Every year a Christmas Tree is given by Norway to the UK, to thank us for sheltering their king during the Second World War. The tree is decorated with lights and stands in London’s Trafalgar Square. In 2020 the Poetry Society
asked me to write a poem to celebrate that year’s tree. I decided to tell the story of the tree’s life in its own words, and also to celebrate carol-singing at a time when – because of Coronavirus – singing was being discouraged. I am delighted that my poem has now been made into a book, and especially because it has a Norwegian illustrator, Victoria Sandoy, who has so sensitively captured the spirit of the tree’s journey from the snowy forest to the festive city.