It’s bad manners to complain about a gift of any kind, and very bad manners to complain about a Christmas present that comes with epic historical significance. But the Trafalgar Square tree, supplied from the good people of Norway every year since 1947 as a thank you to Britain for looking out for them in the second world war, is a particularly sorry sight this year.
The Norwegian spruce has, it’s true, always been a slightly underwhelming specimen. I remember it looking a little sad in the 80s. But this year it’s looking unusually flat, rather like an underfed cactus, and a lot of people have noticed. This is probably because this year the (now energy efficient) traditional Norwegian string lights adorning it are especially feeble, and do nothing to distract from the paltry pine. The moment of the big switch-on by Sadiq Khan was laughable, and went viral on the socials.
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