30ft Christmas tree installed in Henley 

Henley’s Christmas tree has been installed in the town centre today (Monday) ahead of the Christmas Festival.

The 30ft Nordmann fir arrived at Falaise Square at 10am this morning on the back of a flat-bed truck from where it was grown at Greenfield Farm in Christmas Common.

The square was cordoned off as the town council’s park service team used a HIAB crane to lift the 38-year-old tree vertical before trimming the trunk with a chainsaw to fit it into a hole in the ground.

This was park warden Alan Webb’s third year installing the Christmas tree in Henley.

He said: “It was more trimming than last year’s as that was quite thin. This was ones a bigger tree and has a much better spread.

“It made me feel a bit Christmassy and it gets you in the festive mood early.”

The tree was then wedged in place with small wooden blocks before the crew swept up the mess and finished the job at around 11:30am.

Watching on was councillor John Hooper who picked the tree with Mayor Michelle Thomas back in September.

He said: “It’s a better shape than last year’s tree and looks more like a traditional Christmas tree. I think that’s important.”

The tree is set to be decorated with plain white lights tomorrow (Tuesday) by contractors The Christmas Decorators who will also install lights on the two avenues of trees in Market Place.

The lights on the tree will be switched on at 7pm on Friday on the first day of the Christmas Festival.