Oh! Christmas Tree!

It's December, and the press is picking up on stories of weird and wacky trees again. Argos are selling their inverted tree again. 
The theory is that it takes up less floor space, and also is safer for children and pets, because they cannot reach up to decorations suspended from the top.  They obviously have not met Monty the Cat. However I have discovered that inverted trees, suspended from the ceiling, have been popular in Europe for centuries. They were called Trinity Trees, and the shape was said to represent a crucifix - a reminder that Christ was born at Christmas to live and die to be our Saviour. [I have no quibbles with their theology]

These trees are called podłazniczek [pawd-wahz-NEE-chek]
Clearly if you live in a barn, the concept of being inaccessible, six feet above the ground is feasible.
If you live in a very small home, maybe you should consider another sort of tree...

How about this bizarre quarter-tree, which tucks tidily into a corner? Madness! I won't even bother to post a picture of Wilko's white weeping willow - with built in lights! I am not keen on pink trees either.

The press is also having a field day with 'public' trees. In Derby there has been a lot of fuss because the council have cordoned off the tree for Health and Safety Reasons

Strathbungo Council in Glasgow [what a great name!] had that criticism last year, so this year have opted for a closer, neater, picket fence

Sudbury Council in Suffolk returned their tree to Elvedon Forestfor a replacement. When they unwrapped it, it had bald patches and 'looked like it had been through a hurricane'!

Ullapool in the Highlands have repeated their well-received display from last year. Celebrating the local fishing heritage, a 16 foot tree has been created using fishing creels.

We are doing our bit here at UCF - Jenny and Alison, with additional assistance from Steve, Peter and Simon, have got the trees up and all the other decorations festooned round the premises, ready for today's Coffee Morning, and all the other Christmas events which are on the calendar.

The red tree has our 'Names of Jesus' decorations from 2015, and the gold one has the doves and 'Fruits of the Spirit' from 2016. This year's tree is still a WIP. Bob's cold delayed the construction till the end of the week. He constructed it in the garden, then brought it into the lounge through the patio doors, so that I could 'dress' it. And then we realised we'd have an issue with getting it out of the Manse, into the car, and across to the Festival on Monday. The best laid plans of Mice and Ministers gang aft a-gley

IMPORTANT UPDATESp; My GITP costumes are some years old, and I discovered on Saturday that the child-sized angel outfits were a bit tight. Elizabeth at Small Moments had the same problem.  I have just modified the tutorial. Children clearly are getting larger! My apologies if you've had problems too.

ALSO At Thomas Hospital they have been inundated with bonding squares, and do not need any more. Hopefully someone will turn their surplus squares into blankets.