Missing the cut

If a tree falls and nobody Instagrams it, does it make a noise? Does it ever.

- Jane Clifton

Though it was only privately filmed, the illicit felling of Britain's landmark Sycamore Gap tree has caused raging debate for 18 months - including against the poor old tree.

At press time, two men faced possible prison sentences after being convicted of illegally chopping down the 150-year-old Northumberland tree in 2023 - for reasons still unclear, but with an aptitude documented on their phone recordings of the escapade.

Predictably, there was widespread dismay at the tree's demise. It was planted between two hillocks next to Hadrian's Wall during Queen Victoria’s reign by a landowner wishing to protect the wilderness area, once a frontier of the Roman Empire. The wall is now an officially protected world heritage site.

As with the felling of Auckland's lone pine on Maungakiekie One Tree Hill, the loss of any beloved landmark - even a wonky, eccentric one - is mourned with entirely justifiable sentimentality.