The last thing I expected to find at the end of a walk along
the Wandle River in South London was a massive tree stump, mounted like a
sculpture, with a plaque proclaiming it was part of a 1600-year-old olive tree
from Aleppo, Syria. It’s inside a secure fence on Smugglers Way, and
almost opposite the Wandsworth Waste transfer station. It looks very recent - a shiny plaque says it
was donated by Karim and Ahmed Massarani. But how did it get here – and why? Is
there a link??
I'm intrigued. I’ve searched in vain on the internet for any
reference. All I can find is an entry about a classic 2010 bike ride in Syria
with a Road Captain called Karim Massarani that passed rows of olive trees and
concluded in Aleppo. Is this the same person as the donor? And who is Ahmed?
If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. There were half
a dozen of us on the walk, and we would love to find out more.
