WHAT MADE YOU GET A PARROT?

Dear Reader. When SHE is asked this question by someone, SHE knows immediately that they are NOT of 'our' flock. NO Parrot Aficionado would ever ask that question of another. THEY say "oh, an African Grey (or whatever the Parrot species is), I had one as a child / or I grew up with one". NEVER "what made you get a Parrot?"

So here is the Tale of HER, a Malayan Market and Dagga-the-Parrot, an African Grey.

Back in the last century, one of my Human Grandfather's was a soldier and was fighting in the War that wasn't allowed to be called a War. It was called an 'Emergency', it was against the Communists who were trying to get a foothold in South East Asia and it was a very scary and frightening period, my Human Grandfather was in The Malay Regiment.

He is going to called by his Human name Hugo, which is much shorter than having to write Human Grandfather all the time, Human Grandmother will also be called by her Human name Constance, she went out by Troopship to join Hugo, with her was Human Uncle Peter and SHE was in Constance's tummy.

The troopship docked at Penang to be met by Hugo, he scooped us all up and put us onto a troop train which would take us down to Kuala Lumpur. Constance was 'BIG' with child.. and thought to herself "why put the suitcases there, what a stupid place, it makes the bunks so short", but she lay down and off went the train, chuff chuff, chuff chuff, down through the jungle. In the early morning of the next day, the train arrived in KL and Constance SAW and appreciated why Hugo had put the suitcases at the end of the bunks, for all along the side of the carriage at head height there were bullet holes, the Bandits had attacked the train on the way up. They didn't realise it was empty going north to pick up troops and their wives.

"Hello and welcome to Malaya".

This happened in early June. After a few weeks of feeling very hot, SHE decided that SHE'd cooked. So on the 7th of July, 1950, MY SHE was born in The Military Hospital, four weeks premature and very small but SHE wanted OUT!

Constance was fond of her babies but she had had a very good war in India, meaning that she had done lots of exciting things and had an incredible amount of freedom for the first time in her life, her life is another Tale. Constance had had a difficult time with the birth of Human Uncle in 1947 in England and although she spoke fluent and very proper German, she had not enjoyed being an Army wife living in Occupied Germany when they were stationed in Hamburg.

Therefore her life was not going to be spent lounging about on the beach or sitting in the Mess drinking Gin Slings and playing Bridge, whilst 'our' boys and HER husband were crawling about in the Malay Jungle! That was not Constance's style at all, she slapped on a Red Cross Cap and volunteered as an Ambulance Driver. The Red Cross drivers were not attacked by the Bandits and she drove, often through very scary areas, pulling injured troops back to the field hospitals or to base camp.

Amah is Chinese / Malay for Nanny. As Constance was out a lot and Human Uncle was two and a half years older than HER, HER got to spend most of the day with Amah, SHE bitterly regrets not knowing her name, so everywhere that Amah went, SHE went too, to other very small people's houses, and to the market. The MARKET...

Dear Reader... realise please, the importance of that word.

For one day, when SHE was eighteen months old, Amah and SHE went to the market, and HER whole live changed, now no one knew it had changed and it didn't happen immediately, but it changed. Why? Well, because the Chinese LOVE birds and the Malay Chinese are no exception to the rule.. And there, right there, in Port Dixon's local market was an.... African Grey Parrot.

Now, SHE's not able to remember if SHE gnashed her little teeth but apparently SHE made pretty sure that everyone in the vicinity KNEW SHE wanted, and wanted DESPERATELY, a Grey Parrot.

What to do, they were impossible to get hold of, the Parrot in the market was NOT for sale and the family were, at some point, going to go back to England and how could they take a Grey Parrot back with them?

Time passed, Constance took Human Uncle and HER back to England at the end of December 1953 and they went to live in a house in the wilds of Yorkshire near to Driffield. Hugo didn't come home from Malaya until all those nasty Bandits had been dealt with. He had had a company of Ibans with him, very brave and fierce men, they reckoned Hugo was pretty brave too and honoured him by Tattooing him on his right flank, a Lizard and something else which SHE can't recall.

Time went by, the subject of Grey Parrots was never mentioned and SHE forgot or rather, to be correct, SHE tucked away the thought of Grey Parrot in that secret place that we all have inside us, privy only to us, it is where we keep our aspirations, dreams, fears and hopes and it is SACRED.

In 1963, Jacqueline Thompson, a friend of Constance, gave HER some Bantams, SHE loved them all but her eye was drawn to a Grey Bantam.... HER parents were very quiet as SHE zoomed in on this one particular bird. SHE picked her up and cuddled her and they realised that the bird had a strange 'head dress' of small feathers, like a Ducal Coronet, SHE said "her name is Duchess" and they were inseparable. SHE had the loan of a pony callsd BlueBoy, always called Bluey, grey of course and it was a familiar sight to see Bluey, Victoria-Goat, another Tale, HER and Duchess perched on HER shoulder going off on a jaunt somewhere.

Whhhoooosh.... Fast forward to 1988... MAY 1988 to be precise.

SHE had in her life a 'friend', no, he won't ever feature again on the BLOG, so SHE won't name him, let's just call him Tire Kicker, for that was what he did.

One day Tire Kicker telephoned HER and said "do you know anyone who wants a Parrot?", "no" said SHE, "what kind of Parrot?", Tire Kicker replied "an African Grey Parrot". And SHE relied "oh, I want him, I want him, whose got him"... Tire Kicker said "oh ....., you don't want an African Grey Parrot?" and THIS is the bit which always makes me-wet-eyed-with-duck-bumps-all-over, she replied in a very young child's voice "Oh yes I do, I've always wanted a Grey Parrot".

That telephone conversation took place on Friday, May 6th, 1988.

SHE collected Dagga-the-Parrot, an African Grey on Monday, May 9th, 1988.

Fast forward to October of that year, Constance lived in Spain and flew to England to see the family, Tire Kicker picked her up at Heathrow and drove her to HER home. SHE had not told anyone in her Human family about Dagga and so Constance was quite startled to be greeted by the sight of a very large Grey Parrot eating toast on the top of his cage when she came into the sitting room.. "my goodness, whose is that" she said, "mine" said SHE, with which Constance turned with a HUGE grin to her daughter and said "so you finally got one after all!"..... And Tire Kicker said "WHAT?" and, so over tea with much laughter, Constance recounted the TALE of a Malayan Market and a Grey Parrot.

Dear Reader, you've just read the first part of The Tale of HER and her love for African Grey Parrots. Never give up hope, just tuck your 'whatever' it is that you hold most dear into YOUR Secret Place, SHE did.

GeeGee Parrot - an African Grey.
January 2nd, 2012.