will be able to meet. but they may not be able to get together in the larger groups that they normally would. so, as winter approaches, a suggestion for england that there will be no big gatherings this christmas. but with varying rules across the uk, today calls for consistency. the problem i see at the moment is different rules in different parts of the united kingdom. and while i strongly believe in devolution, i think parts of the pandemic response has seen that work well. i think for christmas, there has to be a coordinated plan. so, questions about safe travel across the uk, students returning home from university, how many people will be able to gather together? in normal times, it might seem like christmas is just around the corner, only a couple of months away. but in the age of covid, change can come at you fast and the truth is, a lot could happen between now and december. hallowe‘en has not even happened yet, but christmas, for many people, matters much more.
and part of that process is a controlled loss of leaves, and it needs to withdraw some of the valuable chemicals and sugars back into the tree before it loses them. covid has meant a cap on numbers here at stourhead, and at properties and gardens across the trust s estates. it ll mean a fall in revenue of around £200 million. and there is another disease causing major problems. ash dieback is ravaging ash trees throughout the uk. we are climbing again, this time using the 205 steps inside king alfred s tower to give us a bird s eye view of the forest. oh, you can see forever! you can. if we look outside of the tower you can see the effect it is having to the surrounding landscape. i don t think it s going to be particularly devastating to the garden. but where it will make a big difference is on our tenant farms. for the last 30 or a0 years, it s been used as hedgerow planting,
prolong its life considerably really. so as they grow older, they do kind of get too big for themselves. they can start falling apart as they get older. so we can reduce weight here and there. the trust had predicted a spectacular autumn for leaf colour and the trees haven t disappointed. the weather this year, so problematic for so many, has proved golden for leaves. very often it s quite difficult to predict autumn colour, but it tends to be the years when the trees are happy. i mean, it s a strange word to use for trees, but when they have had a lot of sunshine during the summer, there is plenty of water in the soil, so they re not stressed. you get that complex chemistry going on in the leaves, creating all these lovely pigments that we ve got around us now. the tree is shutting down for the winter. and part of that process is a controlled loss of leaves, and it needs to withdraw some of the valuable chemicals and sugars back into the tree before it loses them.
ministers warn it is too early to say. there will be undoubtedly frustrations about the restrictions that people are having to abide by, but i think people also understand that we have to control the spread of this virus, we all have a role to play in doing that. i am sure we will be able to a good christmas and families will be able to meet. but they may not be able to get together in the large groups that they normally would. so as winter approaches, a suggestion for england that there will be no big gatherings this christmas. but with varying rules across the uk, today calls for consistency. the problem i see at the moment is different rules in different parts of the united kingdom. and while i strongly believe in devolution, i think parts of the pandemic response has seen that work well. i think for christmas, there has to be a coordinated plan. so questions about safe travel across the uk, students returning home from university, how
joe ashman is a tree surgeon and looks after the estate s most precious resource. joe, so this is your office, this is where you hang out? it is, yeah. i look after the trees, basically. managing trees and managing the form and the structure of the trees, you can prolong its life considerably really. so as they grow older, they do kind of get too big for themselves. they can start falling apart as they get older. so we can reduce weight here and there. the trust had predicted a spectacular autumn for leaf colour and the trees haven t disappointed. the weather this year, so problematic for so many, has proved golden for leaves. very often it s quite difficult to predict autumn colour, but it tends to be the years when the trees are happy. i mean, it s a strange word to use for trees, but when they have had a lot of sunshine during the summer, there is plenty of water in the soil, so they re not stressed. you get that complex chemistry