The menace in black velvet

During a lull between jobs as a teenager, I found work catching moles. For all that my friends laughed at me, it was not such a ridiculous career prospect in those days. A few friends were quietly envious of my income as it began to grow into the spring and it was not hard to find work anywhere from farms and golf courses to fancy gardens and livery yards.

I charged £5 a mole, which seemed to cover most of the expenses required to make it work for me. A good Duffus barrel mole trap cost around £5 and once I had enough cash to invest in a dozen at once, I was off.

At its best, mole catching is a great