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Famous Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian's Wall had been deliberately cut down

A 16 year old didn’t do that, not on his own. I’m not having it.
 
It was a quick arrest. I wonder how he was found, and how certain the charge is. All the talk of "ongoing investigation" makes it sound like they're expecting him to make a deal to rat out accomplices, or reveal someone paid him to do it, or something like that.
 
Myriad said:
It was a quick arrest. I wonder how he was found, and how certain the charge is. All the talk of "ongoing investigation" makes it sound like they're expecting him to make a deal to rat out accomplices, or reveal someone paid him to do it, or something like that.
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I'm going to rush to assume it was one of these Tock Tick video challenges the youths of today think are so groovy.
 
What young person is going to lug an industrial chainsaw around just for the lolz?

Actually, my initial thinking was possibly a two-person manual saw.

But either way, I reckon a vehicle of some sort, maybe quad-bike to get to that location, with the requisite equipment.
 
bluesjnr said:
Yes
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The 1938 Errol Flynn Robn Hood was a lot better, anyway.
And I have stood in front of the Robin Hood Oak Tree in that film. located in Bidwell Park in Chico, California.Thye have a small plague by it.
But the chopping down of the Sycamore was as outrageous as example of pure vandalism as you can get. As someone active in Historica Preservation in the US< I am pretty outraged.
I hope the kid who did it gets more thea a slap on the wrist as is too common in UK justice.
 
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I'd never heard of this tree, but I'm still sad now it's gone. What an awful thing for someone to do.
 
Andy_Ross said:
A 16 year old didn’t do that, not on his own. I’m not having it.
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commandlinegamer said:
What young person is going to lug an industrial chainsaw around just for the lolz?
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Why would anyone of any age do it? Teenagers are probably more likely to do stupid things anyway. I suppose their identity will be protected because of their age? They'll probably also get a less-severe punishment for the same reason.
 
Auction off the felled tree and plant a new one in the same spot. In 100 years you'll have another grand tree. It sucks, but what else can you do? Maybe an artist or artisan can make something beautiful out of the wood. No reason to let it go to waste.
 
In honor of the tree, the remaining wall should be torn down and more trees planted where it was! That should please the historical preservationists.
 
TurkeysGhost said:
I really don't see what's so implausible about it. Don't you have rural communities where knowing how to use a chainsaw is common?
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Agreed. I was a city boy who spent some time in the country am I was felling trees of that size well before my 16th. And lugging a 24” bar saw all day was no big deal back then. Today it would wreck me for a month.

Kids who actually grew up working with saws would have even fewer issues.
 
TragicMonkey said:
In honor of the tree, the remaining wall should be torn down and more trees planted where it was! That should please the historical preservationists.
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Surely they should repurpose the stones from the ineffectual wall to build a massive plinth in honor of the tree. Or maybe just a large gabion if they can call in some chain link.
 
Jack by the hedge said:
What strikes me is yesterday's tragic UK news story was a 15 year old girl stabbed to death on the way to school by a teenage boy. Today's is a tree killed by a teenage boy.

In the abstract, it's no contest. If the thing George Washington was remembered for being unable to lie about was murdering a girl, he would have a different reputation today.

But, horrible though her senseless killing is, we didn't know the girl. Millions of us, generations of us, knew and admired the romantic, picturesque tree, at least from pictures of it if not IRL. It seems crass to think it matters at all compared to the death of a young person, but honestly it feels like it does. At least I think we can rage against both senseless acts without feeling silly for caring about a plant.
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Well put. I had related thoughts about news coverage of the Banyon tree on Maui.
 
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