Janet Tweedy wrote:
[ Field Maple (Acer campestre).}

That's an idea, and this will be a silly question but does it move with
the wind? Hollies don't but birches and oaks and so on do have some
movement to them when the wind blows which I always like in the garden,
a still, densely leaved tree might be a bit oppressive?

The branches are fairly thick, so it moves a bit like the oak, not at
all like a weeping willow, which often resembles a hundred psychopathic
119th century bosuns with cat-o-9-tails moving in perfect synchronism.
It does not wave like my ornamental cherry, but it's about as stiff as
an oak, a sycamore, etc. Not ideal for elegant, pulsing, light, but it
does move.

For many years the dark green colour of the leaves would persist into
late autumn, then the whole lot would seem to go a translucent pale
gold in 36 hours. Most years I did not get to enjoy them 'cos about
that time we would have a gale and the whole lot would come off the
next day. Recent years, thoughbut, the leaves have remained
heat-stoppingly spectacular for about 10 days.