Hereford Times Orchard Lane Leylandii Song

Orleton locals got a laugh from the Hereford Times “AI Assisted” article that used a stock image of an Oak Tree for an article about cutting down a tall Leylandii hedge, inspiring a satirical folk song

Church Lane residents in Orleton, Herefordshire, were treated to a masterpiece of robot writing in this Hereford Times article about cutting down a tall Leylandii hedge:

Copyright Herefordshire Times. Reproduced under Fair Use

Keen eyed botanists will detect the subtle differences between what looks very much like an Oak tree:

Large English Oak tree in a field in summer

And an evergreen Leylandii hedge:

© Copyright A J Paxton. Licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence

We weren’t able to find an image of the Leylandii hedge in question; it could be where the telephone lines go into the greenery below, but it’s too far away to tell from Google Street View.

Hereford Times commenter Toby Carvery praised the article as “a new low by Hereford Times”, and Westfaling thanked the article’s robot author for the image “just in case we need reminding what a tree is.”
Another reader with the handle “An honest man”, was resolutely looking on the bright side, saying “We were lucky that the picture wasn’t a burger.”

All of which inspired us to use the creative talents of the Ashridge Band to produce:

Genuine Local Folk Song “The Robot and the Tree”

Not made by robots*

*Honesty not included

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top