Sitting in bed, I scrolled through YouTube.
Watching videos of parrots flying, chatting and doing tricks.
‘Aren’t they gorgeous?’ I said to my partner Nimal, then 28.
It was October 2016 and I’d loved parrots since I was a kid.
I desperately wanted one, too.
But living in a house share in London, it wasn’t the right time.
Only, I was sick of waiting.
‘Go for it,’ Nimal said.
Online, I found Mikey, a young macaw with beautiful blue wings.
So, I arranged to meet his owner.
In their home, I gasped – Mikey was huge, about a metre long, and loud, too.
I’d loved parrots since I was little ‘This was a bad idea,’ I told Nimal, through Mikey’s screeches.
But as we arrived home, his owner called.
‘Please…
