Being born in the late fifties I have few recollections of that austere decade, almost all of my earliest memories are from the brasher, brighter and less restrained sixties.
As a result
my early memories of Christmas are of a bright and sparkly time when paper
chains and the watery colours of paper stars, bells and balls were being
replaced by foil and tinsel.
Hence the
Silver Tinsel Christmas Tree, looking back it was a quite unspectacular specimen
of a tree compared to what’s on offer nowadays, but we loved it.
It stood
less than 5 feet tall with its fold down tinsel covered wire branches tipped
with red beads to symbolise berries.
However by
the time Dad had worked his not inconsiderable magic and covered it with every
size, shape and shade of bauble, glass birds with feathered tails, lantern
lights, strands of brightly coloured tinsel, chocolate treats and tiny crackers
lain on the branches it was transformed and was absolutely stunning,
It was the
only Christmas tree I ever knew until my teenage years came to an end when in
the mid-seventies I suggested we have a real tree just for a change.
I would
never have suggested it if I had realised that it would signal the death knell
of the Silver Tinsel Tree as the following year it was replaced by a green
plastic tree more akin to those of today.
After my Dad
died a few years later the task of decorating the tree fell to me and I
realised sadly that I hadn’t inherited his tree dressing skill and was never
able to equal him.
I came close
one year, in 1983 but I think in the end I merely flattered to deceive.
Thankfully the
task has fallen to my wife for the past 29 years, she makes a far better fist
of it than I ever could, whether she possesses the necessary skill to transform
a Silver Tinsel Tree however we will never know.
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