Robin Page called me last week – “What’s all this about Charles (the Charles who everyone gets excited about) visiting Cumbria to talk about red squirrels?”. “Yes, he’s coming to Levens Hall, near Milnthorpe and it’s all about the reds” says I. Robin puffed and scruffed (scruffs quite a lot he does) a bit about not being invited, and announced that he would pull the strings of authority to gain a place.
HRH at the launch of the Red Suirrel Survival Trust
Twenty-four hours later a call confirms that the strings have been successfully pulled. “I’ve booked into Dorothy Brass’s B & B, and we will see you in the Butcher’s Arms at 7.30”. “We”?; that might be his lovely wife Anita – or “Lulu” to Robin and his Daily Mail readers. But no! He’s bringing Nigel, his ever-tolerant marathon-suffering colleague to take lots of pretty pictures. However, despite the lack of Lulu, we had a fine meal and a fine evening slandering every bunny-hugging slug we could think of and generally catching up with our rural doings since the last time we met. I am involved the conservation of the red squirrel, and the elimination of the grey in the north west. We have a fine population of reds, and are constantly trying to keep migrating greys from entering our red alert area.