A woman on a birdwatching expedition in Little Wormwood Scrubs has uncovered a mystery ancient Hawaiian prayer on the park benches.
Barbara Crowther, of Ladbroke Grove, has frequently visited the park throughout lockdown but only recently took notice of a curious bench inscription reading: ‘Please forgive me’.
After taking her findings to social media, Barbara learned from other neighbours that the bench was one of a series of four, making up an ancient Hawaiian Ho’oponopono Prayer for transformation and healing.
Barbara said: “I think lockdown has meant there’s been these moments when we’ve forced to slow down.
“But if you stop in the middle of the scrub, wait and listen, you start to spot things out of the corner of your eye.
“That’s what happened that morning.
“It was my last little circuit and I was on my way to the exit. I happened to glance at that bench and it just really made me stop.”
Having learnt what the inscriptions symbolise, she now questions what the story is behind them and who put them there.
Having captured the attention of locals, there are now a few theories surrounding the curious park benches.
One is the possibility the inscriptions are linked to an ex-prisoner from Wormwood Scrubs who may have used the prayer to seek forgiveness.
She said: “For people who do meditation it’s called prayer of atonement.
“It’s about recognizing where you’ve gone astray and acknowledging that then asking the person or the universe for forgiveness.
“Does the person want to be forgiven? What have they done and is it a message to somebody else?”
The mysterious origins of the Little Wormwood Scrubs park benches have yet to be uncovered so if you have any information about them, please get in touch.
Feature image: Barbara Crowther
