John Hayford has been coming to feed the squirrels in the park next to Buckingham Palace, every morning, for the past four years. Taking the train from his home in Stanmore, West London, he usually arrives at 9 o’clock everyday. He is retired and explains that he doesn’t have that much else to do.

     "I like animals, a lot." Delving into the bag and pulling out a peanut, he says most of the squirrels in the park are quite tame.      "Lucy..... Lucy, come here then." The squirrel slowly crawls up his leg, to reach for the nut that is held out, just above his knee. Stretching her neck, the squirrel grabs the nut in her mouth. Turning, and scrambling down towards the grass. She takes a few hops and gnaws at the shell, looking around, and keeping alert, ears twitching.

     "Of course, the same squirrel doesn’t always come to me. There are thousands of them here." The shell off and one nut in each cheek, the squirrel runs about to find a hiding place in the grass. "Some people don’t like squirrels. They call them rats with bushy tails. But I like them. I think they’re cute."

     "I can make them climb up my leg or my umbrella." He places the top of the long golfing umbrella on the ground, at a forty- five degree angle, towards his body and waits. The squirrel scampers around hiding the two nuts. Now safely hidden, under the grass, she comes back to slowly climb up the umbrella.

     Her claws scratch the nylon material as she tries to get a grip and keep her balance. Slowly the umbrella is lifted horizontally, and the squirrel balances more easily. On the umbrella, she sits quite happily, with the nut between her hands. Gnawing at the shell to obtain the nuts inside, she jumps off, and again, scampers away to hide the nuts in the ground. "The crows are crafty. They watch where she hides
them, so they can go and eat them."

     Walking towards the big silver birch, he sees the squirrel run away. "There must be a dog approaching, she can smell it." A small, brown and white, cocker spaniel trots past, sniffing the air and daffodils by the trees. "That’s why she runs away, because they will chase her."

     Quite often I have people approach me. They see me feeding them and stop to watch....Lucy!" The squirrel climbs up to get the nut and sits on his shoe. "Oh look, that’s a good picture, she’s sitting on my shoe."

     Looking down at his foot, he watches as she nibbles away at the shell, moving her little hands to turn the nut around. "The squirrels here are tame and will climb up your leg if you are quiet and give them a peanut. It’s nice to feed them. I like doing it."