In the red
IDID enjoy reading The Duke of Cambridge’s article about his father’s passion for the countryside and his love of red squirrels (November 14). We are fortunate to live on the Isle of Wight and we only have red squirrels —no shades of grey here! Reading that The Prince of Wales even lets them into the house brought back happy memories of a few years ago when my dear, late mother was living in a nursing home in Wootton and the daily visits of these delightful creatures brightened her days. The squirrels were so tame they would come to the French windows of her room and stand on their hind legs, peering inside to see what was going on. Their skill in acrobatics was enchanting and we supplied them with a feeding station on a pole, the prized nuts held securely in a lidded box. After watching them for a while, my husband realised that they needed a little assistance and made them a small access ladder so they could lift the lid to get to the nuts. Enormous fun, both for the squirrels and the watchers. Tessa Baker, Isle of Wight