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I'll Tell You What Happened...by Hawtin Mundy
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Extract from: I'll Tell You What Happened...by Hawtin Mundy
...Talking about the boaties reminds me about the story of the poll parrot. Old Scottie Edwards, the baker, had a poll parrot and us kids at school (we'd be about nine) we always used to call there and have a chat with this poll parrot. Now, Scottie was quite a decent old boy and he used to let us kids go in the shop. When we called, "Polly", the parrot got used to us and knew us almost by name, but especially one lad, and that was little Ginger Parsons. Now, whenever he went in, it used to spot Ginger and it used to say, "Ginger, Ginger,Ginger". We knew it so well and used to play with it. ('Course, we learnt it some bad names as well.)
Eventually old Scottie Edwards, the old man, he decided to sell the business and have a house built for himself. He had this new house built at the far back of the Newport Road, which lay against the canal. Scottie used to put Polly on this tree. Us kids didn't like to forget Polly and we used to go round and chat to it.
Now then, here's something that happened that's laughable. These boat horses that used to come along the canal, as the horses came along, Polly used to shout out, "Whoa", and these bloomin' horses got so they used to stop. After a little while, Polly would say, "Gee up", and they used to go. Polly carried that on for a long time. On one occasion, one of these barges came along and Polly said, "Whoa!" This old boatie leant out and he said, "When I get to that bloody bridge, I'll come back and wring that parrot's bloody neck!"
'Course he didn't come back.
Poor old Polly had a very middlin' end. It was cold weather, wintry weather. On this particular occasion,old Scottie Edwards went to bed and forgot to get Polly in. So, of course when he went down the next morning, that were good night for Polly, stiff at the bottom of the cage. Later on, they did say (well, you can believe this if you like) they did say the old horses, when they came along, used to stop and bow their heads and carry on. Now, you can believe that if you like!
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Current Project
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Milton Keynes Football Project
Funded by a 'Your Heritage' Lottery grant this project will collect personal testimonies, photographs and memorabilia to document the history of football in Milton Keynes over the last 100 years. The primary source material collected will be used to create a website, exhibition, book and digital stories. more |
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