› Forums › The Vibe › Chat › UK : Midlands : parrot on house arrest for swearing at old bill, clergy & mayor…
- This topic has 2 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated July 27, 2005 at 7:25 pm by ParrotBoy.
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July 26, 2005 at 3:11 pm #1036636
PMSL – it looks like the parrot is selecting his targets well!
Foul-mouthed parrot kept indoors A parrot with a colourful vocabulary is proving to be a social embarrassment for the owners of the Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary in Nuneaton. Barney, a five-year-old macaw, has no respect for authority. He has sworn at the Mayoress and a vicar and also told two policemen what he thought of them.
Sanctuary worker Stacey Clark said Barney once belonged to a truck driver.
“We tend to keep him indoors, away from the visitors. But everybody seems to take his abuse with a smile,” she said.
“He has got a lot of character and he does say thank you when he gets a treat so he can be polite.”
Neighbours abused
Some of the sayings he likes to repeat best include “hello big boys” and “where have you been?”
But his favourite words are mainly unrepeatable.
Sanctuary owner Geoff Grewcock said he has one rude word which he likes to say over and over again while swaying on his perch.
He added he had seen neighbours and passers-by duck and look around startled when they pass the window and hear the swearing from within. “He only seems to swear when you don’t want him to,” he added.
“We tend to keep him indoors, away from any visitors. It’s as if he knows which visitors he shouldn’t swear in front of and so he goes and does so.”
Barney was given to the sanctuary, which houses four more parrots, as his owner was emigrating to Spain.
“We do look to rehome pets but we won’t rehouse Barney as he has built bonds with us,” Mr Grewcock added.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/4717211.stmPublished: 2005/07/26 10:37:28 GMT
© BBC MMV
July 26, 2005 at 3:19 pm #1066543Parrots are ace 🙂 They really have a good sense of fun.
My step-dad had an African Grey a few years back, and its favourite trick was mimicing the whistle my mum used to call the dog. He’d then sit in the cage and giggle as the dog went mental running round the room, looking for mummy!
July 27, 2005 at 7:25 pm #1066542[font=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]What did the foul-mouthed parrot say to the vicar… and to the mayor?[/font][font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Martin Wainwright
[/font][font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Wednesday July 27, 2005
[/font][font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Guardian[/font][font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]A parrot with a remarkably coherent line in invective has been given a private pen at a wildlife sanctuary, after swearing repeatedly at distinguished visitors including a mayor, a vicar and two police officers. [/font][font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Barney the five-year-old Macaw can now be seen only on special request, like the British Library’s collection of erotic books, in case he rounds on potential donors or gives a dreadful example to visiting children. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Trained by a previous owner who had a dislike of authority, he initially appeared to be a potential draw at the Warwickshire Animal Sanctuary, Nuneaton, because of his vivid blue and gold plumage and habit of saying “Thank you, big boy,” when given a digestive biscuit. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]But his other side was revealed when a civic party came on a tour of the sanctuary and Barney spotted the mayor’s chain and a woman vicar’s dog collar. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Instead of the Benedicite (“Oh all ye fowls of the air, bless ye the Lord”), he told the mayor: “Fuck off,” before turning to the vicar and saying: “You can fuck off too.” [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The sanctuary’s owner, Geoff Grewcock, 55, said yesterday: “To their credit they didn’t take offence and laughed it off – and luckily so did two policemen who were told: “And you can fuck off, you wankers.” [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The parrot is thought to have kept up its skills, since its owner – a retired truck driver – emigrated to Spain three years ago, by watching TV after the 9pm watershed. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Mr Grewcock is now attempting a cultural reversal by keeping Barney alone in a special cage listening to Radio 4. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]“At night he likes to come and sit on my shoulder and watch documentaries and the news as well,” he said, “so hopefully his vocabulary should become cleaner. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]“It isn’t really working yet but he is a very funny parrot, with a lot of character, and he does say thank you whenever you give him a treat.” [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005[/font]
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