Ah Readers, here in East Finchley it’s been pollarding season for the past few months (yes, I know it’s nesting season) but it’s nice to see the leaves gradually coming back on these High Road leviathans.

The pollarding seems to happen on a biannual schedule, and of course much of it is to do with the insurance companies, who require the canopies of trees such as London plane to be trimmed in order to reduce the root system – the larger the top, the larger the bottom of the tree. If you have a big blowsy set of leaves at the top, you need more roots underneath, and these will draw more water, so risking subsidence etc. Personally, I suspect that large trees get a lot of the blame for damage to foundations that is more  likely down to climate change and extreme weather events: one school of thought suggests that if you remove trees, the land rebounds because the water is no longer present (this is known as ‘heave’ and can be just as damaging as subsidence. But the trees come back with renewed vigour every time, and they are one of the great joys of the High Road here in East Finchley, especially in the hot weather we’ve been having lately, when the temperature drop under their branches is a welcome relief.

And, in other news, my final Open University assignment is practically ready to go, having spent a couple of hours sorting out the referencing and double-checking the charts. Yikes! What will I do with all my time when I’m a free woman? Suggestions on a postcard please!