Green shoots of optimism show true spirit of the North East

Author - Thomas Lonsdale

Date published:

The Chamber’s latest column for The Journal by Tom Lonsdale, knowledge and research executive.

As a history student at Newcastle University, I quickly became attuned to the cultural memory that is inescapable everywhere in the North East. Everyday objects, buildings and spaces all carry a spirit of the people and communities who use them.  

I always get a particular sense of history walking down Northumberland Street and looking up, above the glass fronted shop windows, to the more historic first floor facades. Huge stone pillars, ornate stained-glass windows, and black and white Tudor-style wood carvings have all watched the people below for generations.

Old things connect us to those people and to our own sense of identity. When they’re torn down or destroyed that connection is frayed slightly, and that rocks us as a region. This is just as true for natural landmarks.

It’s no wonder that the wilful destruction of the tree at Sycamore gap has created such a genuine outpouring of sadness, loss, and grief among people across the region. Something that has witnessed and been part of hundreds of years of history has changed forever.

The tree means different things to different people, a stop off point on a long country walk, a place to bring visiting family and friends or the central point of a once-in-a-lifetime photograph with the beautiful aurora borealis stretching out across the night sky in the background.

This reflects the sheer breadth of our regions’ cultural memory, which exists not just in the memory of cities’ industrial heritage or the ancient landscapes that surround them, but the lived experiences of the people and communities that choose to exist here now. These experiences shape a new and evolving cultural memory, and just as the region has thrived through challenges in the past, it will do so again.

There are some – quite literal – green shoots of optimism emerging from the sad loss of the landmark tree, as initial inspections suggest that it may be healthy enough to be coppiced so that it can grow again. It won’t be anything like what it was for many years, but the fact that this icon of the region might ultimately regrow is indicative of the true spirit of the North East as it exists today.

The people of this region respond to every setback with resilience and creativity. Every potential loss is absorbed into our story. It creates new growth with a memory of what came before, combined with a hope for something even better.

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