Christmas in the Woodland

Christmas in the Woodland

Christmas celebrations come in all sorts and descriptions but possibly the most unusual one to be found locally is the decorated tree within Tarvin Woodland. Here, a tree planted to commemorate the founder of our Woodland (Jim Grogan) is each year decorated by a group of people who don't know each other and whose only connection is a love of our Woodland (and perhaps the need to walk their dogs!). (Jim's tree is the one of the pair of yew trees that is nearer to the path, almost opposite our storage container at Hockenhull Lane, close to the power lines. Jim himself planted the other (larger) tree to celebrate the life of his elder brother Ben.)

Each year, during the early weeks of December, the users of the Woodland bring along appropriate decorations and put them on the tree, so that, little by little, it becomes a riot of colour and sparkle that can gladden one's heart on a miserable and dull winter day. There are a few (very obvious) rules that apply:

• none of the ornaments must be made of breakable glass;
• the tree must not be harmed in any way;
• hands must be washed after hanging the ornaments (because yew is poisonous);
• and EVERYTHING hung on the the tree must be removed by the person who put it there before the middle of January.

No one plans the display. No one organises the decoration. No one artistically arranges the ornaments. It is truly a community activity, with those individuals taking part doing so only because they wish to do so. So, when you walk through the Woodland during the Christmas period and see the tree standing there in all its finery, you will know that here is a very special Christmas greeting brought to you by the users of the Woodland. Truly a Christmas greeting from a part of the Tarvin community to the rest of the Tarvin community. How splendidly appropriate!