The great oak tree

The great oak tree

It stood there like some beloved guardian overlooking and monitoring the peace and quiet of the fourteenth century village. The oak tree was by all standards magnificent. There was much speculation in the village as to its exact age. The betting was between 300 and 320 years old. Its size represented power, its branches represented strength, but beyond that its foliage left, when the sun shined, a pattern of shadows that beckoned one to lie under its branches and admire its beauty, It stood in the village square and was the centre of many demonstrations. It the spring time there was a festival to herald the blossoms and the waking up of nature. At this period the villagers and their guests danced round the tree in glee. While during the summer there were picnics organized every month. In the autumn as its leaves turned to a golden brown the villages conducted a ceremony of praise for the harvest. There was also an old fable that flouted around the village which stated…. to stay in good health every villager should touch the bark on the great oak twice a year. Over many, many years one could see the signs of human fingers caressing the bark. There were many believers.

There was another story that had circulated over the generations that years ago a local squire donated the tree. It was at a time when men were fitted out with armour before leaving for battle. They say these knights came in all their splendour to the village square to pray in front of the oak tree. No doubt in those days the oak would have been relatively small. The fair wind of folklore relates that the squire had planted the tree at the death of his wife. She had unhappily died in a hunting accident. It is said the tree came from his château’s grounds situated some 10 kilometres away. The rumour of why he planted the tree on the village green was that his wife was much admired and a tireless supporter of the poor. So once a year the villages, joined by the surrounding three villages, paraded their veterans of battles fought on behalf of their country. The local priest yearly holds a service in their honour under the great oak tree. The local children love this day as they try and guess what the veterans' various medals represent.

I remember when I was in my early twenties I left the village to seek my fortune. But when I occasionally returned, after hugging my parents, I excused myself and made a beeline to stand under the magnificent oak. At that moment I knew I was home. I will tell you a little secret. I enjoyed my first passionate teenager kiss, shielded from prying eyes by trees overhanging branches. Never to be forgotten.

It must have been about a year ago a rather loud self opinionated American tourist was having a drink in the local pub. He was extolling the magnificence of the oak tree, its beauty and size. Never in all his travels had he seen an oak tree of this splendour. He asked how old the villagers present thought the tree was. There was a chorus of voices declaring they thought it was over three hundred years old. The American said a rather astonishing thing. It needs to be looked at if you want it to survive another hundred years. For some reason it is not happy, either it has root problems or is affected by today’s pollution. On hearing this one of the local residents immediately asked if the American was an expert on tree care. The reply came swiftly. I am responsible to the US government for all the federal forests. I have a certain amount of experience. Another local asked how he knew the oak was suffering from something. The reply took a few seconds as the American look at the various faces turned in his direction. I can tell by looking at the leaves on the lower branches. I also picked off one leave and saw signs of stress that should not have been there. Today the situation is not alarming but within the next year or two you would be well advised to find the cause and treat it. I suggest you employ an expert to come and study the situation. Mister how long are you staying? I leave tomorrow morning. Would you have time to talk to the mayor. I plan to leave at 11 o’clock. I will get the mayor and maybe two members of the village’s councillors to meet you at ten. If the tree dies the village dies with it. The next morning the meeting took place. The mayor listened carefully and asked many questions. The American told him it was probably a root problem. At the meeting conclusion the American left his address and asked to be informed as to the experts conclusion and the treatment proposed; a tree of this nature must be saved at all costs. Just as he was walking through the front door he turned and suggested that they carefully controlled the village’s water flow as he had noticed a stream running through the hamlet.

The mayor was a prudent man. He only had a small operating budget. His first reaction was to verify that the American was the man he claimed to be. He checked out, in fact he had the statue of one of the world’s authorities on tree care and often lectured at various conferences. The next step was to appoint a specialist, who confirmed the great oak was under stress, but he thought it might be extremely difficult to find the cause. The mayor remembered the American ending suggestion to examine the village’s water flow. A month later the experts found small traces of toxic waste in the stream flowing through the village. The mayor, surrounded by experts, a counsellor and the mayor’s golden retriever immediately studied a detailed map of the area. The stream flowed into the village from the North. It was a small tributary of a large river that flowed north of the village at a horizontal angle about twenty kilometres away. A member of the group suddenly intervened. He pointed out at the junction where the stream siphoned off some of the river’s overflow, about ten years ago a large pharmaceutical company had constructed a unity. Without exception heads were raised, the map being of no more interest. The following week the mayor, accompanied by two experts and his assistant sat in front of the direction of the pharmaceutical unit. I can assure you we are most careful about toxic waste, we fully realise it has a damaging effect on the environment. Let me get a clear picture, you say the stream that runs through your village contains signs of toxic waste. Your village is twenty kilometre from here. Come with me I want to check something. The group were led through an immaculately clear factory floor to the back warehouse. The director called the supervisor. Morning George, I am accompanied by the mayor of Donnington and his advisers. They tell me they have found signs of toxic waste in the stream that flows south to their village. In my opinion the toxic waste is no concern of this factory. There was a pause while George collected his thoughts. You remember three years ago when we started producing A234. The small amount of waste generated from this production we all agreed that it would be safe to allow it to flow into the stream. There was a stunned silence.

David Nutt …...April 2021