Fuck shit pussy ass motherfucking damn bitch” – Polly.

How do you want to be remembered? I’ve asked myself that many times and also how will I get remembered. Sometimes people find it difficult to leave a mark on this world. This bucket list and my wife is a way of leaving a mark in a lot of ways but maybe I should just start swearing – that’s what Polly did! A famous parrot that was keeping the calm in an old pub called Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese… now that’s an interesting and beautiful story. But let me set the scene.

It’s the middle of World War One and you’re on leave from the front lines. You’re stressed and tired and all you want is a nice drink. You see an old pub sitting there and you decide to go in. Your military boots make loud noises going through the wet alleys of London, you drop your cigarette out of your mouth and light up a new one as you open the door. You head to the bar and ask for a pint and then all of a sudden you hear “fuck you!”.

You start spinning around and looking to punch someone then you hear it again – ‘”fuck you!” – you look around confused not knowing where this is coming from and then a parrot flies down onto your shoulder and says it again. You give a laugh as the barman explains this is Polly, he hangs out here. Bewildered you get your beer and sit down smiling at your small encounter with an interesting patron of the bar that you’re sitting in. Now that’s what I was hoping for but sadly mine is less eventful because Polly is – how would you say – stuffed. But I still went to the pub and had a warm beer, saw the age and the beauty of that bar with someone I love.

Now it was a pretty expensive pint but for a pub that started before World War I I can’t complain. You can feel and taste the history in that room; you walk in and there’s no room for everyone and it’s crowded, there’s a fire that’s being stocked by the barman and the smell of the smoke is permeating everything around you. Right up at the top of the bar as you stare off you see Polly sitting there in a glass case. It’s beautiful, it’s just one of those cute small pieces of history that you never expect to see – a parrot that swears like a sailor, internationally recognized and internationally known.

The day he died the Daily Mail reported the news on Thursday, 17th August, 1905 of his death:- “There is grief in the Cheshire Cheese tonight. “Polly”, the parrot, has escaped from the famous Fleet-street hostelry, and lost itself on a roof. The bird, which could say almost anything, said nasty things to Mr. Choate once, insulted the waiters, said “Rats” to customers, and gave fictitious orders galore. Moore, the licensee, had refused as much as £200 for the parrot

.” I ask that question again – how do you want to be remembered? However you choose I wish you the best of luck, I love you all and I’ll see you in the next post.