#/reasons-to-be-cheerful/| access-date=14 February 2024 }}</ref> was placed in a favoured viewing spot of rock singer and lyricist [[Ian Dury]] (1942–2000) near Poet's Corner. On the back of the bench are the words "[[Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3|Reasons to be cheerful]]", the title of one of Dury's songs.<ref name="Monuments"/> The [[solar-power]]ed seat was intended to allow visitors to plug in and listen to eight of his songs as well as an interview, but was subjected to repeated [[vandalism]].<ref name="Mirror">{{cite news | url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/the-blockheads-star-ian-durys-musical-203992 | title=The Blockheads star Ian Dury's musical memorial repeatedly vandalised in London's Richmond Park | work=[[Daily Mirror]] | location= London|date=26 January 2012 | access-date=4 July 2024}}</ref> In 2015 the bench was refurbished and the [[MP3 players]] and solar panels were replaced with metal plates on which a [[QR code]] can be scanned via a [[smartphone]]. Visitors can access nine [[Ian Dury and the Blockheads]] songs and hear Dury's ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'' interview with [[Sue Lawley]], first broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4]] on 15 December 1996.<ref name="Dury bench">{{Cite web |url=https://iandury.co.uk/memorial-bench/ |title=The 'Reasons to Be Cheerful' Sonic Vista Bench |website= [[Ian Dury]]|access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref>