• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Chandler's Ford Today

  • Home
  • About
    • About Chandler’s Ford
    • Chandler’s Ford War Memorial Research
  • Blog
    • Blogging Tips
  • Event
    • Upcoming Events
  • Community
    • Groups
    • Churches
    • Schools
    • GP Surgeries
    • Leisure
    • Library
    • Charities
      • Eastleigh Basics Bank
      • Cat & Kitten Rescue in Chandler’s Ford
    • Fair Trade
      • Traidcraft stalls in Chandler’s Ford
    • Chandler’s Ford Parish Council
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Site Policies
  • Site Archive
    • Site Archive 2018
    • Site Archive 2017
    • Site Archive 2016
    • Site Archive 2015
You are here: Home / Community / The Selwood Christmas Tree 2020

The Selwood Christmas Tree 2020

November 28, 2020 By SO53 News 19 Comments

The Selwood Christmas tree has been lighting up Chandler’s Ford since 1953. Look at this stunning tree!

Richard Bright, 1st Chairman at Workdry International Limited (Selwood & Siltbuster) said, it’s always a pleasure to bring this tradition to the local community.

To friends of Chandler’s Ford, what does this Christmas mean to you? Please leave a comment below. We wish you all safe and well.

Selwood Christmas Tree 2020
Selwood Christmas Tree 2020

Richard has also given us more details about the tree this year.

Richard said, “The tree is meant to be 35ft but I think it’s slightly taller this year… I usually tell by comparing it with the flag poles 😊. we used to get it from Longleat as part of a forest management scheme but that has since come to an end so we have sourced it from a plantation off the A303 the last few years. We try to get it as local as possible to keep it “green” as I know a lot of large trees are imported from Norway, which I can’t bring myself to do due to the huge environmental impact.”

Why am I Talking about Selwood’s Christmas Tree in January?

Selwood Christmas Tree in Chandler’s Ford 2015

History of Selwood Christmas Tree in Chandler’s Ford

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email

Related posts:

History of Selwood Christmas Tree in Chandler’s Ford Selwood: Spectacular Christmas Tree in Chandler’s Ford 2014 Selwood Christmas Tree in Chandler’s Ford 2015 Why am I Talking about Selwood’s Christmas Tree in January? Farmshop in a vanMagical Farmshop In A Van On Brownhill Road
Tags: Bournemouth Road, Chandler's Ford, Christmas, community, history, local businesses, local interest, memory

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Robbie Sprague says

    November 28, 2020 at 11:21 pm

    As a lifelong resident of Chandler’s Ford, Selwood’s Christmas tree has been a constant in my life since its inception when I was nine years old. As children we decorated the sitting room with paper chains and tissue paper shapes that unfolded and opened out 360 degrees to form beautiful bells and balls. The Christmas tree’s private life was disrupted annually when it was dug up and put in a pot and brought indoors, decorated with tinsel and fragile glass baubles bought from Woolworths.

    Our neighbour in Shaftesbury Avenue worked on the Queen Mary and brought back American toys from New York for our parents to give us. I remember a yellow New York taxi that you wound up by friction and it would race across the floor. I had a clockwork train set with a cowcatcher on the front of the locomotive and my sister had a large doll which she treasured and for which she and my mother knitted clothes.

    Those were the days of harsh winters, coal fires and smog, frost on the inside of the bedroom window pane, linoleum, huge dumps of snow, and icy roads and pavements that stayed slippery for weeks – and ‘No spitting’ signs in buses.

    Christmas was a real family time, a million miles away from the highly commercialised, Amazon-driven, mobile phone and PlayStation world of today. Thank God for Selwood’s Christmas tree as a reminder of a bygone age of happy, uncomplicated days.

    Reply
    • Jill Andrew says

      November 29, 2020 at 12:00 am

      I remember Selwood’s Christmas tree too Robert – and I remember you too! My brothers were Tim and Tony (Antony) Harding. Tony was your age I think. Tim was very friendly with Pete Selwood and I think Tony knew Tim Selwood quite well. The tree was, and still obviously is, an annual delight. I live in Cheshire but my niece, Jo Hutchison, Tim’s younger daughter who lives in C/Ford told me about Rick Goater’s blog taken from Joan Goater’s journals. (I saw something recently that you had written about Amy Doncaster) Fascinating and nostalgic reading.
      Happy Christmas, however it turns out to be for everyone.

      Reply
      • Janet Williams says

        November 29, 2020 at 12:06 am

        Hi Jill,

        Thank you for your comment. You can find Joan Goater’s journals here: https://chandlersfordtoday.co.uk/forty-years-in-chandlers-ford-a-journal-part-148/ It is a beautiful series compiled by Rick.

        You can find Robbie’s articles here: https://chandlersfordtoday.co.uk/author/robbie-sprague/

        Thank you for reading and sharing.

        Reply
        • Jill Andrew says

          November 29, 2020 at 12:19 am

          Yes, I’m already well into them!
          Thanks Janet

          Reply
          • Janet Williams says

            November 29, 2020 at 12:46 am

            Wonderful! These stories are addictive!

      • Robbie Sprague says

        November 29, 2020 at 9:12 am

        Hi Jill

        It was great to see your comment – Tony and I were at school together; we were friends and played tennis. He was a lovely, good-humoured guy. I learned somewhere that he emigrated to Australia and became a police officer. I’ve travelled all over Australia many times since retirement and often wondered what became of him and where he lived. My wife and I lived in the new house overlooking the green in Merdon Avenue/Tyrrell Road just a stone’s throw away from your mother’s house. We remember her vividly and she was a most charming lady. My blog on the Grand Houses of Chandler’s Ford will invoke memories for you; what a different place Chandler’s Ford was back in the day!

        The Grand Houses of Chandler’s Ford

        Christmas greetings to you in Cheshire – a county I love……. Robbie

        Reply
        • Jill Andrew says

          November 29, 2020 at 10:32 am

          Tony was a police officer in Petersfield before emigrating to West Australia with his wife Sally in 1969.

          I will investigate the blog you mention.

          Jill

          Reply
      • David Magrath says

        November 30, 2020 at 12:08 am

        Hi Jill,
        I don’t remember the Selwood Tree but I do have fond memories of Christmases in “Ch’Ford” and you and Tim, and the Scouts and St. Boniface Church in the 50’s and 60’s. Diana and I Iive in Oakfield, Nova Scotia ….Part of the Regional Municipality of Halifax. Our best wishes to you and all the folks we used to know there, including the “ol’ Lake Gang” . A Merry Christmas and stay safe.

        Reply
        • Jill Andrew says

          November 30, 2020 at 9:35 am

          Good to hear from you David. I seem to remember that your family emigrated to Canada way back? I lived in Vancouver for a while in the 60s – now in Cheshire.
          Is Heather still in Canada?
          I think your father and mine had a lot to do with the new scout hut at Ramalley?

          Reply
          • David Magrath says

            December 1, 2020 at 1:00 am

            Diana and I emigrated to Canada with our three year old Daughter, Jane, in 1969. Our families didn’t come and Heather married Frank Cousins and they live in Sarisbury, So’ton. Bye the way Diana was born in Wallasey just across the Mersey from Liverpool. D’you live near there? Our fathers were connected through Jack Hall’s scout committee and I think they were wardens at St.Boniface,
            Good to hear from you.

  2. Janet Williams says

    November 28, 2020 at 11:46 pm

    Such a beautiful story, Robbie. Many thanks for sharing your memories.

    Reply
    • Jill Andrew says

      December 1, 2020 at 9:01 am

      I live between Chester and Warrington but not far from Wirral. I’m on my own now but we used to enjoy going there.
      Have always wanted to go to Nova Scotia.
      Do remember me to Heather if you’re in touch and remind her of the very rough ferry crossing we had when her luggage was lost!
      My father was never a warden at St Boniface but he had a lot to do with church money!
      Best wishes.

      Reply
  3. Debby says

    November 29, 2020 at 7:48 am

    Yes, having lived in Chandler’s Ford years for the majority of my life Selwood’s Christmas tree is really appreciated.

    The plain white lights of the last couple of years are very effective.

    Thank you Selwoods for your tradition.

    Reply
  4. Janet Williams says

    November 29, 2020 at 2:00 pm

    I have added more details about the Selwood Christmas tree to the post. From Richard Bright (Selwood Chairman) today:

    “The tree is meant to be 35ft but I think it’s slightly taller this year… I usually tell by comparing it with the flag poles 😊. we used to get it from Longleat as part of a forest management scheme but that has since come to an end so we have sourced it from a plantation off the A303 the last few years. We try to get it as local as possible to keep it “green” as I know a lot of large trees are imported from Norway, which I can’t bring myself to do due to the huge environmental impact.”

    Reply
  5. Cecily Casey says

    November 29, 2020 at 3:40 pm

    Thank you for your article and the earlier one detailing some of its history. We have lived in Chandler’s Ford for 23 years now and that Xmas tree is part of our traditions. When the kids were (much) smaller there was always the competition to see who could spot it first. Then I heard my daughter say that it wasn’t really Xmas till the tree was up at Selwood.

