You'll Never Guess Who's Still Alive (news story)

You'll Never Guess Who's Still Alive


Jan 20, 8:54 am ET

LONDON (Reuters) - British war leader Winston Churchill's foul-mouthed 104-year old parrot refused to surrender to newshounds Monday after a British newspaper tracked the bird down and discovered it was still alive.
"They've been trying to get him to talk all day, but he's not saying much," said Sylvia Martin, who manages Heathfield Nurseries where parrot Charlie has lived for the last 12 years.

Charlie, who kept Churchill company during World War II, was famous for occasionally squawking four-letter obscenities about Hitler. But Martin told Reuters the bird has mellowed.

"He doesn't say very much anymore -- usually just hello and goodbye. But he does get so excited about music and dances to it. He's very fit."

Charlie -- invariably referred to as "he" despite being female -- is now owned by Peter Oram, the garden center's owner, Martin said. Oram's father-in-law sold Churchill the bird and was asked to take it back after the prime minister died in 1965.

Steve Nichols, founder of Britain's National Parrot Sanctuary, said that although parrots did not often live longer than 40 in the wild, some had lived to up to 110.

"It's obviously had the best life possible," he said.

Wow, that's cool! I hope the paparazzi don't scare the poor thing to death. I know they all want to get pictures and get him to talk.

The report in our paper said that Churchill taught him to say, "F--- Hitler!" and "F--- the Nazis" after getting him in 1937, and that he still says that. Surprisingly, our paper printed the whole 4-letter word!

Oh wow how amazing! What an old bird, I hope it continues to live a good life.

I saw this parrot on CNN this morning!!

If anybody deserved to have obscenities hurled at them, it was Hitler. I just watched a show about him on the History Channel last night. It was horrifying, even if you already know the story.

I saw what he did at the Holocaust Museum. Such horrific acts. He makes me so sick, and I feel sick knowing that there are people like him in this world.

Originally posted by Kiwideus
I saw what he did at the Holocaust Museum. Such horrific acts. He makes me so sick, and I feel sick knowing that there are people like him in this world.

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A few years ago I had a student (in her late fifties) who was born in Auschwitz and kept hidden until it was liberated. She lost her entire family, and was adopted by a family in Greece. Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Idi Amin ... Unfortunately there have been, and are, a number of monsters.

Parrots are pretty amazing. My great-grandmother bought one off her neighbor, and he was in our family for over eighty years. He knew and called everybody by name. When he was grumpy, he'd whisper, "Go to h***", and gradually increase the volume until he was shrieking it!

You also have to be careful what you say around them. They'll pick up anything! I have a relative who has allergies, and her parrot makes sneezing, sniffling, and snorting sounds all the time.

I was reading on the BBC website that Churchill's family were disputing that the parrot was his - but the owners insist it was.

I won't add my thoughts on Hitler - being of Polish descent I have a bit of an axe to grind with that particular man and his policies . . .