“She lived on this street all of her life, until she was 100 years old. Just imagine all the changes she saw!”
Today has been a magnificent goodbye
A celebration of a long life well lived
The end of the second Elizabethan age
A farewell to a witness of 96 years of life
In the world
It seems fitting to share the story of Adoette
Who also lived long and saw much
Witnessed so much change over the years
And decades of her life
When we first read Adoette
Edie searched every page for the lady
Adoette
It was only at the very end
That she realised Adoette was a tree
Adoette
Big Tree
This is the perfect book to share today
As we say goodbye
To Britain’s longest reigning monarch
Who has seen so much in her lifetime
Witnessed so much
Adoette is an inspiring conservation story
The tale of the life of a tree
And the street she lived upon
Our story begins with a Grandfather
Telling his grandaughter the story
Of the big tree
We see the early 20th century
Before cars and electricity
The street filled with children playing
A horse and a cart
And little Adoette
Standing by
We see street parties
Celebrations
All witnessed by the tree
We see the effects of the Second World War
Bombed buildings
Blacked out windows
Ambulances and air raid wardens
Adoette sees it all
Adoette survives it all
As time passes
Many things changes
But always we see the tree
Children in her branches
Climbing on and playing around
The big tree
Animals living in and on the tree
We see Adoette through the seasons
As years and decades pass
We see the street become busier
We see the faster pace
Of the more modern world
Adoette sees it too
Everything changes all around her
All the while Adoette is growing
The big tree is getting bigger
Through the ages we see nods
To the different times
Through the last century
We loved spotting the
Changes in fashion
The community becoming more diverse
Changes in transport
And technology
There is so much to see in this book
All the things that the tree could see
All the changes Adoette saw
In her 100 years
As the years went by
And Adoette spread her branches
And her roots
People started to find problems
With Adoette
The community divided
Some wanted the tree to go
Many wanted Adoette to stay
But in the end
The battle to save Adoette
The 100 year old tree
Was lost
Adoette was felled
Poor Adoette!
Suddenly the street felt different
Something that had been there
For the whole of the life
Of most of the residents
Was gone
Adoette has watched over them
Their whole lives
And now she was gone
(Much like The Queen today)
The people of the street
Wanted to do something to remember
Their big beautiful tree
They needed something to share
To heal their hurt
And to make their street
A happy place once more
A green space once more
Together the community come together
To transform a patch of waste ground
Into a community garden
At the centre of which a tiny oak tree is planted
Grown from one of Adoette’s acorns
Adoette is a brilliant and beautiful book
There is so much going on
Within the illustrations
This is a story told with passion
And it is the perfect share
For this state funeral day
With a heartfelt lesson for all of us
“A lesson in our busy lives
To take the time to care
Just a little bit
As long as people
Are caring and kind
There is always hope
Even when things seem hopeless
Although Adoette is gone
And in the past
She’s actually part of the future
And so are you!”
I am so grateful to have this story
To share with my children today
On this historic day
Thank you Adoette
Thank you Lydia Monks
Thank you Ma’am
For everything