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Canberra Today 21°/24° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Fladun / The stump that brings a smile

That freaky tree stump… for years someone has been dressing it in the variety of attire to raise a laugh from passing motorists.
That freaky tree stump… for years someone has been dressing it in the variety of attire to raise a laugh from passing motorists.
IT looks sort of freaky, but it makes us smile every time we go past.

It’s nothing more than a blackened, woebegone tree stump near the turn off from the Cotter Road on to the Tuggeranong Parkway.

But for years someone has been dressing it in a variety of attire to raise a laugh from passing motorists.

As seasons come and go, the stump’s clothing changes.

At the moment it’s a bit mixed with sun hat, a Carlton football singlet, a tradie’s high-viz jacket, floral skirt and shopping bag.

But at other times it’s been rugged up with colourful scarves in winter, decorated for Halloween, and at Christmas it’s resplendent with white beard and red coat and hat.

My kids love it. “What’s the stump wearing now?”, is often their question as we turn north on to the parkway.

I’ve no idea who does it. Obviously a Carlton supporter, but I won’t hold that against them.

Someone from somewhere every now and again goes to the trouble to stop, perhaps in the dead of night, and dress up the stump in its latest attire.

It’s not a big thing, but it’s the sort of thing that should only be encouraged, doing something that brings some gentle amusement to us all.

In the same spirit hundreds of Canberran households recently marked Halloween with all sorts of decorations, pumpkins and sweets for kids doing the “trick or treat” round of their neighbourhood.

And over the next month folk will be putting out their Christmas lights.

Sure, there can be an element of one upmanship as neighbours try to outdo each other with thousands of lights, animated deer and inflated Santas on roofs, but the main thing is that the lights do bring a lot of Christmas cheer, and especially wonder for our kids.

No one asks people to do it, and they get no benefit other than the occasional acknowledgment from passers-by.

But that’s not the point. It’s just about doing something that others might enjoy.

So as we move into the Christmas season, and it is getting close as my son frequently reminds me, spare a thought for all those people who selflessly bring a bit of cheer, whether it’s with a blaze of lights or just a funny old tree stump.

They all make our community just a bit more fun, and that’s really not a bad thing at all.

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Thank you,

Ian Meikle, editor

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