PAUL Stockford always had a companion when he played the piano.

Even at the age of three, he had what the Oxford Mail described as a “valiant shot” at playing Johann Strauss’s Tales from the Vienna Woods.

His pet budgie, Sweetie Pie, sitting on his head at their home in Farmoor, apparently became his fiercest critic, squawking loudly if he played a wrong note.

Sweetie Pie appears to have been a clever bird – his or her other activities included telling off the family dog and calling for cups of tea.

 

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