Jeff Nicholls started catching moles when he was a boy and has made a lifelong career of this time-honoured skill. ‘I was going to be a plumber, but I liked being outside too much,’ he explains, adding that it sometimes surprises people that he’s spent so much of his life campaigning for the welfare of moles. ‘Just because you’re trying to take an animal’s life, it doesn’t mean that you don’t care about it – you should give it respect.’
Mr Nicholls laments the fact that the old ways of mole control have been superseded by what he sees as less sophisticated methods. ‘In the past, the mole-catcher walked the country setting devices, not traps like they use today. They had snares made from horsehair string powered by a simple willow stick and would sit and wait for the stick to move. Once they knew the mole was restrained, they would dispatch it instantly.’
This countryman has never tired of pursuing the animal he describes as ‘mysterious’ and ‘tenacious’. ‘A mole-catcher will never be a rich man,’ he notes, ‘but he will be rich in the knowledge that the mole brings you. When I see a molehill, it isn’t just a pile of earth, it’s a key to a strange little world.’
Jeff Nicholls’s latest book, ‘Catching Moles: The History and Practice’, is available from www.crowood.com
The gold stamper: ‘The younger generation is very appreciative of artisan work – they’re the ones driving the trend’
This week's Living National Treasure is John Timms, the man who leads the team that stamps gold lettering into thousands
Credit: Living National Treasure: The Glassblower - ©Country Life/Richard Cannon
The Glassblower: 'When something goes wrong you can't fix it – you just sling in into the bosh bucket and start again'
Ian Shearman's team of glassblowers are still making glass using a technique that's 2,000 years old. Mary Miers found out
Why you should protect your skin against the elements
Winter sun may feel like a benign friend, but it has an unwelcome sting. Countrymen take note.
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The real name of a 'ghost' rainbow, the first ever omnishambles, and golf on the moon: Country Life Quiz of the Day 20 February 2025Some real brainteasers for you in our Quiz of the Day. Good luck!
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Tom Parker Bowles's favourite recipe: French onion soupThis dish is no mere Gallic broth, rather pure bonhomie in a bowl — a boozy, beefy, allium-scented masterpiece that cries out for the chill depths of winter
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The flint knapper: ‘They used to make prisoners do it, but I do it for fun and manage to make a living'John Lord is one of very few people in Britain who makes a full-time living out of only one stone, in addition to aiding universities and museums with lithic work.
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The beekeeper: 'There are few things better than a full comb of capped liquid gold'Amy Newsome has turned this treasured country hobby into a relaxing city pursuit. She spoke to Tessa Waugh; portraits by Richard Cannon.
