The daughter of a Suffolk couple is hoping to track down a mysterious well-wisher who left a painted stone on a memorial bench set up in memory of her parents.
Melanie Green said she was visiting the seat close to the mouth of the River Deben at Felixstowe, which bears plaques in memory of her father and mother Tony and Mary Game, when she found the stone which has been painted in light blue and has an anchor symbol on it.
She said the couple, who lived in Lansdowne Road in the town, were avid sailors and once travelled to Belgium in their Westerly 22 sailboat, called 'Vinca'.
The stone was left on a bench for Tony and Mary Game (Image: Melanie Green)READ MORE: Permanent Covid-19 memorial built from painted pebbles in Suffolk village
They were also both teachers at Felixstowe schools - Mr Game at the then-Orwell High School until he retired in the 1970s, while his wife taught at Kingsfleet Primary School for 30 years.
Mr Game died in 2021 aged 86 and his ashes were scattered in the River Deben, while his wife died in June aged 85.
Melanie said a friend of hers had suggested turning the stone over to see if it had been signed on the back by the creator, but she had not done so yet and intended to do so when she returned to the bench.
She added she had gone to see the plaque for the first time since her mother's death.
READ MORE: Felixstowe Finds sends thousands flocking to the seaside for pebble painting craze
The plaques in memory of Tony and Mary Game (Image: Melanie Green)"I had just gone down to see the plaque for the first time and there was this pebble and it just struck me.
"It just made me smile really. It was just really sweet and really poignant. It could have been a random act, but it just hit me."
READ MORE: Felixstowe news
In recent years, there has been a craze for people young and old to collect pebbles from the beach at Felixstowe to paint and hide for others to find.
The stone left on the bench (Image: Melanie Green)
And in July 2020, the EADT reported how Sandee Sledmere had created a COVID-19 memorial in Otley using painted stones.
To the well-wisher who laid the stone on the bench, Melanie said: "I would just like to say thank you really. It is just a lovely gesture."
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