NOW that my wife and I are retired, other than the stream of callers with parcels for delivery around the village, we get few social visitors and so an unexpected guest made a nice change last week.

I was reading and thought I saw a sudden movement out of the corner of my eye. I was not mistaken as shortly afterwards I became aware of a rather cute house mouse studying me intently. I was certainly more startled than him and he sat boldly in the middle of the hearth rug.

Later that night I heard a metallic crack from the back of my chair. Our guest had been unable to resist the piece of chocolate we had put in a mouse trap. Actually, this put rather a pall over the evening and as I thought back over the years, I could readily bring to mind many unwelcome guests who I would gladly have consigned to such a metaphorical fate.

VJ Connor, Bishop Auckland