An iconic landmark is brought down

Last week the UK lost one of its most iconic spots. To be fair I didn’t even know it existed until someone posted its picture on Twitter (or X as its now called) stating how saddened they were that it had gone.

The iconic landmark was a Sycamore Tree located at a spot called the Sycamore Gap near Hadrian’s Wall that was built by the Romans. The tree was over 300 years old and was featured in the 1991 production of ‘Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves’. It was, in fact, also called ‘The Robin Hood Tree’.

There are many beautiful trees around the UK, and indeed around the world. But this tree had a special something about it. I don’t know what that is but I have the feeling that it had something to do with the way it stood quite alone in the middle of what looked like a basin-like landmass rising on either side of it.

I say the tree has been lost because in the dead of night last Wednesday, a chain was taken to it and the tree felled. The culprits took advantage of the fact that it was a stormy night so the sound of the chainsaw was masked by the thunder and lightning.

They call it vandalism? But was it? How does one define vandalism? Yes it can be spontaneous and, yes, I suppose it could also be planned. In this case it was definitely planned.

Inspectors to the felled tree site examined the tree stump and the felled tree and noticed that white paint had been applied to a specific area of the trunk so that the saw could cut it precisely. There’s also talk of finding no sawdust. Where did it go? Did the culprits clear it up before people woke up or before the storm broke? Or was the sawdust just blown away by the strong winds that night? Of course this is all speculation.

Police seem to have arrested a 16-year-old and a 60-year-old. The latter denies any wrongdoing and I believe him.

A lot of people smell a rat and so do I. Some say environmentalists did it to teach the world a lesson on how plants can be lost through climate change. But that seems like an oxymoron to me. Others are saying it was a business entity that was responsible. Apparently they needed to put some sort of line through that very spot but the tree was a hindrance because it was the tree that made that particular spot iconic. It was because of the tree that the spot was called the Sycamore Gap.

Anyway, no matter what the reason was, I think it’s very sad that such a beautiful tree was cut down.

To be honest, if it was someone trying to send a message, they’re doing a terrible job of it.

I always wonder why environmentalists, for example, have to deface artwork to show they care about the environment. How is that showing they care for it? They’re just making themselves look nutty. By defacing artwork, the most they are doing is succeeding in annoying people and the community, and art lovers. Don’t they realise that those who love art also love the natural environment? In fact, it’s mostly art lovers and artists, artists even more so, who are extremely upset when the natural environment is hacked away to make way for new development. The natural environment is what makes artists love to paint landscapes. So, to me, those activists are barking up the wrong tree.

I also find it extraordinarily shocking when people with some cause go about contaminating items that are for consumption. What kind of message do they think they are conveying there? That they care about something? Surely they don’t care about something as much as they care about life? What if someone were to get really hurt, or worse, die, because they consumed something that had been contaminated? Again, what kind of reaction are they hoping for? The most that will happen is that they will be up on a murder or manslaughter charge, if they get caught, and, if they didn’t they’d most likely be labelled terrorists who should not be bargained with.

To be honest, no one will ever know for sure what goes through the mind of someone intent on damaging public property. If their aim is to get someone’s attention, well that they certainly got, but it could well be the wrong kind of attention and won’t get them what they want.

Why was the Sycamore Gap destroyed? Well, I have the feeling that it wasn’t just vandalism but bigger fish at play and it was most likely a business-related issue.