    We are very pleased to see it back, even if a little earlier than usual. So much has *not* happened this year that I think people are starting Xmas early so that they can have something to celebrate.

    Thank you, Selwood, for making our Xmas for so many years.

    Reply
  6. Margaret House says

    November 29, 2020 at 4:29 pm

    Thank you so much for continuing the tradition again this year. Your tree cheers me up every Christmas.

    Reply
  7. David Lamb says

    November 29, 2020 at 9:22 pm

    The tree has been part of our Christmas since we moved to Chandler’s Ford many years ago. We were obliged to move out of the area last Christmas when our home was destroyed, but now we are back and look forward to taking an evening walk to appreciate the tree.

    Reply
  8. Doug Clews says

    November 30, 2020 at 3:36 am

    Hi All …
    Having read all the glowing comments about Selwood’s Christmas Tree, I feel ‘obliged’ to stick in my six-penneth …

    I lived in Chandler’s Ford from 1937 until emigrating with my family to Western Australia in 1966, and I well remember the first tree, being awestruck by its sheer girth and height, nothing like seen before by me.

    Although now living in a Sydney suburb in New South Wales since August 2019, I look forward to receiving the annual photo of the tree, sent each year by a very good and long standing friend in Chandler’s Ford,

    Thank you Selwoods for your lovely annual gesture, appreciated by many residents, and ex residents in various parts of the World.

    Doug Clews
    Sydney, Australia

    Reply
  9. Roger White says

    December 3, 2020 at 10:29 am

    Having been born in Station Lane can remember watching Selwoods put up the the tree first in front of the old school now sadly long gone

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Search

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to Chandler's Ford Today blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Archives

Top Posts & Pages

999, 111, 101, 112? Emergency Numbers You Must Know
Hidden Hampshire - Woodland Walks: Jermyns Lane
Home
101 Things to Put into Room 101
Cat & Kitten Rescue in Chandler's Ford
My Favourite Short Walk - Itchen Navigation from Bishopstoke to Allbrook
Launches in Lockdown - Part 1
Join Eastleigh Knitters Making Twiddlemuffs for Dementia Patients
84 Charing Cross Road
Lockdown Afternoon Tea

Categories

Tags

arts and crafts books Chandler's Ford Chandler's Ford Today Chandler’s Ford community charity Christianity Christmas church community creative writing culture Eastleigh Eastleigh Borough Council education entertainment event family fundraising gardening good neighbours Hiltingbury Hiltingbury Road history hobby how-to interview Joan Adamson Joan Adelaide Goater local businesses local interest memory Methodist Church music nature news reading religion review social storytelling theatre travel Winchester Road writing

Recent Comments

  • Allison Symes on Launches in Lockdown – Part 1
  • Mike Sedgwick on Launches in Lockdown – Part 1
  • Allison Symes on Richard Hardie, Authors Reach, and Lockdown
  • David Lamb on Richard Hardie, Authors Reach, and Lockdown
  • Janet Williams on Richard Hardie, Authors Reach, and Lockdown
  • Marcia B. Rose on 84 Charing Cross Road

Regular Writers and Contributors

Janet Williams Allison Symes Mike Sedgwick Rick Goater Doug Clews chippy minton Martin Napier Roger White Andy Vining Gopi Chandroth Nicola Slade Wellie Roger Clark Ray Fishman Hazel Bateman SO53 News

Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal by Joan Adelaide Goater

Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal by Joan Adelaide Goater

Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s by Martin Napier

Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s by Martin Napier

My Memories of the War Years in Chandler’s Ford 1939 – 1945 by Doug Clews

My Memories of the War Years in Chandler’s Ford 1939 – 1945 by Doug Clews

Chandler’s Ford War Memorial Research by Margaret Doores

Chandler’s Ford War Memorial Research by Margaret Doores

History of Hiltonbury Farmhouse by Andy Vining

History of Hiltonbury Farmhouse by Andy Vining

My Family History in Chandler’s Ford and Hursley by Roger White

My Family History in Chandler’s Ford and Hursley by Roger White

Do You Remember The Hutments? By Nick John

Do You Remember The Hutments? By Nick John

Memory of Peter Green by Wendy Green

Memory of Peter Green by Wendy Green

History of Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) Hursley Park by Dave Key

History of Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) Hursley Park by Dave Key

Reviews of local performances and places

Reviews of local performances and places

Copyright © 2021 Chandler's Ford Today. WordPress. Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.