One moment this fine fir tree was growing in a forest, and the next it’s been cut, hauled across the country on a lorry, and stood up in Abingdon-on-Thames Market Place.

By Saturday 15th November a fence had been placed around it, and a Palestinian flag was on display as part of a pro Palestinian protest. (Bethlehem, where the Christmas story begins, is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, and so the connection is not that far fetched.)

Today, the tree was surrounded by Monday Market stalls and their vans. On the stationary stall are notebooks and 2026 diaries. 2025 seems like the fastest year ever.