Dunton Green's Little Christmas Tree

Our small but perfectly formed tree is, in case you had not realised, very much real and it is planted firmly in the ground of the village green. It will grow in Dunton Green soil and will become resplendent over the coming years. It is tiny now, we acknowledge that, but professional advice received is that planting anything larger was risky if we want it to thrive and secure its longevity.

This year has brought about so many issues for all of us and the Parish Council has not been unaffected. Annual events had to be cancelled and we have all missed the opportunities that we normally have for the village to come together. There were plans for more illuminations for Christmas, but they fell through at the last minute (another casualty of the impact of Covid-19). This is one of the reasons why we initiated the Light Up Dunton Green campaign, so that the community could light itself up and generate a lovely sense of neighbourhood spirit, which it very much seems to be doing.

We know it is disappointing not to have a huge focal point on the village green this year for the festivities. We are disappointed about that too, but we are extremely proud that over the course of this most awful of years, the Parish Council has funded the feeding of families in this village, has supported those organisations who look after our older residents, has supported the school and groups who look after the welfare of our younger villagers and has supported organisations that provide mental health support, who offer services for victims of domestic abuse and who provide much needed help for bereaved families. We are also very proud of the many of you in this village who have rallied this year to look after your neighbours.

Looking forward, in January we will see the launch of a community Lockdown Larder in Dunton Green (more on that in the new year), the Parish Council will continue its efforts to make Dunton Green a green and pleasant place and hopefully we will be able to start plans for some community events to celebrate an end of the pandemic.

We wish you all the very best that Christmas 2020 can offer and hope very much that 2021 eventually brings with it some positivity and a semblance of normality.

If any of you would like to get involved with the Parish Council next year, please contact the Clerk (clerk@duntongreenpc.org.uk); we would love to hear from you!