Thanks Bert...

Woke up this morning to Facebook messages all bewailing the loss of the old Willow Tree in the middle of the village. 

The tree is on land owned by the Parish Council, which unfortunately made it my priority pre-breakfast. It was also covered by a Tree Preservation Order, but strangely this did not preserve it from the ravages of Storm Bert.

Happily, by the time I'd got there, villagers were already at work, removing the debris from the main road, and pulling out chainsaws (correctly certified and insured chainsaws, I should add). 

The tree will almost certainly need to be felled and removed entirely. Its remaining limb hangs in toward a residence, and although the storm is abating it can't stand unbalanced like that for long. It might be worth pollarding, time will tell.

Having taken copious photos, arranged for road demarcation and for a tree surgeon to visit tomorrow, I went back to write it up, where the lovely Janet brought me my delayed breakfast. :-)