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Iconic tree at Hadrian's Wall's 'Sycamore Gap' has been 'felled'

hexham-courant.co.uk

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Re: Iconic tree at Hadrian's Wall's 'Sycamore Gap' has been 'felled'

#91
post #73
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's the correct terminology here. The police believe and suspect, the court try and prove. Arrests are always made 'on suspicion of'.

No the prosecution try to prove. The the judge, judges. Well that's how it's 'supposed' to work.

> Then the judge, judges.

Unless it's a criminal offense and the defendant invoked his right to being judged by a jury.

Re: Iconic tree at Hadrian's Wall's 'Sycamore Gap' has been 'felled'

#92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Highly unlikely, that can happen in a dense forest with unmarked trees but this is controlled land and there is only the one tree there in that particular setting. Also: then the tree would have been stripped and removed. Someone just cut it down and ran off.

Low probability does not mean zero probability, and the vast majority of an investigator's job is dealing with low probability events. Journalists want them to make definitive statements about things that occurred just hours earlier, and their experience says that don't yet know enough to make such a definitive statement. Give 'em a break :)

Given how widely known this tree at Sycamore Gap was, you’d have to be the stupidest person alive to accidentally cut it down. There are literally no other trees nearby.

Re: Iconic tree at Hadrian's Wall's 'Sycamore Gap' has been 'felled'

#93
post #80
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even in already-popular places I think there is something about “getting the photo” that gives people this kind of tunnel vision where they’ll behave in ways they might not otherwise. It has been noticeable living near and regularly walking/running across the Brooklyn Bridge and through the Front and Washington viewpoint in DUMBO, before and after the rise of Instagram. People are aggressive, selfish, and absolutely…

I wish people would realize that their vacation photos should include, well, them. When I travel, I'm taking pictures of my family doing things, not the things they're doing. No one needs another generic copy of just the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty.

I don't want photos of me popping up in my holiday photos. I want things that reminds me of where I went, not my poor fashion choices when abroad!

Re: Iconic tree at Hadrian's Wall's 'Sycamore Gap' has been 'felled'

#94
post #90
post #87

Teenager arrested: https://news.sky.com/story/sycamore-gap-iconic-tree-at-hadri...

I find it hard to believe a 16yo can fell a big chunky tree all on his own - although I guess I don't know how powerful modern chainsaws are.

The height and weight distribution of late teenage males is quite smeary (https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set2clinical/cj41c071....).

Eye-balling this, the 90th percentile 16 year old is about as tall as the 80th percentile 20 year old, and as heavy as the 75th percentile 20 year old.

Conversely, the 50th percentile 20 year old corresponds to like the ~55th percentile 16 year old in height and like the 75th percentile 16 year old in weight.

Re: Iconic tree at Hadrian's Wall's 'Sycamore Gap' has been 'felled'

#95
post #87

Teenager arrested: https://news.sky.com/story/sycamore-gap-iconic-tree-at-hadri...

What's the right punishment for a case like this? Does anyone believe that full rehabilitation is possible, and that a teenager who does this will later come to realize the error of their ways and become be a valuable contributor to society sufficient to make up for this? Or is the sole goal a punishment that will deter others from doing similar anti-social deeds?

Re: Iconic tree at Hadrian's Wall's 'Sycamore Gap' has been 'felled'

#96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love in the US when people boast their house was built in the 1800s. 1800s! In England I consider that fancy new construction. But yes, it boggles peoples' minds in England when you travel more than a couple of hours by car to go anywhere. If I told a Brit I drove my car 2500 miles to L.A. on a whim they would have me institutionalized.

To be fair though, 1800 is a while ago, especially for wooden construction. But I've lived in a wooden house that was built in 1625 that probably was on it's fifth renovation by 1800. And it still stands today.

Pfft, in Italian terms 1625 is like, yesterday.

I got married in a church built in the IX century, half the central buildings in my hometown are from 1300-1400. And we're just nouveau riche compared to Roma.

Re: Iconic tree at Hadrian's Wall's 'Sycamore Gap' has been 'felled'

#97
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is proving it; everyone in rural areas know of things that occur "outside the law" and exactly who did it, but there's no court-admissible evidence.

Court admissible evidence is more likely to turn up when it's front page news and people are digging though. Same with the recent story about a famous pub called the Crooked House, which mysteriously caught fire a month after a new owner took over the closed premises and was demolished remarkably swiftly. Because it generated a lot of outrage (not from regular patrons, but from people who liked how it looked), it got…

Rumours and arrests are one thing and not uncommon in any case, but has anyone been charged with a crime?

Re: Iconic tree at Hadrian's Wall's 'Sycamore Gap' has been 'felled'

#98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The wall is nearly 2000 years old. It used to be 15 feet high and 10 feet wide. [1] Nearly everything else that old has fallen down to the foundations. It turns out nature is good at knocking stuff down till it's about a foot high, and then just leaves the footings of all the walls. Plenty of castles and stuff have 1 foot high walls now. Also, people steal the stones to build other stuff. But it's more effort to stea…

Yeah , people take stones to clear land for farming or to build walls to enclose their farms. Can't be too mad about it though, the wall was probably relatively new to them

Also historical preservation was less important to the people at the time when life was, frankly, much harder than it is today. Most well preserved buildings today are the ones that were useful to keep around - for their original or for a new purpose.

Re: Iconic tree at Hadrian's Wall's 'Sycamore Gap' has been 'felled'

#99

Slightly related: I always get surprised by how "small" Hadrian wall is. I mean, it was just to demarcate tthe point where the barbarians "should not" cross I believe? For sure it wasn't working as a regular wall to stop any invasions.

Dude, it's a ruin. It's like saying you're surprised most houses in archeological digs have no standing walls.

Re: Iconic tree at Hadrian's Wall's 'Sycamore Gap' has been 'felled'

#100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Here in NL cutting down any tree, even if it is on your own land requires a permit. Depends on the municipality. Rules around cutting down trees vary from "go ahead if it's not one of these 5 protected trees" to "please pay 1000 euro to request a permit 6 weeks in advance".

Go ahead is still a permit though.

Many municipalities state there is no need for a permit unless you want to cut down specific protected trees.
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