Hoping No 10 has a merry Christmas – around my 18ft tree

12:00pm Friday 22nd October 2010 in Local News By Christine Sexton

Tall order – Christmas Tree Farm owner Martin Hurley hopes one of his specimens will grace the outside of No 10 Tall order – Christmas Tree Farm owner Martin Hurley hopes one of his specimens will grace the outside of No 10

CHRISTMAS Tree Farm in Hawkwell is in the running to provide a Christmas Tree for Downing Street.

The farm in Rectory Road has been announced as a finalist in a nationwide competition run by the British Christmas Tree Growers’ Association.

Tradition has it the champion grower has the honour of delivering the Prime Minister a spectacular 18ft Christmas tree to start the Christmas festivities at No 10. The tree is placed, for all the world to see, outside Downing Street Owner Martin Hurley, said: “The farm has been growing Christmas trees for more than 30 years, through three generations of the same family and it is a real honour to be put forward on our first year of entering the competition.

“We have normally been too busy getting the site ready for opening to the public, as we do each year on December 1, to enter. However, we are increasingly being asked by all manner of organisations to supply larger trees up to 20ft high for public display, so we decided to enter the competition.”

While the farm is very much a seasonal enterprise, work goes on throughout the year.

Mr Hurley said: “Everyone thinks we just open for December and that is all we do.

“But preparations for our opening are well under way and supplying large trees to town halls and public squares like that required for No 10 will be under way from mid-November.

“As the largest Christmas tree farm in Essex there is always much to do, but we do not start to cut our trees for general public sales until the last few days of November.

“We continue cutting through December for our policy is to supply the freshest real Christmas trees available.”

The farm is up against 15 other finalists. The winner will be announced today.

Comments (8)

2:16pm Fri 22 Oct 10

Alice in Her Own Land :P says...

Hopefully Downing St. WILL want it. Can't see much need for 18ft trees in the average living room....
Hopefully Downing St. WILL want it. Can't see much need for 18ft trees in the average living room.... Alice in Her Own Land :P

2:52pm Fri 22 Oct 10

Keith London says...

I would have thought that a Christmas Tree might be surplus to need as the country tightens it's belts after Gideon Osbourne's announcement this week.
I would have thought that a Christmas Tree might be surplus to need as the country tightens it's belts after Gideon Osbourne's announcement this week. Keith London

6:04pm Fri 22 Oct 10

psorias says...

Surely No10 is confused - we are supposed to be having cut-backs, not cut downs! But seriously 18' couldn't they make do this year with a 5' or 6' tree.
Surely No10 is confused - we are supposed to be having cut-backs, not cut downs! But seriously 18' couldn't they make do this year with a 5' or 6' tree. psorias

8:49pm Fri 22 Oct 10

Southendman says...

If you win can you tell me when you likely to deliver it to No. 10? I like to hide a massive great powerful explosive in the tree that when it goes off we hopefully take out both the gits - Cameron & Osbourne. A xmas present to the poor of this country that you two have victimised from the day you moved into Downing Street.
If you win can you tell me when you likely to deliver it to No. 10? I like to hide a massive great powerful explosive in the tree that when it goes off we hopefully take out both the gits - Cameron & Osbourne. A xmas present to the poor of this country that you two have victimised from the day you moved into Downing Street. Southendman

9:12pm Fri 22 Oct 10

el caballero de la noche says...

Good news they deserve it having to clear up the shyt left by the Brownies and it upsets all the Socialist Workers who read this column as shown above.
Good news they deserve it having to clear up the shyt left by the Brownies and it upsets all the Socialist Workers who read this column as shown above. el caballero de la noche

7:58am Sat 23 Oct 10

fatmed says...

Good luck to them. I purchased a tree from them last year and it was excellent quality.
Good luck to them. I purchased a tree from them last year and it was excellent quality. fatmed

8:31pm Sat 23 Oct 10

Southendman says...

el caballero de la noche wrote:
Good news they deserve it having to clear up the shyt left by the Brownies and it upsets all the Socialist Workers who read this column as shown above.
The time has come for all out class war against the smug middle classes and the millionaires. Anyone that voted Tory at the last election and all fully paided up members of the Conservative party do not and will never have a shred of humanity in them.
[quote][p][bold]el caballero de la noche[/bold] wrote: Good news they deserve it having to clear up the shyt left by the Brownies and it upsets all the Socialist Workers who read this column as shown above.[/p][/quote]The time has come for all out class war against the smug middle classes and the millionaires. Anyone that voted Tory at the last election and all fully paided up members of the Conservative party do not and will never have a shred of humanity in them. Southendman

9:13pm Sat 23 Oct 10

Alice in Her Own Land :P says...

Never mind the fact that a Shrek-lookalike now earns 250k a week.... and we are supposed to be in a recession... you couldn't make it up...
Never mind the fact that a Shrek-lookalike now earns 250k a week.... and we are supposed to be in a recession... you couldn't make it up... Alice in Her Own Land :P

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