By David Henwood
The Cowley Road gets its first Christmas tree, thanks to the efforts of local resident and Rice Box employee Amir ‘Steve’ Ali. Keen to celebrate the season of goodwill, Ali spent months of planning and negotiations to provide the Cowley Road a reason to be cheerful.
Inspired by the recent Eid celebrations, Ali approached Oxford County Council in October this year asking if he could create a Christmas tree on the Cowley Road. County Council’s Tree Principle, Andrew Ledrer agreed to bear the cost of decorating the tree with arboricultural specialist TreeTech to install the fifty enormous snowflakes and dozens of huge balls that Ali has brought and gathered from across Oxfordshire. Located opposite Tesco, many visitors have been taking photographs and ringing the bell to make a wish.
Standing under the tree, Ali said: “Cowley is such a special place, made up of many individuals from all over the world so I wanted to do something special for everyone. We had to agree not to use glass or electrical decorations, but I’m really pleased with the results”.
Ali’s ‘wishing tree’, will be up over Christmas, so do please go along to the Cowley Road and make a wish for the new Year. Ali is now planning next year’s tree, and is hoping to include yet more decorations and lights.
Be the first to comment