Rerun of exclusive post in Little Darwin
JIMMY BUFFETT'S PARROT HEAD GOES " NUTS" DOWN UNDER
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Jenn Payne , Queen of the Coconuts , a painted one nearby , rendering her catchy song about the wonders of North Queensland in the cockpit of the 43ft catamaran , Nyeki , at Magnetic Island . Examples of her artwork are evident throughout the yacht, above her head a necklace made from pumice , cuttlefish and driftwood threaded onto wire about which is wound raffia , a thong with a tropical scene .  |
During a performance in Brisbane, American superstar singer and songwriter , Jimmy Buffett, described as a beach bum who became a billionaire , extolling a relaxed , tropical life style, with drinks at sundown , declared Mission Beach resident Jenn Payne Australia's Number One Parrot Head , a great honour .
She had attended the show in an eye catching Parrot Head hat with flashing lights , and presented him with a painted coconut . Apart from bestowing the parrot head title on her , he presented Jenn with an autographed flip flop .
At another of his shows, in Sydney , she presented him with Confessions of a Beachcomber , by Edward James Banfield , a sub editor on the Townsville Bulletin in l882, buried on Dunk Island , North Queensland , where Jenn once worked .
In the Buffett style, Jenn , known as the Cruising Yacht Artist of Coconut Cottage , has composed a rollicking song, I Only Go Where The Coconuts Grow , which she sang , with great gusto, strumming away on her ukulele , to an invited lucky audience of hepcats aboard the catamaran in the Magnetic Island marina . Present in the almost blown away group was the island's Queen of the Jungle , so it could be regarded as a royal command performance.
Swaying and whistling during the event was Larry the jiving and cussing Lorikeet , rescued by Jenn and her husband, John , after Cyclone Larry in 2011 . Apart from Larry, there was an old bird from Little Darwin in attendance .
Jenn's great song extolls the many attractions of North Queensland , the Great Barrier Reef and should be used to promote the North. Throw in Larry accompanying Jenn on the ukulele and it would undoubtedly go viral
Larry added to the entertainment by performing a series of calisthenics which involved rotating his head almost to breaking point to perform hearty scratching ; toes of guests were nibbled ; he swigged some wine , had a few drops of beer , sipped some honey water , refused an offer of a drop of rum from the Captain Larry bottle , the label of which features him , with an uncouth message about being as pissed as a parrot .
Larry was not allowed on deck because a large bird of prey had been circling the boat for days . The killer kite probably tried to attack the painting of Larry drinking a Buffett Margarita on the deck .
Larry is busy packing his kitbag to set sail in Nyeki for the special bash organised by the Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club , an outfit in which every member is a" vice commodore" , so nobody can get uppity like the exclusive New York Yacht Club .There could be up to 200 yachts at the gathering and Larry, a celebrity , will take part in daily radio squawk sessions .
