THE PARROT HAS BEEN SICK IN THE PAST.

In The State of Victoria, Australia, I have seen pigeons, seagulls, sparrows and magpies, all similar to British native birds but after centuries of evolution, slightly different. Unlike any British native bird, the Rosella parrot is a beauty which lives happily in suburban gardens, along with its rather less flamboyant neighbours. On a warm "Autumnal" day like today, the Rosellas flit amongst the glorious colours of Australia's garden flowers and despite the fact that they gorge themselves on left out bird food they are certainly not sick.

The footballers' phrase "I'm as sick as a parrot" appears to have been in use since 1978, when it is claimed that Phil Thompson first used the phrase after losing a League Cup Final replay. Some say he shortened an old Scouse phrase, " as sick as a parrot with a rubber beak".

Private Eye magazine used the phrase around the same time and the OEDictionary included a definition too.

When John Bond died in 2012, the Daily Telegraph and various fans forums from Southampton and Norwich City credited him with inventing the term. "Sick as a dog" seems more appropriate. 

The association between parrots and gloom may be traced back to 1682 when the Restoration dramatist Aphra Behn made reference in the comedy "The False Count", in which the maid tells her mistress that she "is as melancholy as a sick parrot". 

I personally haven't read Behn's work but have watched Monty Python broadcast of the "Dead Parrot Sketch" in 1969 when a parrot lying on the bottom of its cage suddenly became world famous.

Having caught up on all the most recent "Archers" episodes through BBC radio podcasts today, I am hoping to keep up to date with the exciting Premier League this weekend and also catch the result of the Hepworth United under 12s league game, assuming that the English weather doesn't scupper the fixture. If it does cause another cancellation, the lads will be as sick as parrots, no doubt.