Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree …

21 December 2020

This year sees the tenth annual Christmas Tree Festival staged at All Saints’ Parish Church.  It’s fantastic that it’s gone ahead, albeit in a reduced ‘Covid safe’ fashion.

The trees were put up last week, spaced at the end of alternate pews to maintain social distance for those looking at them, and with larger trees on windowsills and in the area behind the pulpit (is it called the nave?)

The church is open for visitors from 10 till 12 every morning except Christmas Day and Sunday 27th, with the trees on display until December 31st.

I’ve taken part in the festival since 2011 when, along with other volunteers from the Old Rectory Museum, we decorated a tree covered in snippets of history.

In 2018, I displayed a tree for the Hidden Stories Hidden Voices writing project I lead in the summer – though instead of a tree, I was a bit creative and used a willow plant support instead!

Last year ORM volunteers put together a small tree once again, with decorations themed on the Museum and on some of the exhibitions we’d had there over the year. I’m pleased to say that tree’s on display again this year, as is one put together by members of the Church Mice Writing Group – a (now online) group I run which grew out of the Hidden Stories Hidden Voices project.

Lots of local organisations display trees at the festival and there’s usually a range of very creative designs (I’m always chuffed to spot the tree by my favourite hostelry, the Three Nuns!) Fingers crossed we can have the full festival back in place next December, but in the meantime, pop in and have a look at the current one if you’re in the area over the next week and a bit.