Recently, one of the town council candidates wrote in an election bulletin that “Abingdon is a vibrant, bustling town.” A letter to the Abingdon Herald said the candidate “must wear rose-tinted spectacles“.

The candidate replied “As the laboratory manager for an independent local optician, I pride myself on my ability to tint quality prescription lenses. I don’t wear rose-tinted sunglasses: for spring, I like light brown.” He went on to say ” Abingdon is no ghost town. It’s alive and it has a healthy heart.” Now somebody has left a comment ” Healthy Heart maybe but all the arteries are blocked.”

Anyway, now for an experiment, can I ask you to look at the picture above of a tree in St Helens Court, first without spectacles.

Now look at it with rose-tinted spectacles, and you will see a deep fissure up the side. The bark and trunk has split and the tree is dieing on this near side. I would argue that rose-tinted spectacles should not be so maligned.