Well done. Mac, another Forum tradition maintained.
On the subject of traditions, I am ashamed to have to admit that I let the standards slip this Christmas.
For the last (almost) 30 years we have hung our Christmas tree upside down. It's not entirely about rejection of the whole unnecessary satan Claus myth; it started as a practical solution to a problem.
In our previous house we used to put up an artificial tree in the conservatory. It was a lean-to style which I built, and the roof led right up to the window ledge of the first floor, so had 17ft of headroom. When our twins were born, we had also just acquired a couple of cats, and found very quickly that a normal tree on its stand was a magnet for small hands and paws.
Applying logical a thought process, (which, at the time, I was still capable of) I decided that suspending the tree from the conservatory roof would lift it high enough so that adults could walk under it and it would be out of the reach of small fingers.
So, up it went, and it looked bloody stupid.
I have no clue as to why, but my brain then suggested that I try hanging it upside down. When I did, it looked a lot better. Any decorations attached to the end of branches were no longer buried on artificial foliage; they hung in clear air, and the whole thing looked vibrant and colourful.
We have carried on hanging the tree upside down ever since.
When we moved to our current house the ceilings weren't high enough to hang it inside, so it moved to the porch.
And there it has remained every year since. Until this season...
In December '24, the tree started to show its age. When I unfolded the lower branches a couple of them snapped off, so I issued an emergency appeal to the local population for an unwanted tree, and one was donated. I went to put it up in December, but found that, over the last 30 years, design "improvements" have crept in, under my radar.
On our newly-acquired tree, where the branches join the trunk, (instead of fixed wires which you had to bend into position) they've added little loops that act as hinges, so that when you lift the tree up in the usual orientation, the branches fall into place as a natural consequence of the effects of gravity and their own mass. But when inverted, they won't hold their position, slumping back to the trunk. Great for storage, but not for me.
I considered welding, but the plastic artificial needles might not have cooperated due to the heat produced.
As it was too late to acquire an old design of tree- all of the new ones in B and Q were of the new design- we had to endure the shame of having a "normal" tree this year, to my chagrin, and the p1sstaking of my friends. But I have now tracked down an old-style tree, so it will be business as usual next December, and every December going forward.
By the way, the eagle-eyed amongst you might have noticed the little boat affixed at the pointy end of the tree.
That, of course, is the ferry at the top of the Christmas tree.
Anywho, well done, Mac, traditions are, I think, worth the effort in keeping them, even if you eventually forget how and why they started, and it doesn't seem worth the time and trouble.
It's not falling off, it's an upgrade opportunity.
