‘Are they talking to the trees?’ asked my husband as he banged his stick against a sign attached to a plane tree near the Tate Gallery. He does not need a stick to lean on. He uses it on pedestrians in the way, or, in this case, annoying signs.
The sign said: ‘Low tree.’ The tree was quite high, but it leant into the road a little. One would think the sign was intended for bus drivers who might otherwise barge into the obtruding trunk. Yet a big tree is more obvious than a sign, so perhaps it was intended for the benefit of those in authority, lest they give insufficient warning of any conceivable hazard. Then I thought that perhaps my husband was right after all, and that it was a final warning to the trees concerned.
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