We own a few acres of woods in the Atlantic rainforest, in west Wales. Mark Cocker recommends the introduction of pine martens for combating squirrel damage to trees (Country diary, 4 October). We have had our woods for 11 years, and I cannot remember the last time I saw a squirrel. The answer is the presence of our resident goshawk. We see it several times a year, yet we have a very healthy native bird population. Goshawks are resident in Berlin’s city parks, eating squirrels and magpies. What’s not to like?
Jill Moss
Chester
• I’m a member of the Labour party, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, the RSPB and the Magic Circle. Would it be possible to consolidate all my subs into one anti-growth coalition membership to save on fees? I also live in north London, so would I get a discount on my taxi fares to BBC studios?
Ian Saville
London
• One of my 1950s grammar school teachers, the irascible Dr Kolisch, would produce gems of mangled English such as “If you want a rubber, use the boy’s behind”, and “If you want to behave like a pig, then go to the headmaster’s office” (Letters, 4 October).
Toy Roberts
Penwortham, Lancashire
• It’s wrong to refer to Battersea power station “puffing its last plumes of smoke” in 1983 (Report, 5 October). The “smoke” from its chimneys was actually steam.
Claude Scott
Richmond, London
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